AUSTIN, Texas – Texas has made headlines about its law that bans nearly all abortions but other states may soon share the spotlight after the United States Supreme Court allowed Texas law to be upheld.
The law prohibits abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest. It also promises a $ 10,000 reward to citizens if they win a court case against anyone who has helped someone gain access to an abortion.
In a virtual press conference on Friday, American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project attorney Julia Kaye said if the Supreme Court overturns the constitutional right to abortion, she expects about half of the states to follow suit. from Texas.
“Five Supreme Court justices have shrugged off the catastrophic damage in Texas,” Kaye said, “ignoring 50 years of legal precedent forbidding states to strip us of our fundamental right to terminate a pregnancy.”
The high court vote of 5-4 said providers could still sue in federal court. Since Friday’s decision, legal experts have warned that almost all constitutional rights are now at risk.
And to that end, California Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday called on California lawmakers to pass legislation inspired by the Texas abortion law as a strategy to go after the gun industry.
Dr. Bhavik Kumar, a staff physician at the Planned Parenthood Center for Choice in Houston, noted how difficult the last 100 days have been for the Center’s staff.
“Over and over again, we are forced to violate our conscience and our training, and turn away patients who need us,” Kumar said. “And we don’t have good answers to your questions about why this is happening or when it could end.”
Amy Hagstrom Miller is the president and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health and Whole Woman’s Health Alliance and oversees abortion clinics, including the center in McAllen. He called the court’s decision unfair, cruel and inhumane.
“Our staff is heartbroken, scared and discouraged,” Miller said. “They are angry that they have to serve as agents of the state against their will, to enforce a law with which they do not agree.”
Texas Senate Bill 8 has been in effect since September 1.
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