Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa said Sunday on CNN that she would eliminate Texas criminal penalties for doctors who perform abortions.

When asked how she would change the ban that permits only narrow medical exceptions, she answered that more than one election would be needed to reverse the restrictions. She proposed beginning with repeal of 99-year prison sentences for physicians who terminate a pregnancy to save the mother’s life.

Hinojosa said doctors now delay treatment because political boards may later challenge their choices and they risk long imprisonment, leaving patients until they are dying and causing deaths in the state. She asserted bipartisan support for removing those penalties as a first step.