FAVOUR BABALOLA, Staff Writer
“Our creator endowed us with the right to life and yet millions of children lose their right of life every year because of abortion.” The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, declared in a signing ceremony.
This law, which was enacted on September 1, bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy: before the woman knows she is pregnant. Medical and legal experts say the term is deceiving because embryos do not form a heart at that developmental stage. By the time a woman knows that she is pregnant, her chances of receiving an abortion are scarce. The bill gives no regard to pregnancy created from incest or rape. It also enables private citizens to sue abortion providers and anyone who helps the woman receive this treatment. This may include a person driving their friend to an abortion clinic. When suing, the citizens are not required to announce the relationship they have with the person. This endangers the jobs of the abortion providers and the safety of people.
Passed in May 2021, this law seems to be more powerful than most abortion laws. This law permits individuals to report on their neighbors if they see any suspicious signs of receiving an abortion.
Lawyers and Abortion Rights Advocates express that the new law will permit the influx of lawsuits against abortion providers. In turn, it would endanger their livelihood and time.
Proponents of the new bill hope to get around the legal obstacles that have injured the abortion restriction in court. For instance, abortion providers usually sue the state to stop a strict abortion law from taking effect. However, no state official is enforcing the law.
According to The Texas Tribune, 300 lawyers opposed the bill because they claimed that it undermines the rules of the legal system: including the law that states a person must be injured to sue. Disregarding these laws allows for anyone to sue a person who has gotten an abortion. This empowers people to sue because anyone who sued will be awarded at least 10,000 dollars, as well as costs for attorney’s fees if they win the trials.
While the law amounts to the most extreme abortion ban in the country, “abortion is both legal in Texas and supported by the majority of Texans,” expressed Drucilla Tigner, Policy and Advocacy Strategist of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. In 2019, there were more than 56,600 abortions.
A survey has collected that almost 6 in 10 Americans oppose a ban on abortions. Recently, many women from all over the country took a stand against abortions.
“No matter where you live, no matter where you are, this moment is dark,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood, declared to the crowd at the “Rally for Abortion Justice” in Washington.
Washington protesters marched to the United States Supreme Court on October 2, 2021, about two days before the court reassembled to consider the Mississippi case. This case will enable them to cancel abortion rights established in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case. By approving the Mississippi bill, the Constitution will not protect abortion rights, leaving states free to ban it.
“We’re heading in the wrong direction,” Katy Allen, a 67-year-old university researcher from Rochester declared, “It’s the tyranny of the minority.”
Under the red, white, and blue flag, there seems to be an immense separation between the anti-abortion and pro-abortion people.