The Texas Nurses Association is warning about a possible impact of the new abortion law in Texas.
Senate Bill 8 imposes new restrictions on when a woman can have an abortion and allows anyone to file a lawsuit against someone they believe could be helping a woman to obtain an abortion outside of those restrictions. That civil enforcement provision, the TNA says, could be used to target health care workers.
"It creates liability potentially for nurses and other health care providers based on perceptions that a nurse may be aiding and abetting someone to obtain an abortion," said Texas Nurses Association CEO Cindy Zolnierek. "The Texas Nurses Association, we don't take a side on the abortion issue. However, this bill places nurses in a predicament that they may be perceived as aiding and abetting. We think that creates risk for nurses. We don't think it's good for Texans and it's certainly not good for nurses and their relationships with patients."
Zolnierek says the additional risk comes at a time when the profession is already under a significant strain because of COVID-19. "They've been on the front line, they've been dealing with situations that no one could have ever imagined we would be in," she said. "This is one more thing added on."
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