A groundbreaking new Texas law, that protects every unborn child with a detectable heartbeat from being killed by an abortion, has taken effect after it cleared its latest hurdle in the Supreme Court.
The “heartbeat” law will effectively outlaw abortions in the state after 6 weeks and also gives any citizen – including those outside Texas – the right to take legal action against anyone who ‘aids and abets’ the termination of a pregnancy after the cut off point.
“The life of every unborn child with a heartbeat will be saved from the ravages of abortion,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said when he signed the bill in May.
The bill is unique in how the ban will be enforced and will not punish women if they commission an abortion, according to Rebecca Parma – a senior legislative associate at Texas Right to Life.
The Texas Heartbeat Act is novel in approach, allowing for citizens to hold abortionists accountable through private lawsuits. No heartbeat law passed by another state has taken this strategy. Additionally, the bill does not punish women who obtain abortions.’
The measure became official late Tuesday night after the Supreme Court ignored an emergency request that was filed by Planned Parenthood and the ACLU in an attempt to block it from becoming law.
It is now after midnight central time and there has been no ruling from the Supreme Court on the Texas law that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. That means the law has officially taken effect. An emergency request to block the law remains pending at SCOTUS.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) September 1, 2021
In the early morning on Wednesday, the ACLU confirmed that the nation’s highest court had “not responded to our request.”
BREAKING: The Supreme Court has not responded to our emergency request to block Texas’ radical new 6-week abortion ban, SB8. The law now takes effect.
Access to almost all abortion has just been cut off for millions of people. The impact will be immediate and devastating.
— ACLU (@ACLU) September 1, 2021
The group alleges that 90% of all abortions will now come to an end in the state because the overwhelming majority of them take place after 6 weeks. Up until now, Texas had allowed unborn children to be killed all the way up until 20 weeks, only granting exceptions for serious medical risks.
According to the most recent data, there were over 55,000 abortions carried out in Texas alone – If 90% are stopped by this new law, that amounts to almost 50,000 innocent children being saved.
AMAZING!
Thanks to Governor Abbott and the Republican-led legislature, they were able to pass and enact the strongest protections for the unborn since Roe V. Wade legalized the horrific practice in 1973.
This is a HUGE WIN for the Pro-Life movement and countless unborn children – hopefully it sets the precedent for other states to follow.
AN INCREDIBLE MOMENT IN THE FIGHT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. Extremely proud of @GovAbbott and the great people of Texas for fighting to protect our most vulnerable – children – and mothers from the predatory abortion industry.
— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) September 1, 2021
Unborn Lives Matter.
