Rewards of $ 10,000 for reporting that a woman has exercised a protected right for half a century in the United States;
stockpiling of contraceptive methods and pregnancy tests by Texans;
sold out appointments in the clinics of the bordering states ... The entry into force this Tuesday of the law that restricts the termination of pregnancy in Texas, validated by the Supreme Court despite contradicting its historical doctrine of
Roe v.
Wade is
already making its negative effects felt on the health and civil rights of millions of people in the United States.
Activists for women's right to abort march in Washington DC Reuters
What does the law say?
The norm prohibits abortion from the moment in which cardiac activity can be detected in the fetus, which normally happens from the sixth week of pregnancy.
But specialists warn that in that period most women have no way of knowing that they are expecting a baby.
It also allows
any citizen to sue in court the doctors and organizations that provide services for termination of pregnancy
after the limit, as well as anyone who helps a woman to undergo the procedure.
It does not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
In addition, whoever files the lawsuit can demand $ 10,000 in reparations from the defendant, which works as a reward for exercising surveillance work that until now was the responsibility of the authorities.
How many people could be affected?
In 2020, 54,000 abortions were performed in Texas, of which 45,000 occurred in the eighth week of pregnancy or earlier.
["An Assault on Rights": Reactions to the Near-Total Abortion Ban in Texas]
How is it different from other anti-abortion laws around the country?
The main difference is the mechanism.
Unlike other state laws, it is not the authorities who must implement the measure, but in this case individuals - who are given the power to sue those who believe they are not complying with the law.
This makes Texas law
more difficult to block in the courts,
because it is designed to circumvent the assumptions of the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
In 13 other states there have been attempts to restrict the right to terminate a pregnancy before eight weeks.
However, in all of these states, the courts have decided to block those measures.
Texas' restrictive abortion law will hit Latina women hard, expert says
Sept.
2, 202102: 02
What implications are there for other states?
The Supreme Court's decision not to block this anti-abortion law does not extend to other states with similar legal disputes.
It only affects Texas.
But it does open the way for prohibitive new legislation in the rest of the country by
providing a successful model.
In fact, some Republican lawmakers are already looking to copy Texas law.
[No, it is false that there is an increased risk of miscarriage from the COVID-19 vaccine]
"I think that many conservative states in the South are going to see the inaction of the court and will probably
take it as an opportunity to move forward on that issue,"
said Chris McDaniel, Republican state senator from Mississippi, according to the news agency The Associated Press.
Republican legislators in Arkansas, Mississippi and, in the case of Florida, also the governor, have already expressed their intention to introduce anti-abortion laws similar to the one that was successful in Texas.
Who will be the most affected?
The law will make access to an abortion difficult for all women of childbearing age in Texas.
However, it
will affect those with scarce resources, mainly Latinas and blacks, and the undocumented women.
Texas' restrictive abortion law will hit Latina women hard, expert says
Sept.
2, 202102: 02
Many women will seek legal termination services in other states.
But this will be more complicated for women who must work and cannot afford to miss work, those who do not have resources or enough time for a trip out of state and those who, due to their immigration status, find it more dangerous to travel. risking being intercepted by immigration authorities and possibly deported.
70% of abortions in Texas in 2019 were performed on women of color, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
What consequences is Texas law already having?
Some women in Texas, worried about inadvertently becoming pregnant before the six weeks that abortion is allowed by law, have begun stockpiling pregnancy tests and birth control pills.
What have been the reactions?
Across the country, the widespread reaction has been one of outrage, with many voices concerned not only by the most vulnerable people who will be affected by this measure in Texas, but also by the implications it may have throughout the country, particularly in the states. ruled by Republicans.
Many warn that the right to abortion is in jeopardy at the federal level as established by the Supreme Court in 1973 after
Roe v.
Wade
.
Women Demonstrate for Abortion Rights Outside the Supreme Court in Washington DC;
March 4, 2020.Jacquelyn Martin / AP
The president, Joe Biden, and the vice president, Kamala Harris, have joined these voices critical of the measure in Texas and have advanced that
the federal government will not stand idly by.
"Completely strangers will now have the ability to insert themselves into the most private and personal health decisions women face," Biden said Thursday.
"This law is so extreme that it does not even allow exceptions for rape or incest," he added.
[Texas passes new laws for gun use, abortion, prostitution, alcohol use, and voting]
For his part, Harris said Wednesday that "patients in Texas are now going to be forced to travel out of state or have to carry their pregnancy to term against their will."
Whats Next?
The law has been appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and in all probability it will be brought before the Supreme Court, which will finally decide, as advanced by the president of this court, John Roberts, upon learning of the decision not to block formally. Urgent application, as requested.
Thus, until there is a final ruling, millions of women will continue to be deprived of their rights and with their well-being in danger.
With information from The Associated Press.