Law Of Abortion Comes Into Effect In Texas

Texas is now one among the States with laws that restricts a person’s access to abortion facilities. And it has done it without involving the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court, in a landmark verdict, made abortion legal. The numerous States have now are making rules to nullify the verdict. Texas has now joined such States. It has imposed a ban on abortion after six weeks.

Law Of Abortion Comes Into Effect In Texas

There are numerous such States that try to impose restrictions on abortion. Almost all of them have Republican Governors or have GOP-dominated legislatures. But the law in Texas is described as the most stringent one with the earliest cap.

This law bans abortion after 42 days into pregnancy. It also allows private citizens to sue anyone who assists in the process of abortion.

According to the Republicans who oppose abortion, life is to be protected at any cost. It becomes crucial when a heartbeat becomes evident in a fetus. The Governor signed the bill and made it a law in May. According to him, measures like this ensure that life stays safe from the clutches of abortion upon detecting a heartbeat.

Critics, however, argue that limitations like this will work mostly against colored people. Certain pregnancies come to light only after 42 days. President Biden too condemned the law. He believes that such limitations will deprive women of the healthcare they deserve. This applies specifically to black women and low-income families.

From 1973, the year when abortion became law, the issue has become a deeply polarizing one for the country. But this is something a majority of Americans support.

As per a recent survey, 57% of people support abortion at all stages. It has the most support during the first trimester. It wanes as time passes by.

Women’s rights groups and healthcare professionals in the field believe that the limitation is unconstitutional. It is an infringement of the right of women over their bodies. They have even filed an emergency petition in the Supreme Court to ban the law. The Justice, however, refused to intervene before midnight Wednesday. And it became a law. If it becomes law, the effect is going to be disastrous. It will deprive at least 80% of women of their right to abortion. A large number of clinics will have to shut down.

The High Court will hear the case about the Texas law and another such appeal from Mississippi. The State restricts access to abortion after 105 days into pregnancy.

Last year in June, the Court blocked a similar law of Louisiana. It required that abortion patients should be admitted to a hospital 30 miles away from the place where they performed the procedure.

At that time, the swing vote for the ruling was that of the Chief Justice.  He voted along with the liberals in the Court. Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the bench afterward. This completed the court’s rightward shift. An action in this regard in the Federal Court is pending.

Democrats, in the meantime, demand that Congress pass a law that bars states from imposing such restrictions. They want Congress to prohibit States from wanting to know why patients chose abortion and from providing false information.

According to them, the constitution guarantees the right to abortion. And the country cannot allow certain orthodox elements in States to use this for political advantage.

Congress should take stern action against such threats to the rights of women. No one should be allowed to bypass the Women’s Health Protection Act, rights groups urged.

In Arkansas, for instance, abortion is illegal except under medical emergencies. It does not offer exemption even for rapes and instances of incest. The same is the situation in Oklahoma. The only exemption is only when a pregnancy becomes life-threatening.