New Ban on Abortions in Texas Raises Questions Over its Constitutionality
A new law in Texas has effectively ended Roe v. Wade protections for the state. The law, Senate Bill 8, went into effect Sept.1.
The governor of Texas, Greg Abbot, signed Senate Bill 8 into law on May 19 of this year, according to National Public Radio (NPR). After signing the law, Abbot commented “Our creator endowed us with the right to life and yet millions of children lose their right to life every year because of abortion.”
Since the Supreme Court did not act on an emergency request to block the law, it is now in effect.
The law challenges the Supreme Court’s model of prohibiting states from banning abortions before fetal viability. Fetal viability is between 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy, according to NPR. However, this law bans abortions after an ultrasound can detect a fetal heartbeat, which could be as early as six weeks, according to The Texas Tribune. Planned Parenthood reports that most people do not know that they are pregnant at six weeks because that cutoff is only two weeks after a missed period.
The law restricts abortions several weeks earlier than abortion bans in other states, which now makes it one of the most restrictive bans on abortion in the country, says Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.
This law is referred to as a “private cause of action” which means enforcement of the law is up to private individuals instead of the state, as reported by The Texas Tribune. The law allows anyone to sue an abortion provider and anyone else related to an abortion that is prohibited under Senate Bill 8, as stated by Planned Parenthood. This means that family members, a driver to the appointment and anyone who helps pay for the procedure can be sued. People who receive an abortion cannot be sued under the law.
The Vice President of Planned Parenthood Generation Action, Serena Wells, finds this provision confusing. “It’s ridiculous that you can report someone and they can get sued for providing medical treatment,” said Wells. “Can Uber drivers be sued? They don’t always know the destination. How can they be implicated?”
Anyone who sues an abortion provider and wins will be entitled to at least $10,000 and a court order that prevents the abortion provider from providing abortions in the future will be issued.
The law states that “a civil action under this section may not be brought by a person who impregnated the abortion patient through an act of rape, sexual assault,[or] incest” which means a rapist cannot sue the people implicated in abortion procedure after an instance of rape. However, the law does not prevent other individuals from suing over that particular abortion as a result of rape, sexual assault or incest.
The Justice Department asked a federal judge to temporarily block the implementation of the new law on Sept. 14. The department argued that the law is “to prevent women from exercising their constitutional rights” as stated in the Emergency Motion. The department asked Judge Robert L. Pitman, who is part of the Western District of Texas, to prevent the application of the law as reported by The New York Times.
The Justice Department believes that it “has the authority and responsibility to ensure that Texas cannot insulate itself from judicial review for its constitutional violations,” according to NPR.
Proponents of the law such as Texas Right to Life state “Texas Right to Life reminds our elected officials of their solemn duty to protect the lives of their citizens, especially the most vulnerable and innocent Texans in the womb. The signing of the Texas Heartbeat Act marks a historic step in the battle to protect life.”
Opponents of the law think that the ban is an unconstitutional attack on reproductive rights. The president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Melaney Linton, believes that the ban is another effort to restrict reproductive rights. “At Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, we believe that all individuals must be free to control their own bodies and make their own private medical decisions without interference from anyone — least of all politicians and, should SB 8 take effect, virtual strangers deputized by the state to enforce a blatantly unconstitutional law,” said Linton.
The Planned Parenthood Generation Action club at St. Lawrence is working to inform students about the new ban. In Wells’s opinion, “It’s important for us to bring awareness to it and show our support for people that are being affected in Texas, especially since we have SLU students from Texas. We want to make sure people are informed and know what they can do.”
The club is having conversations about the ban in their weekly meetings and has posted a petition to sign against the ban on their Instagram account, according to Wells. “As a club, it is our goal to provide resources and understand that Planned Parenthood is a good resource for reproductive rights. Especially during attacks on reproductive rights like this.”