Texas Heartbeat Act: Your Body, My Choice
The Texas Heartbeat Act was recently passed on 1st September 2021, and it is the first of its kind in the whole of the United States. In essence, the new law bans any and all abortions once “embryonic cardiac activity”, or a heartbeat is detected via vaginal ultrasonography. The heartbeat of a fetus is usually detected 6 weeks into gestation, and is also usually the timeframe in which a woman first finds out that she is even pregnant. This is due to the fact that, on average, 50 percent of women do not show any symptoms of pregnancy till their 5th week. In other words, by the time a woman living in Texas finally finds out that she is expecting, she will only be left with the choice of carrying it to term, or risk being charged with a civil violation. Similarly, this law makes no exceptions in the instances of rape, or incest.
This Act is the first of its kind to rely on enforcement by private individuals through civil lawsuits and thus, encourages a culture of surveillance and snitching. In particular, should a citizen have any knowledge of an abortion being performed past the 6th week mark, that member of the public has the right to sue any persons who has performed, or facilitated the illegal abortion for a minimum of US$10,000 in statutory damages. That includes the doctor, the nurse, or even the Uber driver who had driven the pregnant woman to the clinic.
It should also be noted that The Texas Heartbeat Act has set a dangerous legal precedent and has been gaining political traction in neighbouring pro-life states too. However, in reality, this Act does nothing to change the minds of women who want to terminate their pregnancies, and only stimulates their motivation to seek illegal abortions in an unregulated market under unsafe conditions. This situation has been likened to the popular TV series “The Handmaid’s Tale”. Alas, whether it is life imitating art, or art imitating life, this is what happens when everyone has a say in your body except for you.
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