#put this in the julia hart timeline

[indirectcomedian]

old friends

[northcarolinaprelawland-blog]

The Implications And Effects Of Senate Bill 8

By Reilly Major, University of North Carolina Class of 2024

October 4, 2021

On May 19th, 2021, Governor Greg Abbott signed one of the strictest abortion laws known to date. This law prohibits abortions in Texas after six weeks. This makes getting an abortion virtually impossible, as this is only two weeks after a missed period cycle. This is because at the six-week mark, a small heartbeat can be detected through an ultrasound. This is before 85% to 90% of all abortions are typically carried out. [3] Republican lawmakers consider this to be a point that determines whether you are killing a child or not. According to medical experts this heartbeat is misleading because embryos don’t possess a heart at that developmental stage. [5] Most girls do not even realize they are pregnant before they are unable to have an abortion if they had wanted too. The bill includes cases of rape and incest and does not give any exceptions. This bill is considered to be, “one of the most extreme nationwide and the strictest in Texas since the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.” [1] This law was put into place on September 1st, 2021.

Below is a comprehensive timeline at the implications and arguments over the disputed bill.   May 19 Senate Bill 8 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott. He claimed at the signing ceremony, “(the legislature) worked together on a bipartisan basis to pass a bill that I'm about to sign that ensures that the life of every unborn child who has a heartbeat will be saved from the ravages of abortion.” [1] July 13 Plaintiffs filed the case to the federal district case. These plaintiffs include, Whole Woman's Health and other abortion providers. They are funded by the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Lawyering Project, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, and Morrison & Foerster LLP. [3] August 4-5 Defendants of the case filed four motions, trying to get the district court to dismiss the case. Defendants include, Texas state court judges and clerks, the Texas medical board, the Texas Board of Nursing, the Texas Board of Pharmacy, the attorney general, and the director of Right to Life East Texas. [3] August 25 The federal district court judge denied the defendants argument to dismiss the case. At once, Defendants file an appeal under the Fifth Circuit. The Fifth Circuit has responsibility for federal appeals cases that arise in the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. [4] August 27 The Fifth Circuit gave an order that stopped all processes in the district court. This means the law could be in effect for months before the Fifth Circuit is able to come to a clear decision.   August 29 Plaintiffs filed for relief from the Fifth Circuit, the motion was denied   August 30 Plaintiffs filed for an emergency request from the US Supreme Court. They wanted to block the law before it was enacted. September 1 Senate Bill 8 was put into effect.   This bill follows a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks. [6] But, it is different in a multitude of ways. In order to get around legal challenges that have held abortion laws up in courts for years, Senate Bill 8 focuses on the private citizens. Private citizens are able to sue abortions providers (such as Planned Parenthood) and anyone who secretly gets an abortion. Citizens are rewarded a minimum of $10,000 for successfully suing someone under these conditions. [2] This in turn means that the government does not enforce the law. Nothing is able to happen with Senate Bill 8 when providers sue the state to stop restrictive laws from being passed. This is because the government is not technically enforcing the law. For example, Planned Parenthood cannot go to court and sue the Texas Government or Abbott because they play no part in enforcing the law.   According to Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, “We have filed an emergency motion in the Supreme Court to block this law before clinics are forced to turn patients away, and patients will have to travel out of state – in the middle of a pandemic – to receive constitutionally guaranteed healthcare. Many will not be able to afford to. It’s cruel, unconscionable, and unlawful.” [3] Republican lawmakers have begun to achieve what they want, as the number of patients getting abortions at Whole Woman’s Health clinics dropped by 70%. [2] The Raffa Clinic in Greenville saw a 166% increase in ultrasounds, in just the first three weeks of September. [2] Because of this law, women are seeking other options. They are traveling to out-of-state clinics or turning towards more dangerous ways. According to the Justice Department, wait times in neighboring states such as Oklahoma and Louisiana have doubled. [2] How Senate Bill 8 runs its course is important. Other Republican led states will soon follow in Texas’s footsteps if this law is successful in achieving its goals. Should abortion be a personal choice, not a legal debate? It is up to the Supreme court to decide, for now.

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[1] Irvine, Bethany. “Why ‘Heartbeat Bill’ Is a Misleading Name for Texas' near-Total Abortion Ban.” The Texas Tribune, The Texas Tribune, 2 Sept. 2021, https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/02/texas-abortion- heartbeat-bill/. [2] Person, and Julia Harte. “Texas Abortion Clinics Struggle to Survive under Restrictive Law.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 1 Oct. 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texas-abortion-clinics-struggle-survive-under-restrictive-law-2021-09-30/.   [3] “Fate of Texas Abortion Ban Is with the Supreme Court.” American Civil Liberties Union, 1 Sept. 2021, https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/fate-texas-abortion-ban-supreme-court.   [4] Melton, Chris. “Fifth Circuit Welcomes New Chief Judge.” Leadership Connect, 1 Oct. 2019, https://www.leadershipconnect.io/federal-government/2019/10/01/fifth-circuit-welcomes-new-chiefjudg/#:~:text=The%20Fifth%20Circuit%20has%20responsibility,Court%20of20the%20United%20States. [5] Najmabadi, Shannon. “Gov. Greg Abbott Signs into Law One of Nation's Strictest Abortion Measures, Banning Procedure as Early as Six Weeks into a Pregnancy.” The Texas Tribune, The Texas Tribune, 19 May 2021, https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/18/texas-heartbeat-bill-abortions-law/. 

[6] “Mississippi Passes Law Banning Abortion after 15 Weeks.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 8 Mar. 2018, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mississippi-passes-law-banning-abortion-after-15-weeks-n854941.  Texas Governor Defends Abortion Law with No Rape Exceptions. Texas, 7 Sept. 2021.