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FILE – In this file photo from May 5, 2021, Texas State Representative Donna Howard, D-Austin, center at the pulpit, stands with her fellow lawmakers in the House Chamber in Austin, Texas, as she opposes a bill that would ban abortions as early as six weeks and allow individuals to enforce it through civil lawsuits, under a measure previously approved by the House dominated by republicans. A Texas law banning most abortions in the state went into effect on September 1 at midnight, but the Supreme Court has yet to rule on an emergency appeal to suspend the law. If left in force, the law would be the most dramatic restriction on abortion rights in the United States since the landmark High Court decision in Roe v. Wade who legalized abortion nationwide in 1973 (AP Photo / Eric Gay, File)
A Texas law banning most abortions in the state took effect Wednesday, with the Supreme Court silent on an emergency appeal to suspend the law.
If left in force, the law would be the most significant restriction on abortion rights in the United States since the landmark High Court decision in Roe v. Wade who legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.
Texas law, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May, prohibits abortions once a heartbeat can be detected in a fetus, usually around six weeks old and before most women know they are pregnant. .
In a statement after the law came into effect, President Joe Biden said he “Flagrantly violates the constitutional law established in Roe v. Wade and maintained as precedent for almost half a century. “ And he said the law “Outrageously” empower individuals “To sue anyone they believe assisted another person to have an abortion.”
In a phone call with reporters early Wednesday, Marc Hearron, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said that “At the moment, most abortions are banned in Texas.” Hearron said the abortion providers his group represents are still hoping to hear the Supreme Court.
They said the law would exclude 85% of abortions in Texas and force many clinics to close. Planned Parenthood is among abortion providers who have stopped scheduling abortions beyond six weeks after conception.
Abortion rights advocates say Texas law will force many women to travel out of state to have an abortion, if they can afford it, and also deal with issues such as child custody and pregnancy. work stopping. It is also expected to increase the number of women seeking to induce an abortion on their own using pills obtained in the mail.
At least 12 other states have enacted bans on early pregnancy abortion, but all have been prevented from coming into force.
What makes Texas law different is its unusual enforcement regime. Rather than having law enforcement officials, private citizens are allowed to sue abortion providers and anyone involved in facilitating abortions. Among other situations, this would include anyone who drives a woman to a clinic for an abortion. Under the law, anyone who successfully sues another person would be entitled to at least $ 10,000.
Abortion opponents who drafted the law have also made it difficult to challenge the law in court, in part because it is difficult to know who to prosecute.
Late on Tuesday night before the ban went into effect, clinics were packed with patients, said Amy Hagstrom Miller, CEO of Whole Women’s Health, which has four abortion clinics in Texas.
Twenty-seven women were still in the waiting room after 10 p.m. at a clinic, leaving doctors to cry and struggle over whether they would see them all in time, she said. The last abortion at one of his clinics ended at 11:56 p.m. in Fort Worth, where Hagstrom Miller said anti-abortion activists outside turned on bright lights in the parking lot after dark in looking for wrongdoing and called the police twice.
“This morning I woke up with deep sadness. I’m worried. I’m numb, “ she said.
On the other side, Republican State Representative Shelby Slawson wrote on Facebook after the ban he was in came into effect. “It is with great sadness that I tell you that late at night some in Texas were rushing to end as many unborn lives as they could before the clock struck midnight.” His colleague, Republican State Representative Jeff Leach wrote on Twitter after the ban took effect that “LIFE wins in America… and Texas leads the way! “
The law is part of a far-right agenda that Republicans in Texas forced on State House this year ahead of the 2022 midterm election, when Abbott is running for a third term as governor.
Another law that came into effect Wednesday required gun training and background checks for carrying handguns in public in Texas, and GOP lawmakers on Tuesday approved election changes that will further strengthen what is already some of the toughest election laws in the country.
Texas has a long history of enforcing some of the country’s toughest abortion restrictions, including sweeping legislation passed in 2013. The Supreme Court ultimately overturned that law, but not before more than half of the over 40’s were shut down. state clinics.
Lawmakers are also moving forward in a special session underway in Texas with new proposed restrictions on medical abortion, a pill-based method that accounts for about 40% of abortions in the United States.
Even before the Texas case reached the High Court, the judges had planned to address the issue of abortion rights in a major case that will be heard after the court returns to hearing arguments at the fall. This case concerns the state of Mississippi, which is asking to be allowed to impose a ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
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AP writer Paul J. Weber reported from Austin, Texas.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press.
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