Texas Lawmaker Gets Police Protection After Death Threats Upon Filing Anti-Abortion Bill

ARLINGTON, TX — State Rep. Tony Tinderholt, a Republican from Arlington, is under Texas Department of Public Safety protection after getting death threats following his filing of a bill designed to criminalize abortions.

"Representative Tinderholt and his family have received multiple death threats leading to his family being placed under DPS protection on multiple occasions," Micah Cavanaugh, Tinderholt's chief of staff, said in a public statement released on Monday. "Specifics to the threats cannot be discussed due to an ongoing investigation, and we do not intend to speak on behalf of law enforcement."

The threats come on the heels of Tinderholt's filing of House Bill 948, also known as the Abolition of Abortion in Texas Act, on Jan. 11, introduced in the current legislative session. Under his proposed HB 948, both abortion providers and women receiving an abortion would be charged with murder — this despite the right guaranteeing women the right to abortions safeguarded by the Supreme Court in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade in 1973.

The Arlington Police Department and Tarrant County Sheriff's Office have pitched in to help protect Tinderhold after the supposed threats.

In an interview with the Texas Observer, Tinderholt said his bill was designed to make women "more responsible" by making abortions inaccessible.

"Right now, it’s real easy," he told the Observer. "Right now, they don’t make it important to be personally responsible because they know that they have a backup of 'oh, I can just go get an abortion.' Now, we both know that consenting adults don’t always think smartly sometimes. But consenting adults need to also consider the repercussions of the sexual relationship that they’re gonna have, which is a child."

Tinderholt is vocal on his views related to the abortion issue, and isn't shy about engaging with his critics. One woman recently posted some of his replies to her on Twitter to her criticisms of his hard-right stances.

>>> Photo of Tony Tinderholt via Texas House of Representatives, image above via Shutterstock