Texas Abortion Laws 2027: Penalties, Exceptions, and Your Rights

Texas bans nearly every abortion. The only exception is a medical emergency, defined in Health and Safety Code § 170A.002(b), where a licensed physician finds a life-threatening physical condition that puts the patient at risk of death or serious impairment of a major bodily function. There is no exception for rape or incest.

The law punishes providers, not patients. A doctor who performs a banned abortion faces a felony, a civil penalty of at least $100,000 per violation, and loss of a medical license. A pregnant person cannot be prosecuted or sued under these laws for her own abortion. A separate 2025 law, House Bill 7, lets private citizens sue anyone who makes, mails, or prescribes abortion pills into Texas.

How Texas Ended Up With Three Overlapping Abortion Bans

Texas has three bans that work in layers. Each one was passed at a different time and enforced in a different way.

The first is Senate Bill 8, the “Heartbeat Act,” which took effect September 1, 2021. It bars abortion once cardiac activity is detectable, around six weeks, and it is enforced only by private lawsuits. The second is the “trigger law,” House Bill 1280, which took effect August 25, 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs. It bans abortion from fertilization and carries criminal penalties. The third is a set of pre-Roe statutes that the Legislature referred to again in 2025.

The trigger law is codified in Chapter 170A of the Health and Safety Code. The Heartbeat Act sits in Subchapter H of Chapter 171 of the same code.

Timeline of Texas abortion laws from 2021 to 2025

The Medical Emergency Exception After the Life of the Mother Act

The exception applies when two things are true: a licensed physician performs the abortion, and in the exercise of reasonable medical judgment, the patient has a life-threatening physical condition caused or aggravated by pregnancy that risks death or substantial impairment of a major bodily function unless the abortion is performed. That is the text of § 170A.002(b), as rewritten by Senate Bill 31, the Life of the Mother Act.

Senate Bill 31 passed the Senate 31 to 0 on April 29, 2025, and the House 134 to 4 on May 22, 2025. Several of its changes matter to patients and doctors.

Doctors no longer have to wait for the risk to become imminent

New subsection (c-1) says a physician may address the risk before the patient suffers any effects. The statute does not require that the risk be imminent, that the patient first suffer physical impairment, or that the condition has already caused damage. Subsection (c-2) defines “life-threatening” as capable of causing death or potentially fatal, and says the condition does not have to be actively injuring the patient.

The old “best chance for the fetus” condition moved

Before the 2025 amendment, the exception had a third requirement: the abortion had to be done in the way most likely to let the fetus survive. That requirement now lives in new § 170A.0021 as a duty to treat in a way that gives the unborn child the best chance of survival, with a built-in exception when that approach would create a greater risk of the patient’s death or substantial impairment of a major bodily function.

Ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage care are named as reasonable medical judgment

New § 170A.0022 lists removal of an ectopic pregnancy and removal of an unborn child who died from spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) as reasonable medical judgment. The law also widened the definition of ectopic pregnancy in § 245.002(4-a) to include implantation in an abnormal location in the uterus, or in a scarred portion of the uterus, that makes the pregnancy non-viable. That reaches cesarean-scar pregnancies, which the older definition did not clearly cover.

Talking about the options is protected

New § 171.2011 says conversations between a physician and a patient, between treating physicians, and between a physician and an attorney, held to reach a medical judgment about an exception, are not “aiding or abetting.” Your doctor can discuss abortion as a treatment option with you without risking a lawsuit.

What the Texas Supreme Court said first

The Legislature wrote that the new exceptions must be read consistently with two Texas Supreme Court decisions: In re State, 682 S.W.3d 890 (Tex. 2023), and State v. Zurawski, 690 S.W.3d 644 (Tex. 2024). In Zurawski, decided May 31, 2024, the court unanimously vacated a lower-court order that would have let doctors perform abortions for any unsafe pregnancy. It also held that the threat to the patient does not need to be imminent, and SB 31 adopts that reading and the court’s treatment of the state’s burden of proof in enforcement actions.

One gap remains. Doctors interviewed by Texas Public Radio and KUT in October 2026 said the exception is still too vague for some situations, and that SB 31 does not cover lethal fetal diagnoses on their own.

