PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION STILL ILLEGAL IN TEXAS While Congress failed to override the President veto and make partial birth abortion illegal in the United States, the practice is forbidden under Texas law. According to Texas Right To Life, Article 4512.5 makes it illegal to "destroy the vitality or life of a child in a state of being born and before actual birth, which child would otherwise have been born alive." The law provides a penalty of five years to life. In 1974, according to RTL, then Attorney-General John Hill issued a formal opinion stating the U.S. Supreme Court, in Roe vs. Wade, invalidated Texas' abortion statutes but that Article 4512.5 is not an abortion statute because it refers to a child "in a state of being born." In 1985, RTL said, a Texas appellate court agreed that 4512.5 "was not invalidated" by the Roe vs. Wade decision. Based on the Attorney-General's opinion and case law RTL concludes that partial birth abortions are illegal in Texas.