Texas Picks Up Anti-Abortion Efforts Blocked In US Senate

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Legislature is reviving efforts similar to those blocked in the U.S. Senate last month that threatened doctors who don't try saving the life of infants born alive during abortions.

Republican state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst said Thursday that "where D.C. is unclear, we're going to be very clear here in Texas." Her bill is among first prominent anti-abortion measures this year in Texas, where GOP leaders have largely shied from divisive issues after a rough 2018 midterm election .

The legislation isn't a copycat of the failed measure in Congress. A major difference is that whereas Senate Republicans threatened doctors with prison, the Texas bill would punish them with fines.

Doctors' and abortion-rights groups say it is extremely unusual for live infants to be born during attempted late-term abortions.