In Texas, USA, a law came into force according to which women do not have the right to have an abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy. He has already begun to act. What do the Americans and the country's president think about this? Read today in USA.ONE:
Texas bans abortions after 6 weeks
Joe Biden's comment.
A law restricting abortions has come into effect in Texas 
photo: bbc.com
The so-called "Heartbeat Act" Texas Governor, Republican Greg Abbott signed it back in May of this year. Several groups, including the ACLU and Planned Parenthood, tried to challenge it in the Supreme Court. On Monday, August 30, these and other groups asked for the law to be suspended in Texas while its legality is challenged in the courts. Late on Wednesday evening, September 1, the Supreme Court formally rejected the petition. Five of the nine Republican-appointed judges voted to implement the law.
According to liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who voted against it, the court's ruling was stunning and her colleagues simply chose to bury their heads in the sand and turn a blind eye to an unconstitutional law that blatantly violates women's freedom to exercise their rights. Opponents of the Texas law are trying to challenge it in lower federal courts so it can reach the Supreme Court again and be heard on its merits. According to the ACLU, millions of Texas women have literally lost their right to abortion.
photo: nypost.com
US President Joe Biden has already given his comment on this matter. In particular, he said:
"The Texas law flagrantly violates the constitutional law established in Roe v. Wade, which has been the precedent for nearly 50 years." ;.
This is a 1973 case in which the Supreme Court legally secured the right to abortion for US women. The president called the Texas law an “unprecedented attack on women’s constitutional rights.” He said he was beginning an "interagency effort" to combat it and has already tasked the Gender Policy Council and White House legal counsel to figure out how the government can help ensure Texas women have access to legal and safe abortions, and what legal tools are available to protect health care providers and women from strange system introduced in the state, which gives powers to private individuals".
photo: huggies. ru
Texas is considered a conservative state and the second largest in size and population. The issue of abortion has divided American society and remains one of the most pressing issues at the moment. It is believed that at 6 weeks the fetus's heart begins to beat, although doctors call this approach misleading. Together with women's rights activists, they criticized the new law, according to which anyone can sue a doctor who performs an abortion after the due date.
According to available data, 90% of pregnancy terminations so far have occurred after the due date. 6 weeks. According to representatives of the Planned Parenthood clinic network, the innovation is a gross violation of the US Constitution.
"In any case, we will not retreat and will continue to fight. Everyone has the right to an abortion," — they wrote on their Twitter page.
What is the new law about? 
photo: newsru. com
According to the Supreme Court's ruling in Roe v. Wade, from 1973, American women have the right to terminate a pregnancy before the period when the fetus becomes viable outside the uterus, which is 22-24 weeks. "Heartbeat Act" shortens this period by more than three times. Opponents of the law say that many women do not realize they are pregnant until 6 weeks later. And the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists insists that the concept of "heartbeat" wrong. They say that at this stage there is only a lump of tissue from which the heart has yet to develop as the embryo grows.
Until now, any restrictive law of this kind in the United States has threatened doctors with criminal prosecution for violating it and even a ban on continuing medical practice. The authors of the "Heartbeat Act" for the first time resorted to the right of civil action to monitor compliance with the law. This means that anyone, not necessarily a Texas resident, even if the case does not involve him, can file a lawsuit asking for a $10,000 fine for anyone involved in an illegal abortion.
This includes not only doctors, but also hospital staff, family members and even priests who gave the woman the "wrong" advice. The only exception can be abortions for medical reasons, and then only with a written doctor’s opinion.
photo: dailyadvent.com
Now, women from Texas who want to terminate a pregnancy more than 6 weeks will be forced to travel outside the state. We are talking about a distance of up to 400 km. According to Kim Schwartz of the Texas anti-abortion group Right to Life, the court often drags out illegal abortion cases for years, which violates the will of the people. In her opinion, courts will decide on fines only if there is significant evidence. And the Civil Liberties Union believes that the law will become a way of putting pressure on doctors and women, as well as a tool for hunting for profit.
What do Americans think about the Texas law
According to a June poll, a majority of US residents believe abortion should be legal until the fetus can exist on its own outside the womb. They support the Roe v. Wade decision. Citizens' opinions were divided along party lines: the legality of abortion was supported by 70% of Democrats, 35% of Republicans and 47% of independent voters.
According to a Pew poll, 59% of US residents support the right to terminate a pregnancy " ;in all or most cases", and 39% are against it. An April poll in Texas found that the "Heartbeat Act" supported by half of the state's population.
photo: mnews. world
The new law passed in Texas is just one of several attempts to restrict abortion rights in Republican-controlled states. There were more of them in 2021 than in the last 50 years. A 6-week threshold for women to decide whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy was also set in South Carolina, Idaho and Oklahoma, but counterclaims quickly blocked it from taking effect.
Abortion opponents began to feel more confident after the decision. how changes occurred in the composition of the Supreme Court. Conservatives and Liberals are now represented in a 6:3 ratio. Abortion advocates fear that this could eventually lead to a reversal of Roe v. Wade, with abortion rights coming under the control of each individual state. This means that conservative states led by Republicans could ban abortion completely.
How far the Texas example will go is unknown, but in her speech on Thursday, September 2, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the House representatives will discuss and vote on legislation that would prohibit states from limiting the timing of abortion, as they did in Texas.
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