A Step Backwards in Texas
The Texas Abortion Law Progresses in Texas and Maybe the United States
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Texas Heartbeat Act, suspending enforcement of the the law while the case goes through a series of challenges and appeals that may take it to the Supreme Court.
An act of the Texas Legislature, the law was introduced as a Senate Bill and House Bill on March 1, 2021 by Senator Bryan Hughes. It was signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott on May 19, 2021.
The Texas Heartbeat Act doesn’t just ban abortions past six weeks, but also estab- lishes an incentive system for turning in anyone involved in obtaining an abortion. The law states that an ordinary person can sue those involved in the illegal abortions in most counties of the state. If said person is successful, they can be rewarded up to $10,000, and if not, they are relieved of paying defendants legal costs.
“It’s known as a Fetal Heartbeat Bill,” Upper School history teacher Jeanne Barr said. Barr is teaching the trial case and the law in her Civil Liberties class. “The law criminalizes anybody who aids the procuring of an abortion after six weeks from the last menstrual period.”
A never-seen-before part of the law is the “bounty system,” which makes anyone who is involved in the abortion past six weeks of pregnancy susceptible to a lawsuit. This includes an Uber driver or a friend driving them to or from the abortion clinic. The law creates a $10,000 incentive to turn in anyone related to an illegal abortion.
“I saw a really interesting analogy yesterday,” Barr said. “Someone compared it to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 in which citizens were empowered to bring suit against other citizens for aiding and abetting the runaway slaves, and that’s not a very pretty comparison.”
Multiple people can file a lawsuit against those involved with an abortion. “If one person brings a suit against you and you defeat that challenge, another citizen could do it, and then another and another, so there’s kind of no end in the amount of litigation you might face,” Barr said. “This law is unconstitutional, going directly against Roe vs Wade.”
In 1972, Roe v. Wade was the first Supreme Court case that granted women a right to control their reproductive choices to a point. The court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restrictions.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), has filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas which will then be ruled on by the Supreme Court. With the new law in Texas going against the Roe v Wade ruling and being “unconstitutional,” the Attorney General and DOJ are suing the state of Texas because they believe the new law in Texas going against the Roe v Wade ruling is “unconstitutional.”
“I am not 100% sure, but I have a feeling that they will be in favor of the Texas abortion law,” Upper School history teacher Otis Pope said, when asked if the Texas Abortion law will make it in front of the Supreme Court. “In part because many of the individuals that are on the court were put on court by President Trump, and I think that we have become less open and more partisan since the 1970s. Because of that, I believe that we will probably see a ruling that’s in favor of protecting this law as opposed to ending it.”
Upper School history teacher Andrew Bigelow also believes that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of the Texas law. “I have a feeling that in June of this year, the case will be heard in front of the Supreme Court,” Bigelow said. “Based on what deci- sions we’ve already seen in this case and what we already know about the judges on the Supreme court, I have a feeling the conserative majority will win and the law will stay in place in Texas.”
Abortion rights have been a controversial topic in America for years. From Roe v. Wade, to Planned Parenthood v. Casey, to the new abortion law in Texas, abortion and women rights have not been solved yet. “In my opinion I think it’s horrible. This is a dark moment in Texas history for women’s rights,” Pope said.
