Texas state lawmakers under pressure for the Texas abortion law, DOJ lawsuit hearing
Texas – The Texas abortion law saga won’t end anytime soon as the Texas state lawmakers are undergoing heavy pressure in regards to the controversial law.
The controversial law that bans abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy was pun in place last month and people are mostly arguing the law because it doesn’t exempt abuse and rape victims forcing everyone to seek medical help out of state.
On Friday, a federal judge was hearing arguments over whether Texas can leave in place the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S.
A lawsuit filed by the Biden administration seeks to land the first legal blow against the Texas law known as Senate Bill 8, which thus far has withstood an early wave of challenges — including the U.S. Supreme Court allowing it to remain in force.
“Abortion care has almost completely stopped in our state,” Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi, a Texas abortion provider, told the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee during a hearing over abortion access Thursday.
The controversial law was enforced in September, but was initially signed by the Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in May. The law bans abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which usually happens around the sixth week of the pregnancy.
Whit enforcing the law, many Texas clinic now fear for their existence since Texans will seek medical help out of state. From another side, the public is furious because with the law in place, they don’t have power to decide if they want to keep their babies or not.
Other states have also passed similar laws banning abortions in the early pregnancy, but those laws were blocked by the judges. But a wrinkle to Texas’ version has so far outmaneuvered courts: Enforcement is left to private citizens, not prosecutors.
With the Texas law in place, every single person can file a lawsuit against those who are about to perform abortions and even to those who are helping other people with the abortion. The person bringing the lawsuit is entitled to at least $10,000 in damages if they prevail, which critics say amounts to a bounty.
“The federal government’s complaint is that the Heartbeat Act is difficult to effectively enjoin,” the state wrote in objection to the lawsuit by the Biden administration. “But there is no requirement that a state write its laws to make them easily enjoined.”
While majority of Texans and the Biden administration are pushing this controversial law to be blocked, Texas abortion clinics are facing existence issues and those who want to abort their babies are forced to travel out of state causing them additional financial difficulties.
