Matt Schaefer

In 2015, Schaefer put forward Amendment 18 to the Texas Health and Safety Code, attaching it to CSHB 2510. The amendment addressed the legality of terminating a pregnancy when in utero testing yields "a severe and irreversible fetal abnormality" diagnosis. Schaefer's position was one in defense of all life, asserting that the disabled deserve the same protection inside the womb that they receive once born. Representative Spitzer, a doctor, argued for the amendment, saying, "We want them [mothers, parents] to be able to have that child and have that grieving process." Representative Sheffield, also a doctor, disagreed, saying, "[A]s a doctor—for my patients it is unethical for we doctors to impose upon them a set of guidelines that forces them in one direction or another, taking away their rights."[8] Schaefer's amendment passed with a solid majority, but Democrats halted passage of the whole bill using a technical objection. When the bill returned to the House floor weeks later, it had been re-written to such a degree that Schaefer's amendment would no longer be "germane," or topically relevant to the bill and was not able to be attached.[9]

In 2013, Schaefer voted for Texas Senate Bill 5, which required doctors who provide abortion services to be registered at hospitals within 30 miles of their office.[10]

In 2019, following two mass shootings in Texas, Schaefer tweeted his vehement opposition to increasing restrictions such as universal background checks, bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazine purchases, and mandatory gun buybacks. Instead, he advocates for prayer and discipline in the home, as well as the right to carry for law-abiding single mothers.[11] This was tweeted a day after mass shootings occurred in the Midland-Odessa area of Texas with 7 fatalities, including one law enforcement officer; and, one day before new Texas laws went into effect to "ease restrictions on guns, including allowing firearms in public places like schools and churches, on rented and leased property and during disasters."[12]