Chairman West’s Testimony to the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee in Support of SB 8, 9, and 1173

It is my honor to submit testimony before you today in support of Senate Bills (SB) 1173, Pre-Born Non-Discrimination Act, authored by Senator Hancock; SB 8, Texas Heartbeat Bill, authored by Senator Hughes; and SB 9, Human Life Protection Act of 2021, authored by Senator Paxton, et al.

Our very first unalienable right endowed to us by our Creator God is life. That is life for those born and those yet to be born. We must be strong voices for the voiceless who grow in what is supposed to be the safest place for our preborn children: a mother’s womb.

Since 2008, the Lone Star State has gone from the 4th most pro-life state to the 20th. This is why the Republican Party of Texas has, as one of its eight legislative priorities, ending the practice of murder of our unborn children. I personally refuse to acquiesce to the language of abortion. In the military, we abort a mission. We are talking about ending lives, and doing so in the most heinous manner, by dismemberment.

These three pieces of legislation are integral in restoring Texas’ standing as a leader in protecting the lives of our preborn. As a matter of fact, we already have 22 Texas cities that have declared themselves sanctuaries for the unborn, with a referendum vote upcoming in Lubbock this May.

In recent times, we have heard so much about following the science. The science, in this case, tells us that we are not dealing with a “clump of cells,” but a growing human being, a baby. We also know that many children are thriving in life regardless of what some may deem disabilities. I do not think we wish to follow the abhorrent practices from history of some who have effectively instituted policies of infanticide.

This issue is personal for me because since Roe v. Wade, there have been over 20 million Black babies murdered in the womb. Sadly, I do not hear the voices of Black Lives Matter speaking out for these lives. As well, we currently find ourselves in this era of the “woke cancel culture,” where even Dr. Seuss, Speedy Gonzales, and Pepe Le Pew are deemed racist, and anyone who disagrees with the ideological agenda of the progressive socialist left is denigrated as a white supremacist, and extremist. We say nothing about the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger. Ms. Sanger was a white supremacist, and racist, who spoke at Ku Klux Klan rallies and referred to Blacks as “undesirables” and “human weeds.” Where are the cries to cancel Planned Parenthood? This, mind you, is an organization that has over 70 percent of their clinics in minority communities.

Here in the Lone Star State, the Satanic Temple of Texas is suing our state over our laws against murdering our unborn, saying it violates their religious liberty as this practice is part of their “religious ritual.”

I pray that the members of this committee will not choose to side with Margaret Sanger and the Satanists of Texas and support SBs 1173, 8, and 9. We should have unanimous support of these bills from this committee and advancement to the Senate floor for approval.

In May of this year, I will become a grandpa. I cannot fathom the level of depravity that would support the dismemberment of my grandson in the womb. Some have been very crafty, devious, in their attempt to redefine this issue as one of “rights.” But we must ask, the right to do exactly what? They have stated that this is about choice, Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “choose life so that you and your generations shall live.”