September 1st, 2021. A day of rejoicing for some. A day of devastation for others.
A month has passed since Texas established a new abortion law named the Heartbeat Act, imposing a six-week restriction on abortion. In other words, pregnant people in Texas are allowed only (around) 6 weeks to abort their fetus and any attempt to abort it past that would result in legal consequences. After the act caused an unsurprising uproar, the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, responded by saying that the Heartbeat Act was not infringing on reproductive rights because it gives pregnant people a reasonable time frame to schedule and perform an abortion. He further claimed that he will make an effort to “eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas,” which is hardly believable.
Eight days after the implementation of the Heartbeat Act in Texas Senate Bill 8, the U.S. Justice Department sued Texas over the unconstitutionality of the abortion restriction. The Justice Department has made the argument that the act is invalid under the Supremacy Clause* and the Fourteenth Amendment*.
While the Texas Courts are battling with pro-life and pro-choice organizations, a Mississippi law banning most abortions after 15 weeks (that was temporarily blocked in 2018) has resurfaced in the Supreme Court, which will be hearing arguments on December 1st of this year. A possible outcome of this hearing could be the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a monumental case that established a pregnant person’s right to an abortion “without excessive government restriction.” Should Roe v. Wade be overturned, 12 states* will set off trigger laws* that ban abortion entirely. With the increasingly more conservative Supreme Court after the appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the potential outcome of this Mississippi case is worrisome.
The right to abortion is being debated yet again. The fight for reproductive rights has surged yet again. We must continue to bring attention to the importance of a person’s choice and body, lest America witnesses a repeat of history.
Image taken from ABC News - “Abortion Protests in Texas”
Terms/Definitions:
Supremacy Clause - Federal laws are supreme over state laws.
14th Amendment - A pregnant person’s choice in regard to abortion falls under our “right to privacy” as stated in the Constitution.
12 States - Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Oklahoma are the 12 states that have trigger laws banning abortion.
Trigger Laws - A law that cannot be enforced unless a change in circumstances has occurred. In this case, a change in circumstance would be the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
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