Training requirements for doctors

Senate Bill 31 ordered the Texas Medical Board to offer approved courses on pregnancy-related medical emergencies by January 1, 2026. Physicians who provide obstetric care must complete a one-hour course before their next license renewal after that date, a one-time requirement. The State Bar of Texas was also required to offer free continuing legal education on the exceptions.

Diagram of the three-part test for the Texas medical emergency exception

Is There an Exception for Rape or Incest?

No. Texas law has no exception for pregnancies caused by rape or incest, and none for victims who are minors. A patient in that situation is covered only if she meets the medical emergency test above. The Legislature has not added one, including in the 2025 session.

Penalties for Providers: Criminal, Civil, and Licensing

Performing or attempting a banned abortion is a second-degree felony under § 170A.004, which carries 2 to 20 years in prison under Penal Code § 12.33. If the unborn child dies, the offense becomes a first-degree felony, punishable by 5 to 99 years or life under Penal Code § 12.32.

The civil side is separate. Section 170A.005 requires the attorney general to seek a civil penalty of at least $100,000 for each violation. Section 170A.007 requires revocation of the physician’s license.

Texas also lets private citizens enforce the Heartbeat Act and HB 7. The table below sets out who enforces each rule and what a violation costs.

Law	Who enforces it	Penalty
Trigger law, § 170A.004	Prosecutors	2 to 20 years; 5 to 99 years or life if the unborn child dies
Trigger law, §§ 170A.005 and .007	Attorney general; licensing boards	$100,000 or more per violation; license revocation
Heartbeat Act, § 171.208	Private citizens	At least $10,000 per abortion, plus fees
HB 7, § 171A.104	Private citizens (qui tam)	At least $100,000 per violation, plus injunction and fees

Comparison chart of Texas abortion penalties for providers

The Private Lawsuit System Under the Heartbeat Act

Under SB 8, anyone other than a state official can sue a person who performs an abortion after cardiac activity is detected, or who “aids or abets” one. A winning plaintiff recovers at least $10,000 per abortion plus attorney fees. The law does not allow suits against the patient.

State and local officials cannot enforce SB 8, which is why it has been so hard to challenge in federal court. Senate Bill 31 narrowed it in 2025 by declaring that medical-judgment conversations between doctors and patients are not aiding or abetting, and by limiting the subchapter to abortions that are otherwise prohibited and not covered by an exception.

HB 7 and Abortion Pills: Who Can Sue and for How Much

House Bill 7, the Woman and Child Protection Act, took effect December 4, 2025. It passed the House 82 to 48 on August 28, 2025, and the Senate 17 to 8 on September 3, 2025, and the governor signed it September 17, 2025. It is codified as Chapter 171A of the Health and Safety Code.

Section 171A.051 bars anyone from manufacturing or distributing an abortion-inducing drug in Texas, or mailing, transporting, delivering, prescribing, or providing one to or from any person or location in Texas. It is enforced only through private “qui tam” lawsuits, meaning the plaintiff sues in the name of the state’s assigned claim. The statute bars state and local officers from enforcing it, and it lets a plaintiff sue someone who merely intends to violate it.

What a plaintiff can win

A winning plaintiff receives an injunction, attorney fees, and at least $100,000 for each violation. Who keeps the money depends on who sues. A woman who received the drugs, or the father, sibling, or grandparent of the unborn child, keeps the whole award. Anyone else keeps $10,000 and must hold the rest in trust for a charity of their choosing. Suits can be filed up to six years after the cause of action accrues.

Who cannot be sued

The pregnant woman who uses or seeks the drugs cannot be sued. Neither can hospitals, physician groups, internet service providers, or rideshare and delivery drivers using an app. Texas-licensed physicians and health care providers are protected too, unless the plaintiff proves the conduct happened while the provider was located outside Texas. There is also an exception for drugs used solely to treat a medical emergency, remove an ectopic pregnancy, or remove a pregnancy that ended in miscarriage.

Shield laws are not a defense

Section 171A.102(d) says another state’s abortion shield law is not a defense unless the Texas Constitution or federal law compels the court to enforce it. The statute also lets a defendant who is later sued in another state under a “clawback” law recover damages from the person who brought that action.

