Texas passes "Heartbeat Bill."

News | Nithya Kunta | Sep 4th, 2021.

On Wednesday September 1st, Texas passed a law banning most abortions after about 6 weeks of pregnancy, which is statistically before many women are aware that they are pregnant. Many opponents of the legislation have concerns that forcing women to make a decision about a sudden pregnancy in a short span of time may endanger their reproductive health. Those in support of the legislation point to the evidence that at the six weeks mark the fetus has actively beating hearts and is in a stage of rapid growth.

The Texas law makes no exceptions for rape or incest, and the exceptions related to health are limited.

This law is unique to other laws because it incentivizes ordinary citizens to report abortions by allowing anyone living in Texas to sue an abortion provider or anyone that is aiding an abortion after the 6 weeks mark. Successful lawsuits to stop an abortion are rewarded $10,000.

Texas’s new law will affect thousands of women as over 85% of all cases in Texas are patients who are past 6 weeks pregnant. The law will also disproportionately harm teenagers, low-income people, people of color, and undocumented immigrants as many people in these groups already have restricted access to abortions.

The “Heartbeat Act” passed in Texas is one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the US and has also been proposed in other states, including Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Ohio. Although they have not yet been implemented because they face challenges created by abortion-rights groups and federal courts, it is becoming more likely for other conservative states to pass similar laws.