HOUSTON — Several Colin Allred campaign ads connect current U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz to the Texas abortion ban. The ban does not have exceptions for rape and incest but does contain language that allows doctors to save the life of the pregnant woman if there is a risk of death or serious injury.
Texas' state ban went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 ended the constitutional right to abortion.
THE SOURCES
The Campaign of Ted Cruz
The Campaign of Colin Allred
Texas Health & Safety Code
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
Brandon Rottinghaus, Professor, University of Houston Political Science
WHAT WE FOUND
Since Cruz was first elected to his first term starting in January 2013, more than a decade later, he consistently maintained his position as being pro-life.
Many viewers reached out to the KHOU 11 Verify Team asking if a U.S. Senator would have the ability to vote on any issue regarding Texas state laws. The answer is now, as a U.S. senator, Cruz does not have any voting power in the Texas Legislature and would not have voted in any legislation regarding Texas law.
During a Sept. 2021 U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, Cruz defended Texas' heartbeat act which prevented doctors from performing or inducing an abortion after a "fetal heartbeat" is detected. Cruz said then, "...Texas made a perfectly reasonable decision to protect life."
Cruz, while seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2016, did not support exceptions for rape and incest saying in a town hall, "rape is a horrific crime against the humanity of a person, and needs to be punished and punished severely, but at the same time as horrible as the crime is ... I don't believe it is the child's fault."
However, when asked by WFAA's Jason Whitely in 2024 if he would support rape and incest exceptions, Cruz said, "I have supported legislation that has exceptions for rape and incest, but the reality today is that they are not being decided at the federal level they are being decided at the state level." You can watch the WFAA interview here.
According to University of Houston Political Science Professor Brandon Rottinghaus, going after Cruz's history of anti-abortion measures could register with voters, "Colin Allred wants to make abortion a big issue in this race because there is going to be a historic gender gap in this election. Women, especially college-educated women, are going to vote for Democrats in big numbers and Allred needs that turnout, especially in suburban areas, for him to close the margin between him and Senator Cruz."