Texas near-total abortion trigger ban takes effect, imposing criminal penalties up to life imprisonment for performing abortions

On August 25, 2022, Texas House Bill 1280 — the state's abortion trigger law — took effect 30 days after the Supreme Court issued the Dobbs mandate, imposing a near-total abortion ban from fertilization with criminal penalties up to life in prison and fines up to $100,000. Texas already had SB8 in effect since September 2021 (six-week civil ban), but the trigger law provided state criminal enforcement by prosecutors rather than private citizens. An NBC News analysis published in 2024 found pregnancy-related deaths in Texas increased by 56% from 2019 to 2022 — compared with 11% nationally. A ProPublica analysis found second-trimester sepsis rates increased more than 50% in Texas after the near-total ban took effect.