Texas Rep. Farrar has introduced legislation, HB 3318, that would make it a non-capital offense for a mother to kill her child before his first birthday.

Right now, it’s capital murder. Her bill changes that to a state felony. The penalty would be 180 days – 2 years, and a fine not to exceed $10k, if the mother can prove that she killed her kid due to the effects of childbirth or lactation. The bill does not specify that the mother be diagnosed with postpartum psychosis or other mental illness.

Why is it not so bad to kill an 11 month old, but capital murder to kill a 13 month old? Why would we lower penalties for mothers to kill their own children? And why can’t fathers kill their kids – isn’t that gender discrimination?

Farrar’s analysis is chilling. She says that because women might suffer from postpartum psychosis, the punishment should be changed. She ignores the fact that the law already allows for an insanity defense. I’m not sure how she arbitrarily decided that a child who’s made it to his first birthday is worth more than a child just learning to crawl.

Farrar is not concerned with helping women with postpartum depression or protecting children, but rather for decriminalizing infanticide. This bill will not keep a single child from harm; it merely lowers the penalty for that child’s murderer.

I’ve looked at Rep. Farrar’s other legislation, and there are no bills calling for increased screening or support for women who might suffer from postpartum depression, no resolutions to support families in crisis. She represents the 148th District in Houston, TX.

She actually has quite a record of promoting the abortion agenda, including:

• Introducing HB 680. HB 36 would require abortionists to get the voluntary, informed consent from the pregnant woman, including name of physician performing the procedure, gestational age of the baby, mandates an ultrasound and the the pregnant woman is allowed to see it, and requires doctors to inform the mother of possible side effects of abortion. HB 680 makes that not a requirement for abortions performed on women who became pregnant through a criminal act (incest, rape, etc.) I don’t know why they shouldn’t have to provide informed consent, but I suspect it’s the whole “make an ultrasound available” clause.

• HB 684, which is similar to HB 680 but is for parents with children with irreversible fetal anomalies. Guess they don’t need to know about abortion side effects or support services, either.

• HB 2221, which would force Catholic hospitals to provide not just information on emergency contraception, but to also to provide the pills. (As opposed to HB 44, which would require the information on emergency contraception to make it clear that EC is an abortifacient, and could affect an already fertilized egg. This distinction is necessary since “pregnancy” has been redefined to mean “implantation in the uterus”.)

Surely, Farrar’s 100% NARAL approval rating, and her recent award from Planned Parenthood, are just coincidences.

I know that several of my bloggy friends are in Texas. Let’s light up the Austin switchboard! HB 680 has been kicked to the Committee on State Affairs, where it needs to die. Contact committee members and let them know this is a bad law and bad precedent (and tell them to support HB 36, while you’re at it.) Tell everyone you know that it’s not okay for mothers to kill their babies; it’s murder and the penalties should reflect that!

Farrar is a Catholic. May God have mercy on her.

H/T Jill Stanek

***UPDATE*** Texas SB 182 passed on Friday, May 1.  It’s the companion bill to HB 36, and will require abortionists to offer women ultrasounds and let them see it.

Tagged as: politics, Prolife, Texas