Abortion has essentially been banned with a few rare exceptions in Texas since the legislature passed the “heartbeat law” in September 2021. At that time, most Republicans backed the measure, although that support has waned a bit since.

In December, a harrowing case challenged the law and undercut the public’s perception of it, thrusting the abortion debate, along with the changing, state-to-state patchwork of laws since the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, back into the national spotlight.