Introduction: Policy
The research aims at investigating the Texas law Senate Bill 8, which is in effect currently. The bill prohibits abortions as soon as five or six weeks after the previous menstrual cycle begins, even in circumstances of rape or when a woman’s health is jeopardized (Charo 1114). Besides, medical professionals are concerned about the law’s six-week time restriction and how it would affect individual patients. Similar heartbeat bills have been enacted in other states but have been halted by federal courts before they can take effect (Irvine). It also bans government employees from enforcing private civil proceedings initiated by anybody, regardless of damage. The motivation for choosing it is because it banned abortion in the state and received numerous appears from reproductive and civil rights organizations and institutions. The research paper demonstrates the policy history, current effects, reform proposal, and conclusion.
Policy History
Notably, Texas Senate Bill 8 (S.B. 8) is known as the ‘heartbeat’ bill. The caption text admits that the bill is about abortion, particularly abortions performed after the heartbeat of an unborn child is detected, that it authorizes a private civil right of action. (Texas Legislature Online History). Significantly, the authors are Hughes, Bettencourt, Birdwell, Buckingham, Campell, and Creighton, among others (Texas Legislature Online History). Charo states that the embryonic cardiac-activity bill is a better description (1144). Senate Bill 8went into effect in Texas on September 1, 2021, essentially prohibiting abortions in the state (Tanne). Despite appeals from reproductive rights organizations, civil rights organizations, and hospitals, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected to halt it in a midnight judgment on September 1. Abortion until embryonic viability has been constitutionally protected since the 1973 Roe v Wade decision by the United States Supreme Court (Tanne). Thus, the Supreme Court has decided that states may impose restrictions like waiting periods, counseling, and ultrasound scans.
The policy history started in 2021, followed by the development of the bill. According to the Texas Legislature Online History, the bill goes through seven phases. Essentially, Hughes submitted the bill on March 11, 2021, and it was reported by the Senate Committee on State Affairs with a vote of seven Ayes, two Nays, zero Present Not Voting, and zero Absent. The bill passed the Senate and advanced to the fourth stage, where it was reported out of the House Committee on Public Health with a vote of six ayes, four nays, zero present not voting, and one absent (Texas Legislature Online History). As a result, the proposal passed the House and was signed by the Governor on stage six. Finally, Senate Bill 8 became law on September 1, 2021.
Current Effects
The bill’s desired benefit is to reduce abortion rates in the state. Charo stressed that the number of Texas abortion clinics, which has already been decreased by half, could be lowered to the point that the typical Texan seeking abortion services would have to travel two hundred-fifty miles to locate a care provider (1442). Many pregnant women will not receive medical assistance in time, and studies show that what occurs afterward is common: anxiousness, intimate partner abuse, barriers to education and career aspirations, and an increased risk of physical health concerns (Charo 1442). Therefore, the observable costs are high, and the benefits become disadvantages for the state’s citizens.
It is crucial to note that the bill has a significant effect on society. It essentially prohibits at least eighty-five percent of abortions in Texas, a massive state with a population of twenty-nine million people (Tanne). President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and medical organizations instantly decried the verdict, calling it a direct attack on medical practice and women’s rights (Tanne). The 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court highlighted the Court’s more conservative leanings as a result of appointees made by former President Donald Trump. Chief Justice John Roberts, as well as associate justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan, voted ‘no’ (Tanne). Nonetheless, the Supreme Court stated that it was not ruling on the legality of the Texas statute but rather permitting it to proceed due to complicated legal and procedural issues.
Additionally, women’s health clinics in Texas have generally ceased performing abortions and may close. Individuals’ rights to undergo abortions before viability, which is usually about twenty-four weeks, are violated by S.B. 8. Furthermore, there are no exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape, sexual violence, incest, or pregnancies with a fetal abnormality incompatible with life after delivery (Department of Justice). The law also allows for legal threats against healthcare practitioners and others. Aside from its blatant contempt for Roe v. Wade, a constitutional ruling that bans broad restrictions on abortion when a fetus is still not yet developed, the law’s enforcement plan is the most destructive aspect (Charo 1144). Hence, the Act allows any private individual, whether in Texas or not, to join a citizen posse and sue anybody who performs, helps, or actively supports abortion in violation of the Act.
