On Sept. 1, 666 new laws went into effect in the state of Texas. While several of them raised discourse among Texans, Senate Bill 8, better known as “The Heartbeat Bill,” provoked heated debate all across the nation and from all kinds of groups and institutions.
The bill, signed back in May, bans abortion the moment a baby’s heartbeat is detected in the womb, which happens as early as six weeks into the pregnancy – before some women know they’re pregnant. The law also comes with a first-of-its-kind legal provision: instead of requiring public officials to enforce it, the law allows citizens to bring civil lawsuits against abortion providers or anyone else found to “aid” illegal abortions. The law makes no exceptions for cases involving rape or incest.
Additionally, House Bill 1280 will outlaw abortion in Texas after Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that legalized abortion, is overturned.
With these new laws in effect, Texas now has some of the strictest abortion laws in the nation. And, what’s more, it has opened the door for other states to pass similar laws.
Arkansas State Sen. Jason Rapert has already expressed his desire to pass the exact same bill in Arkansas. “What Texas has done is absolutely awesome,” Sen. Rapert said. He added that his goal is to end all abortions in Arkansas, including in cases of rape and incest.
Conversely, as the new bills went into effect, several pro-choice organizations, private companies and even Republican politicians have spoken up about how the new provisions may have been taken a bit too far.
Former Rep. Barbara Comstock said to Meet the Press that she considers the Texas law as “bad policy and … bad law”; Republican Glenn Youngkin, a GOP candidate for governor in increasingly Democratic Virginia, noted that he supports exceptions in cases of rape, incest and where the mother’s life is in danger – exceptions not included in the new law.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, although he is “personally opposed to abortion,” pointed to the law’s “problem of bounties,” as the law directs private citizens to file lawsuits against anyone who facilitates any sort of help – as much as facilitating transportation – for abortion and stipulates they can earn at least $10,000 in damages if they win. Hogan declared on Meet the Press that the Texas law “seems to be a little bit extreme.”
Transportation service companies affected by the law, like Lyft and Uber, also responded over the first week after the law went into effect. Lyft CEO Logan Green published a statement where he declared that his company created a fund to cover 100% of the legal fees drivers may face if sued under the law. Lyft’s statement describes the law as “incompatible with people’s basic rights to privacy, our community guidelines, the spirit of rideshare, and our values as a company.”
“We want to be clear: Drivers are never responsible for monitoring where their riders go or why. Imagine being a driver and not knowing if you are breaking the law by giving someone a ride,” the statement said. “Similarly, riders never have to justify, or even share, where they are going and why. Imagine being a pregnant woman trying to get to a healthcare appointment and not knowing if your driver will cancel on you for fear of breaking a law.”
Following Lyft’s example, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi promised to create a similar policy for Uber’s drivers. “Drivers shouldn’t be put at risk for getting people where they want to go. Team Uber is in too and will cover legal fees in the same way,” Khosrowshahi tweeted on Sept 3.
Women’s Rights organizations are taking their response a step further as they prepare new strategies to continue their mission. “We have been preparing for a long while for an eventual reality where Roe is decimated, and a lot of that has
been trying to scale abortion funds,” said Yamani Hernandez, the executive director of the National Network of Abortion Funds, which helps women access and receive abortion care.
These organizations fear the authority given to private citizens in the law because “It literally provides a financial incentive for the kind of harassment and vigilantism we’ve seen grow decade after decade,” said Elizabeth Nash, a state policy analyst at Guttmacher Institute – one of the many organizations that could be sued according to the law.
However, a Texas Right to Life representative, John Seago, assured in a statement to NPR that “These lawsuits are not against the women. The lawsuits would be against the individuals making money off of the abortion, the abortion industry itself. So, this is not spy on your neighbor and see if they’re having an abortion.”
America yet again finds itself divided by politics. The responses varied immensely, but what is clear is that multiple court challenges to the law are underway, abortion rights groups are organizing protests and demonstrations in Texas in opposition to the law, and a great political battle will be waged not only in Texas but in several states around the country.