Current State of Abortion in Texas
The current citizens of the United States are arguing over something bigger than gas prices or property taxes. It is a battle on whether women get control over their own bodies. This debate is a long-standing political controversy that has sparked protests and civil unrest across the United States.
(Picture By: Gayatri Malhotra)
On the 1st of September, 2021, Senate Bill 8 came into effect. Also informally known as the heartbeat bill, it is one of the strictest laws on women’s reproductive rights to date. The bill places limits on women’s reproductive rights and states that abortion shall be limited to the public as a near-impossible option at approximately 6 weeks. Additionally, there would be no exceptions to this bill, even in difficult pregnancy cases such as rape, incest, and fetal anomaly diagnosis.
Rather than having the state enforce this ban, the Texas government is allowing citizens to bring civil lawsuits upon anyone who performs an abortion or helps someone to obtain access to an abortion. This legislation entails that any person remotely involved in allowing a woman to obtain an abortion can be sued in a court of law. This includes the woman herself, the doctors, and even the person responsible for transporting the woman from her home to the abortion center can be sued. Six weeks pregnant is equal to two weeks without having a menstrual cycle, which many women experience on a normal basis due to irregular menstrual cycles. One of the most questioned concepts of abortion is the time frame in which obtaining one should be acceptable. Both sides do not agree on when the perfect time is for a cutoff on when women can no longer have an abortion. Lawmakers have trouble deciding on a perfect balance where both sides are happy, leading governor Abbott to choose 6 weeks pregnant as the time which he claims a baby's first heartbeat is detected.
The Supreme Court allowed the heartbeat bill to remain due to Texas circumventing the Roe V Wade court case policies, although abortion providers were given the small chance to countersue. This was a small victory for people in Texas who support the “pro-choice” ideology, and it gives people such as doctors who specialize in abortions a defense against the people who want to end their practice. For example, well-known abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood are filing lawsuits attempting to block the bill from coming into effect. (You can view more details about their lawsuit here)
As a conflict where both religion and politics are intertwined, massive passion-fueled protests have emerged throughout the country in favor of women's reproductive rights as well as against them. Due to the prevalence of this controversy in the context of the social-political landscape, even well-known voices have spoken their opinions, such as “The Good Place” actress Jameela Jamil, rapper Nicki Minaj, and highly recognized actresses Whoopi Goldberg and Reese Witherspoon. As a woman, it is essential to have an in-depth awareness of your rights in America, this has nothing to do with what side of the argument you stand for but for the health and rights of women.
Author- Brynn Meade
Editor- Maya Borkar
