Dear Friend,

After several weeks of voting, the award for “Worst State Bill ” violating the separation of religion and government has been given to Texas House Bill 3326, which would allow a person who has an abortion or performs an abortion to be charged with assault or homicide, a crime punishable by death in the state of Texas.

The survey was conducted by the Secular Coalition for America through email and social media as a part of its Bad Bill Madness campaign, a parody of the popular college basketball tournament. The survey placed 16 bills from different states into brackets and asked respondents to vote on which most violated the separation of religion and government.

The roster featured bills covering a wide range of issues including reproductive rights, religious refusal laws, the teaching of creationism in public schools, and LGBTQ+ rights. The final round concluded today and the Texas bill was officially declared the winner. Under the guise of “anti-discrimination” and a “pro-life” ethos, the bill would produce discriminatory and life ending results for healthcare providers and recipients.

Although HB 3326 won the title of “Worst State Bill” it’s worth noting that it is only one of many from a recent wave of legislation designed to undermine reproductive rights, healthcare, science, and civil rights. Similar bills were introduced in Arkansas, Montana, and Kansas. Other contenders this year included Georgia’s HB 457, which actually suggests a Christian prayer to be used in public classrooms and Arkansas’ SB 289, which would allow doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, and even insurance companies and employers to cite religious beliefs to deny patients necessary care during a scheduled visit or during an emergency. The latter, while not taking home the “prize”, did make it to the Final Round and was actually signed into law over course of our campaign so we have decided to name it MVB (Most Vile Bill) of the season.

All of the bills featured in this campaign are appalling, blatant violations of the separation of religion and government and this campaign is intended to shine a light on the attacks against our secular government at the state level. The Secular Coalition for America is working hard to ensure bills like these do not become law at the federal level but we need your help to prevent them on the state level. Thank you so much for your participation in this campaign,

The Secular Coalition for America is calling on its supporters and allies in the state of Texas to take action against HB 3326 by contacting your local state representative and urging them to oppose this anti-life legislation.

Another way to take action in the service of our mission to strengthen and protect the wall of separation between religion and government is to click the "I want to help" button below. Each dollar goes towards our advocacy on behalf of secular Americans like you! Thank you!