Poor would be more harmed with restriction on abortion 2:07
(CNN) -
On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court made a landmark decision guaranteeing women their right to terminate a pregnancy before viability, which is normally estimated at around 24 weeks. .
The case that set the precedent, Roe v.
Wade, based on a challenge to Texas law, enshrined in law the right of all women to an abortion.
Forty-eight years later, there is a state where that law is no longer in effect: Texas.
How did a nation that considers itself the defender of women's rights get here and where is it headed?
What happened in Texas?
On Wednesday, September 1, 2021, after the Supreme Court refused to intervene, a law in this southern United States state that prohibits abortion providers from carrying out interruptions after the activity is detected, went into effect. fetal heart disease, usually around six weeks of pregnancy.
Texas 6-Week Abortion Ban Goes Into Effect After Supreme Court Inaction
The law makes no exceptions for rape or incest, forcing women to carry a pregnancy to term even in traumatic circumstances.
The only exception that allows abortion after six weeks is "if a doctor considers that there is a medical emergency", according to the text of the law.
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In addition, compliance with this law will not fall to the state government, but will be monitored by citizens, who will be able to sue abortion providers for alleged violations.
The plaintiff will receive $ 10,000 from the defendant if his case is successful.
First introduced in the Texas House and Senate in March, the "Heartbeat Act," a name that some medical professionals have said is intentionally misleading, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May. .
However, it only came into force after the Supreme Court refused to rule on an emergency petition to block the bill, filed by abortion providers.
On Wednesday, the conservative court majority issued a formal denial of the request, saying the law could not be blocked at this stage due to "complex" and "novel" issues, although it acknowledged that the clinics had raised "serious doubts about the constitutionality of Texas law. "
Why is it significant?
What happened in Texas is not the first attempt by conservative politicians to reduce the time available for an abortion.
In fact, at least 12 other states have passed six-week bans, but they were blocked from taking effect.
Texas now has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the United States, and in the world.
The news has caused a stir around the world because it invalidates the case Roe v.
Wade and is said to take power away from pregnant people and give it to anti-abortion activists who, determined to catch any violation of the law, have created websites that push reports of alleged violations.
The human cost is likely to be even higher for the incredibly tight deadline imposed.
At just six weeks, many women don't even realize they are pregnant.
It is not about conception, but about the start of the menstrual cycle, so it is hardly enough time to not have a period.
For this reason, the ban is the closest thing to a total ban on abortion that pro-life activists can do.
Texans fear dire consequences of anti-abortion and education laws affecting people of color
It is difficult to know exactly how many people will be affected.
In 2020, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 54,000 abortions were performed in the state.
According to opponents of the law, until the ban, 85% of abortions in Texas occurred after six weeks.
As for the people who would be most affected, journalist Shefali Luthra said that the people who will evade the ban by accessing abortions in other states would be "people who have the means, who can travel, who do not need childcare, who they are not necessarily marginalized because of their income, because of their race, because of their immigration status, because of all these factors. "
Of course, criminalizing abortion does not stop people from seeking it.
Instead, women unable to travel out of state will be forced to resort to clandestine abortions, putting their health and safety at risk.
According to the World Health Organization, up to 13.2% of annual maternal deaths are due to unsafe abortions, and Texas could risk increasing that statistic.
Psaki's response to a man's question about abortion 1:07
How did the United States get here?
Every year since Roe v.
Wade in 1973, pro-life activists have marched in Washington on their anniversary to demand an end to abortion rights.
They have worked closely with conservative legislators, providing them with templates to introduce identical bills in numerous states.
For the most part, it has been minor amendments to the law that have most limited access to abortion services.
The 1976 Hyde Amendment was the first, with a few hard-to-achieve exceptions, to prevent funding for abortions through the Medicaid program.
This, in turn, makes it difficult for low-income women to access abortion services.
While the most recent attempts by Republicans to ban abortions have been described as "extremely aggressive" by the Center for Reproductive Rights, they are by no means a reflection of what Americans themselves really want. A 2019 poll revealed that three-quarters of Americans want to keep Roe v. Wade, though people who identify as "pro-life" and "pro-choice" were both dissatisfied with America's abortion policy. Despite this broad support, former President Donald Trump was the first US president to attend or speak at an anti-abortion march.
In the last decade, several Republican states have tried to impose more restrictions on abortion.
North Dakota was the first state to pass a heartbeat bill in 2013, and other states have followed suit: Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina.
Although these attempts have been blocked, New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke about the Texas ban and the annulment of Roe v.
Wade, stating that: "The bodies, rights and lives of millions of people are sacrificed for a far-right minority to rule."
As for the role of the Supreme Court, its rulings have often reflected the ideologies of its justices.
With six conservative justices, the Supreme Court is now the most “right-wing” since the 1930s.
What has been the reaction?
Lawyer: Anti-abortion law in Texas is not constitutional 0:39
President Joe Biden harshly criticized the Texas law, stating that it "flagrantly violates" a woman's constitutional right to abortion, as stated in Roe v.
Wade.
In addition, he added that "communities of color and people with low incomes" would be the most affected, and that the law "scandalously delegates authority to individuals" by allowing them to file lawsuits against the clinics.
Biden Launches Federal Effort to Respond to Texas Anti-Abortion Law Amid Pressure to Defend Constitutional Rights
Liberal Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor said the new rule was a "flagrantly unconstitutional law designed to prohibit women from exercising their constitutional rights." Jackie Speier, a Democratic representative from California, put it more clearly, saying that the law effectively "tells a woman that she has no control over her body."
In an opinion piece for CNN, journalist Frida Ghitis said that the civil tax system was reminiscent of "fascist regimes."
And while surely many have thought so, 75-year-old Vietnam War veteran Robert L. Graham wrote to the LA Times to say, "Who are we to judge the Taliban when the governments of our own country can take over? control of a woman's body? A world away from Afghanistan, America must look at itself and ask the tough question: Are we that different when it comes to how we treat women and girls? "
So where are women's rights going in America?
In Texas, legislators are moving to pass a bill that could also restrict "medical abortions" - termination of pregnancy by medication without the need for a surgical procedure - that currently remain legal until 10 weeks of pregnancy.
The Texas Tribune reported that a bill limiting access after seven weeks is close to being passed, despite attempts by Democrats to stop it.
As for the six-week ban itself, it is still possible for the Supreme Court to back down and declare it unconstitutional, but since it has already entered into force, a precedent has been set.
Perhaps the most pressing question is this: what happens now with Roe v.
Wade across the country?
In the next legislature, the Supreme Court justices will rule on the constitutionality of the ban on abortions after 15 weeks in Mississippi.
However, the state also asked the court to completely vacate Roe v.
Wade, calling it "egregiously wrong."
Whether they comply or not remains to be seen, but fierce opposition from liberal judges and abortion rights advocates is to be expected.
Biden seeks to limit Texas anti-abortion law 1:24
The data and findings shared in a Jezebel article from a year ago, which just circulated on social media, raise an even more pressing question.
Referring to a 2020 IPSOS poll, abortion rights reporter Marie Solis wrote: “Most 18- to 34-year-olds support expanding access to abortion, but few consider it a top priority, placing it behind on issues like climate change, Medicare for all and student debt. "
He continues: "If that poll were conducted today, following the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, they could rank police brutality above access to abortion as well."
So the question many of those who monitor developments in the United States are asking themselves is this: Can the abortion ban in Texas catalyze Americans to rally above political ideology, and other different struggles, to protect the right of women to make decisions about their own bodies, or without a broad and coordinated base, supported by the Supreme Court, will conservative states continue to attack the right to abortion?
Only time will tell.
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