Reagan and Braxlynn Protection Act penned by family as hopeful lifesaving legislation

By Kenny Mitchell

kenny@westbowiepost.com

The New Boston family of Reagan Hancock and her unborn child Braxlynn have authored what they see as lifesaving legislation that could be made into law by the next session of the Texas Legislature.

Reagan’s mother Jessica Brookes and her sister, Emily Shirey, joined together to pen the proposed legislation in an attempt to prevent other families from having to live through the nightmare that began for them in October of 2020.

In the proposed legislation, the family states, “No family should have to endure the loss of a loved one because warning signs were missed, misunderstood, or left unaddressed.”

The family has sent the proposed legislation to Texas House District 1 Representative Gary VanDeaver who told them that he will send it to attorneys to have it drafted into a bill ahead of the 90^th session of the Texas Legislature that is scheduled to convene on January 12, 2027.

Chris Spencer, the Republican candidate expected to win in November and take over for VanDeaver as the District 1 State Representative on January 1, 2027, told the West Bowie Post, “If elected as State Representative, I will be filing The Reagan and Braxlynn Protection Act.  Not only will this legislation honor the lives of Reagan Hancock and her unborn daughter, it will criminalize the tragic events that led to their deaths.   This is common sense legislation that will penalize the very foundation of faking a pregnancy, leading to convictions that will stop this path of destruction.”

Brookes and Shirey have also met with a representative of United States Congressman Nathaniel Moran’s office concerning the proposed legislation.

Aptly titled THE REAGAN AND BRAXLYNN PROTECTION ACT, the proposed legislation has the expressed goal of prevention. It states, “Our goal is not only to honor their lives, but to help prevent other families from experiencing a similar tragedy. We believe targeted legislative reforms can better protect pregnant women, unborn children, infants, and families when warning signs indicate that a fraudulent pregnancy scheme may escalate into fraud, exploitation, abduction, or violence…This proposal seeks to address gaps in public safety, criminal law, and fraud prevention while preserving legitimate privacy rights and medical confidentiality protections.”

The proposed legislation goes on to address in depth what Brookes and Shirey see as the key elements that may lead to prevention.

Those elements include pregnancy fraud prevention, fraudulent pregnancy documentation, threat assessment and intervention and mental health and law enforcement coordination.

It specifically calls for action to make it a criminal offense for misrepresenting a pregnancy in an effort to obtain things such as monetary support, employment benefits, housing and custody advantages.

The legislation would also hope to establish enhanced penalties when pregnancy fraud is connected to stalking, harassment, coercion, exploitation, kidnapping, assault, homicide, or attempted homicide.

In the area of fraudulent pregnancy documentation, the legislation seeks to make it a crime to create, sell or distribute faked pregnancy related documents and products like fake ultrasound imaging, counterfeit pregnancy verification documents and fraudulent prenatal medical records.

With the entirety of the legislation, the family hopes to see a rise in protection for pregnant women, as well as, their unborn children, and to garner increased awareness among health professionals and additional accountability for those who engage in pregnancy related fraud and deception.

The mother and sister conclude in their proposed legislation, “The deaths of Reagan and Braxlynn demonstrate the need to examine whether current laws adequately address situations involving fraudulent pregnancy schemes and credible threats of violence. We respectfully request that lawmakers review these issues and consider targeted reforms designed to protect families while preserving legitimate privacy rights and constitutional protections.”