Texas Abortion Law: Questions and Answers

A Texas law banning most abortion After nearly six weeks of pregnancy, it took effect Wednesday, despite the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that gave the state a constitutional right to the most restrictive procedure in the country in terms of access to abortion services.

Other states have passed similar laws, but these measures face legal challenges. Texas law is the first to be enforced after the Supreme Court fails to act on a blocking request. (Judges can do that yet.)

However, due to the way the law was written, it can be difficult to challenge in court, representing a major change in the fight for abortion rights and inviting imitations of other jurisdictions trying to restrict access to abortion.

“These laws are unconstitutional as we understand Supreme Court rulings so far, and the courts quickly issued injunctions that impede enforcement,” said Elizabeth Nash, a state policy analyst at the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that promotes abortion rights.

“This is the first thing that goes into effect,” he added. “It’s huge in that respect.”

Find answers to a few frequently asked questions about the new legislation here.

Does the law prohibit abortion completely?

The law prohibits abortion when cardiac activity is detected in the embryo. This usually occurs in the sixth week of pregnancy.

This is very early in pregnancy and many women do not know they are pregnant at this point. When a pregnant woman loses her period, she is four weeks pregnant, as doctors usually define it.

Under Texas law, a woman would have about two weeks to recognize her condition, confirm the pregnancy with a test, learn how to manage the pregnancy, and have an abortion.

Experts noted that many women may not be able to track their periods carefully, have irregular cycles, or not know the exact date of their last period.

Leading equity transformation at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist, Dr. “It’s extremely possible, and very common, that people don’t know they’re pregnant by the time they get to six weeks,” said Jennifer Villavicencio.

Dr. Villavicencio added that the cardiac activity detected on the ultrasound is not an actual heartbeat. It is caused by electrical activity, but the heart’s valves have not yet formed. And the voice does not indicate that the pregnancy is viable, she said.

Dr. “Forcing them to learn about the pregnancy and decide how to manage the pregnancy in a short period of time is against ethical care,” Villavicencio said.

Does the law make exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest, or to protect the mother’s life?

The law makes no exceptions for rape or incest. Ms. Nash allows abortion for health reasons, but exceptions are narrowly drawn and only allow termination if the pregnancy endangers the mother’s life or can lead to “significant and irreversible impairment of major bodily function.”

“These are very narrow exceptions,” he said, and language doesn’t cover every situation where a woman’s health might be at risk. However, he added, “Healthcare providers will be very conservative about their interpretation of the law because they don’t want to cross the line.”

Roe v. Doesn’t Wade guarantee a woman’s right to abortion? Can Texas law be challenged on constitutional grounds?

Texas law prohibits state officials from actually enforcing this, a design intended to make it harder to challenge the courts.

Often a case that aims to circumvent a law such as unconstitutional names government officials as defendants. Instead, Texas law mandates private citizens to sue anyone who has an abortion or “aided and abetted” a procedure. Plaintiffs with no affiliation with the patient or clinic can sue and get $10,000 back if they win, in addition to legal fees.

Ultimately, the question for the Supreme Court is not whether the law is constitutional, but whether it can be challenged in court.

Does Texas currently have the most restrictive abortion law in the country?

Other states, including Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Ohio, have also passed “heartbeat” laws banning abortions when cardiac activity is detected on an ultrasound scan.

These laws are also around six weeks of pregnancy, namely Roe v. It will ban abortion 18 weeks before the legal standard set by Wade. But these state laws were met with legal challenges and were not enforced.

Abortion providers in Texas estimate that 85 percent of patients seeking abortions are at least six weeks pregnant and will be denied care under the new state law.

Who will be most affected by Texas law?

There are seven million women of childbearing age in Texas, and the law will make it harder for all of them to have abortions in the state, as legislators intended.

But abortion providers said the measure would create nearly insurmountable barriers for certain vulnerable populations. These include: adolescents, who often do not realize they are pregnant until later in pregnancy; low-income people who need to find around $550 to cover the cost of the procedure; people of color; and undocumented immigrants.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, about 70 percent of abortions in Texas in 2019 were provided to women of color.

Texas requires minors to obtain permission from a parent or guardian to access abortion care. Some minors need to go to court to do so, and in addition to the delays, said Rosann Mariappuram, executive director of Jane’s Due Process in Austin, Texas, which helps teens get abortions.

Truck Conner, executive director of the Texas Equal Access Fund, which helps low-income women pay for abortions, said he was particularly concerned about the potential impact of the new law on Black women in Texas, who are already facing high maternal mortality rates.

He added that undocumented women cannot easily travel through the state to access care, and that women with chronic illnesses may find the pregnancy life-threatening.