The first lawsuits

The first suit citing HB 7 was filed on February 1, 2026, when a Galveston County man amended an existing complaint against California physician Dr. Rémy Coeytaux, according to the Texas Tribune. The same coverage reported that Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Aid Access, its founder, and Coeytaux in Galveston County in early February 2026, in a suit that cites the HB 7 statutes. In October 2026, news outlets reported a suit by a Texas woman against four people tied to Students for Life, alleging they ordered abortion pills into Texas without intending to use them.

Texas has also gone after providers under older laws. A Collin County court entered a default judgment in February 2025 against New York physician Dr. Margaret Carpenter, ordering her to pay more than $100,000 and barring her from prescribing abortion drugs to Texas residents. A New York trial judge dismissed Texas’s attempt to enforce that judgment on October 31, 2025, ruling that her conduct fell within New York’s shield law.

Federal litigation over mifepristone is moving separately. On May 1, 2026, the Fifth Circuit stayed FDA’s 2023 changes that allowed telehealth prescribing and mail delivery, and on May 14, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked that stay while the case, Louisiana v. FDA, continues in the lower courts.

Desk with legal papers and a mailing envelope representing HB 7 abortion pill lawsuits

What Medical Care Is Not Treated as an Abortion

Texas defines abortion as using an instrument, drug, or other means with the intent to cause the death of the unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant. Several kinds of care fall outside that definition or are expressly protected.

Ectopic pregnancy treatment. The definition now covers pregnancies outside the uterus and non-viable ones in an abnormal or scarred part of the uterus.
Miscarriage care. Removing an unborn child who died from spontaneous abortion is named as reasonable medical judgment in § 170A.0022.
Contraception. Birth control and emergency contraception act before a pregnancy is known and are not touched by these statutes.
Accidental or unintentional fetal death. New § 170A.0023 says the exception applies when the death or injury to an unborn child resulted from treatment a physician gave in reasonable medical judgment and was accidental or unintentional.

If You Need Emergency Care in Texas

Go to the nearest hospital and tell the staff you are pregnant and what symptoms you have. Under SB 31, a physician may act before your condition becomes imminent, and your doctor may discuss all treatments, including abortion, without legal risk.

If you believe you were denied care you needed, you can ask to see the physician’s reasoning, ask for a transfer to another facility, and file a complaint with the Texas Medical Board. The board may not discipline a physician for performing an abortion in response to a medical emergency under § 164.052(d) of the Occupations Code, a protection added by SB 31.

Leaving Texas for an Abortion

Texas does not prohibit traveling to another state for an abortion, and the patient cannot be prosecuted for it. Senate Bill 31 also states that, under longstanding Texas case law, a pregnant person who obtains or attempts to obtain an abortion for herself is not guilty as a party or accomplice to the offense.

Abortion funds, including Fund Texas Choice and the Texas Equal Access Fund, help with travel, lodging, and costs, and the National Abortion Federation runs a referral hotline. Gestational limits differ in each state, so confirm the rules where you plan to go before booking an appointment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I be arrested for having an abortion in Texas?

No. Texas law targets the people who perform or assist an abortion, not the patient. Senate Bill 31 reaffirms that a pregnant person who obtains an abortion for herself is not guilty as a party, principal, or accomplice to the offense.

What counts as a medical emergency under Texas law?

A life-threatening physical condition caused or aggravated by pregnancy that risks death or substantial impairment of a major bodily function unless the abortion is performed. The risk does not need to be imminent, and the physician decides in reasonable medical judgment.

Does Texas allow abortion for rape, incest, or a fatal fetal diagnosis?

No. There is no rape or incest exception and no standalone exception for lethal fetal anomalies. Care is allowed only when the patient meets the medical emergency test.

Is treatment for an ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage legal?

Yes. Removing an ectopic pregnancy or an unborn child who died from spontaneous abortion is named as reasonable medical judgment in § 170A.0022 and is not treated as an illegal abortion.

Can I order abortion pills online?

The law does not allow the pregnant woman to be sued for using or seeking the pills. It allows lawsuits against the people who manufacture, mail, prescribe, or provide them to or from Texas, with minimum damages of $100,000 per violation.

Can my partner or a family member sue over my abortion pills?

Under HB 7, the father, a sibling, or a grandparent of the unborn child can sue the provider and keep the full award. They cannot sue you, and a person who committed sexual assault or family violence against the woman is barred from bringing the action.