S.B. No. 2880, known as the Women and Child Protection Act, amends the Texas Health and Safety Code to introduce Chapter 171A, which establishes comprehensive regulations surrounding abortion and abortion-inducing drugs. The bill prohibits the manufacture, distribution, and provision of abortion-inducing drugs, with exceptions for protected speech under the First Amendment. It allows for enforcement solely through private civil actions, limiting state or local enforcement. The legislation imposes civil liability on individuals involved in the distribution of these drugs, enabling parents of unborn children to pursue wrongful death claims and introducing market-share liability when specific manufacturers cannot be identified. A six-year statute of limitations is established for such actions.

The bill further outlines provisions for qui tam actions, allowing individuals to sue on behalf of the state for violations of the law, while specifying defenses that can be raised by defendants. It emphasizes the state's public policy by declaring certain contractual choice-of-law provisions void and clarifying the state's sovereign immunity in legal challenges to the chapter's provisions. The bill also details venue requirements for civil actions, grants the attorney general standing to act on behalf of unborn children, and reinforces the immunity framework by restricting courts from invalidating any provisions of the new chapter. The act is set to take effect on September 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Civil Practice and Remedies Code 27.010 (Civil Practice and Remedies Code 27)
Senate Committee Report: Civil Practice and Remedies Code 27.010 (Civil Practice and Remedies Code 27)
Engrossed: Civil Practice and Remedies Code 27.010 (Civil Practice and Remedies Code 27)