Defendants would include not just healthcare workers but also any friend, family member, or stranger who assists a pregnant woman in obtaining medical treatments that are, at least for the time being, protected by the federal constitution (Charo 1144). Therefore, S.B. 8 offers posse members a $10,000 payment for each abortion that is stopped. It is being compared to the type of bounty hunting employed to apprehend bail jumpers, in which assaults of one’s home, privacy, or body are subject to almost no legal limitations (Charo 1144). S.B. 8 has promoted the creation of websites and tip lines to assist informants in sharing true or malicious allegations (Charo 1142). As a result, the legislation intimidates and restricts medical practice in Texas.
Reform Proposal
Notably, S.B. 8 has the potential to inflict more harm than most people realize. It exposes anybody who assists a pregnant woman in obtaining an abortion, whether a doctor, caregiver, acquaintance, or relative, to legal liability. Even if these defendants prevail and the complaint against them is dismissed, they will have to suffer the anxiety and financial expense of defending themselves (Charo 1442). The effect may force others to avoid assisting someone experiencing a miscarriage or stillbirth. Charo contends that S.B. 8 is associated with vigilante injustice (1443). As a result, citizens should be concerned when a state mobilizes its whole population to harass healthcare practitioners, terrify friends and family, and segregate pregnant women.
As stated before, S.B. 8 prohibits most abortions after six weeks of gestation. It essentially requires patients to go out of state for care, increasing the travel distance and expense to attend a clinic (Ehrenreich et al.). Hence, these obstacles will cause delays in accessing treatment, forcing some patients later in their pregnancy before they can acquire the service and prohibiting others from receiving the desired abortion at all. According to President Biden, the bill is an extraordinary attack on a woman’s rights and freedoms under Roe v Wade, which has been the rule of the nation for almost fifty years, and it has unleashed unlawful pandemonium (Tanne). Moreover, Biden stated that he would launch a whole-of-government response to this decision.
Thus, the S.B. 8 should be blocked because it does not fit Texas society today and in the future. It is crucial to ask the Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice to ensure that women in Texas have constitutionally protected and safe abortions and prevent women and healthcare providers from Texas’ absurd system of outsourced policing to third persons. The bill has more downsides than the potential benefits because it permits third-party lawsuits against practitioners by effectively prohibiting all abortions and restricting the exchange of information and assistance linked to access to necessary women’s health care.
Conclusion
To conclude, the study focuses on Texas Senate Measure 8 (S.B. 8), commonly known as the “heartbeat” bill. The bill is about abortion; specifically, abortions are conducted after an unborn child’s heartbeat is discovered. It essentially went into force in Texas on September 1, 2021, outlawing abortions even in cases of rape, sexual abuse, incest, or pregnancies with a fetal anomaly. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and medical groups immediately condemned the decision, calling it an assault on clinical practices and women’s rights. The law also permits for legal threats to be used against healthcare practitioners, acquaintances, family members, or strangers who aid a pregnant woman in receiving abortion-related medical treatment. I have learned that abortion should be lawful in some cases, and abortion rules should be less stringent. Therefore, future research should focus on highlighting adverse outcomes of abortion laws, such as S.B. 8, by presenting evidence-based examples and emphasizing cases when abortion should be legal.
Works Cited
Charo, R. Alta. “Vigilante Injustice—Deputizing and Weaponizing the Public to Stop Abortions.” New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 385, no. 16, 2021, pp. 1441-1443.
Department of Justice. “Justice Department Sues Texas Over Senate Bill 8.” The United States Department of Justice, Web.
Ehrenreich, Katherine, M. Antonia Biggs, and Daniel Grossman. “Making the Case for Advance Provision of Mifepristone and Misoprostol for Abortion in the United States.” BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, 2021.
Irvine, Bethany. “Why “Heartbeat Bill” is a Misleading Name for Texas’ Near-total Abortion Ban.” The Texas Tribune, Web.
Tanne, Janice Hopkins. “Texas’s New Abortion Law is an Attack on Medical Practice and Women’s Rights, Say Doctors.” BMJ: British Medical Journal (Online), vol. 374, 2021.
Texas Legislature Online History. “Bill: SB 8.” Texas Legislature Online History, Web.