Keep legislation off of women’s bodies; new Texas law restricts access to abortions

     This month, women lost a battle in the war for equal rights when a new Texas abortion law took effect. The legislation bans abortions six weeks after someone’s last period, by expanding the standing so any private citizen can sue any person who aids a woman in having an abortion. So technically the patient herself cannot be criminalized for seeking an abortion, but her doctor, Uber driver, financial contributors, etc. are all at risk of facing a lawsuit.

     In a way, the design of this law is evil genius because Roe vs. Wade prevents the government from excessively restricting access to abortion, but the state of Texas isn’t the one enforcing the law—instead it’s fellow Texans. Which essentially means that as of right now the Supreme Court cannot step in because Texas found the loophole. And not only is the state giving civilians the right to regulate each other’s bodies, but it’s offering a reward of 10,000 dollars plus the cost of court to any plaintiff who wins a case.

      It literally takes just a basic understanding of female anatomy to understand why six weeks is not nearly enough time for a woman to make an educated decision about what’s best for her and her family. On average, periods happen every four weeks and women can miss them for countless reasons including diet changes, stress, medications, sleep schedule changes, etc.

      So some women don’t even know they’re pregnant within the six week time frame, and even if they’re lucky enough to catch it in time, they’ll have almost no time to consider their options and schedule all necessary appointments. But it seems like that’s what Texas wants anyway.

      And to make matters worse, the only implicit exception in the law is if the pregnancy risks the mother’s life or if it might lead to “substantial and irreversible damage.” So in the case rape or incest, a woman can still be forced to carry the pregnancy to term despite her trauma.

      The law also mentions that the father of unborn children can sue the mother for having an unconsented abortion—despite the fact that pregnancy hijacks the woman’s body for 9 months and in some cases risks her life, and the father has literal zero physical affects.

     There is a simple solution to the abortion debate– if you disagree with abortions than don’t get one. But no one will be able to understand what’s best for a woman and her family on an individual basis, except the woman herself.

     Bottom line, the Texas abortion ban is in principle unjust and oppressive. The Supreme Court has a clear stance that abortion is a right for women, which Texas has jumped through loops to get around. In all cases, legislation does not belong on a woman’s body. Period.