Texan pro-life activists have struck a blow.
With the entry into force of a law prohibiting abortion after six weeks, "they are trying things that were still unimaginable ten years ago," observes Marie-Cécile Naves, political scientist and specialist in the United States.
"It is the most conservative law ever adopted on the subject", abounds the political scientist specializing in the United States Nicole Bacharan, who publishes The
great days that changed America
(Editions Perrin).
If several feminist associations urgently seized the Supreme Court on Monday to ask it to block the entry into force of the text, the judicial body has not yet taken up the case.
What does the law provide?
Texas law, signed by Governor Greg Abbott, enforces the so-called “beating heart” rule.
In other words, it prohibits terminating any pregnancy once the embryo's heartbeat is detectable, approximately six weeks after the start of the last period.
And no exceptions are tolerated in cases of rape or incest.
However, “before six weeks, many women are not aware of being pregnant.
It is particularly perverse as a delay, ”deplores Marie-Cécile Naves.
“The reality is that there is no longer a right to abortion in Texas,” adds Nicole Bacharan.
By way of comparison in France, surgical abortion can be performed until the end of the twelfth week of pregnancy.
In the United States, the delay can even be up to 22 weeks because it is considered that women can abort as long as the fetus is not viable.
Read also Legal period for abortion: "2000 women per year go abroad to perform an abortion"
Another novelty, the law provides that citizens - and not federal authorities - enforce its respect.
Citizens who sue will be able to receive at least $ 10,000 in “restitution” for convictions after their denunciation.
"A bonus for informing," blows Marie-Cécile Naves.
We always go further in inventiveness.
Pro-life activists are always one step ahead.
"
Who are the initiators of the text?
If the debate on the right to abortion has always agitated the United States, it is clear that the protest has taken on a new dimension.
Since January 2021, there has been an avalanche of anti-abortion laws, in all 90 laws have been promulgated in the country.
A record!
"The arrival in power of Donald Trump galvanized pro-lifers", analyzes Nicole Bacharan. Composed of "white evangelical religious and some conservative Catholics", these movements returned to favor during the tenure of the businessman. "There was a fusion between the Trumpist movement and the evangelists", adds Jean-Eric Branaa, lecturer at the University of Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas and author of the biography
Kamala Harris, America of the Future
(New Edition World).
In exchange for financial support during his campaign, Donald Trump gave them a seat by appointing three conservative judges to the Supreme Court.
Thus, Neil Gorsuch in 2017, Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 and the very anti-abortion Amy Coney Barrett in 2020 have made their entry into the institution.
“He also appointed 300 conservative federal judges,” adds Nicole Bacharan.
Appointments that have profoundly changed the balance of power within the country and paved the way for the proliferation of these conservative laws.
Can we go back?
For the moment it is indeed the Roe v.
Wade prevailing.
Adopted in 1973, this case law confirms the right of women to dispose of their bodies and to have an abortion, at the federal level.
According to him, the right to termination of pregnancy is part of the protection of privacy provided for by the 14th Amendment of the American Constitution.
All attempts to restrict the right to abortion have been criticized on reading this jurisprudence.
And this will surely be the case with Texas law as well.
"It is a law which is so extreme and which contains so many flaws that the Supreme Court will have to seize it", affirms Nicole Bacharan.
"The Supreme Court has already revoked laws aimed at restricting the period of abortion", details Jean-Eric Branaa.
“With this law, it will have to decide on the possibility for citizens to denounce women, clinics or doctors who do not respect this deadline.
In other words, it will have to say whether or not it is a subject of general interest, ”specifies the specialist.
However, if abortion is considered a subject of general interest, this reverses the idea of private life and therefore the Roe v.
Wade.
Ultimately, can the right to abortion be called into question?
If the concern is palpable across the Atlantic, a sudden reversal seems unlikely.
"The goal is not so much that the Roe.v Wade judgment is annihilated but to slip into all possible loopholes to try to gradually empty it of its substance", analyzes Marie-Cécile Naves.
For the political scientist, the refusal of the Supreme Court to seize the question urgently, "augurs worrying things for the future".
"She certainly considers the subject too risky," adds Nicole Bacharan.
"The American population is mostly in favor of the right to abortion", tempers Jean-Eric Branaa.
“By multiplying this kind of laws, the pro-life want to force the Supreme Court to express itself on the subject.
But out of nine judges, it's only Amy Coney Barrett that's on the ban line.
Even the conservative judge Kavanaugh said he would not go back on the rules of jurisprudence ”.
The appeals against the law will multiply in the coming days.
"A remedy can go very quickly between 2 hours and several months", warns the specialist.
In the meantime, the six-week rule will apply.
And the expert lamented: “And it will affect the least educated young women, the poorest.
"