But across the state, in its biggest cities and in rural pockets, it has been the anti-abortion movement that has gained the most momentum over the years. Many churches sponsor related ministries, and a recent calendar of events published by an anti-abortion website includes rallies, retreats for men who suffer from the “repressed grief, anger and guilt” of terminating a pregnancy, annual walks and runs and hikes. Billboards denouncing abortion, with graphic images, have dotted the highways. (Over the last year, abortion rights billboards have also popped up.)

About a decade ago, Texas Right to Life shifted its legal strategy to focus on laws banning abortion, rather than regulations that chipped away at access. It also decided to pursue legislation founded on the idea that the state had an interest in protecting fetal life. Previous anti-abortion legislation had often rested on the argument that stopping abortion would protect the life and health of pregnant women.

Abortion opponents had proposed ‘heartbeat bills’ in Texas, including in 2013 and 2019. But by 2021, the Supreme Court makeup was more favorable to the anti-abortion cause, and dynamics in the state legislature had shifted.