On Sept. 1st, 2021, the strictest abortion law in the United States went into effect in Texas after the Supreme Court denied an emergency request to block it in a 5–4 ruling. This law bans any abortion after the six-week mark and allows private citizens to sue anyone they suspect of getting an abortion or trying to help others have one. There are no known exceptions to the law, which cruelly subjects victims of sexual assault to continue the nightmare they were forced into.
No one expected that in the twenty-first century, the legendary Supreme Court case — Roe v. Wade — would be challenged. The passing of this law devalues and breaks all the progress America has made so far in women’s rights, for how can women have equal rights if they do not even have control over their own bodies?
The law affected many people already, forcing individuals to travel over 200 miles to obtain legal and safe abortions. Kathy Kleinfeld of Houston Women’s Reproductive Services expressed concern over this matter, stating that many women “don’t have the resources, are not able to travel out of the state, don’t have jobs and don’t have reliable transportation” to access a safe abortion.
The law shortens the already constrained timeline needed to have an abortion. The Texas law requires that the person makes two clinic visits no less than 24 hours apart. Six weeks is around the time one discovers they are pregnant, making it only a couple of days before they are inevitably forced to do something they were not aware of, without getting the proper opportunity to put a stop to it. Kleinfield’s statements only strengthen the true argument that this new law is not effectively putting an end to abortions, but rather putting an end to safe and legal abortions. Those that have access to transportation and the means to obtain an abortion will continue to get one. For those that do not, it is likely they will resort to unsafe practices that could cause a life-or-death situation.
In terms of the science supporting this bill, the Supreme Court has set the cut-off at six weeks due to the myth that a fetal heartbeat appears at this time during pregnancy. However, doctors confirm that this is untrue. Dr. Nisha Verma, an OB-GYN who works at the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology states that the heartbeat does not appear at six weeks. At six weeks, the valves that allow for our heart to beat are not created yet. They appear around nine to ten weeks, and the heartbeat is very faint, as the valves have just developed and do not properly work yet. According to Dr. Verma, the flickering and sounds that the patient hears are made by the ultrasound machine. Dr. Jennifer Kerns, an OB-GYN and associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco, states that a “heartbeat” was a term that doctors repeatedly used to simplify complicated discussions with patients — similar to the term “dizzy spell” when explaining vertigo. Dr. Kern also adds that at six weeks, the correct medical term is an embryo, not a fetus.
It is safe to say that the majority of the nation is outraged by this Supreme Court decision that lacks any credibility. Many flocked to Twitter to share their concerns and shame for the Supreme Court and Texas for taking such a radical step, as women in Texas have been calling hotlines for days on end, crying and raging about the entire situation. Many government officials have also condemned Texas for going against the Freedom to Access to Clinical Entrances Act which violates the constitutional right of women and other persons to access abortions.
According to the Guardian, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Monday that the federal government will actively protect those in Texas trying to obtain an abortion. The U.S. Justice Department has expressed the same intentions, saying they will not tolerate any form of violence attempted against anyone seeking abortion services. President Joe Biden commented on the issue, saying that this new law is “un-American” and reassured that the Department of Justice is investigating ways to block the enforcement of it.
I only hope to hear that something will indeed be done about the passing of a law that single-handedly devalued the several milestones that America has passed in terms of women’s rights. No matter what one’s view is, the law must not control what a woman can do with their body. The right to choose must lie within each individual, as they are responsible for their life and the lives they create and thus must decide a course of action that is best for them.
