“Baby Bounty Hunters: The Texas Abortion Ban” by Carter C.

 As of September 1, 2021, the state of Texas officially enacted one of the country’s most strict abortion laws, despite dissent from four Supreme Court justices. This new law places a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which is before most women even realize they are pregnant. Not only does this law prevent abortions as soon as “cardiac activity” is detectable; it prevents abortion even in cases of rape or incest. After much controversy over this law, the Justice Department has officially sued the state of Texas. This law being enacted brings into question; should the government be able to have control over women and their bodies?

On September 9, 2021, the Justice Department announced that they will be taking action against the state of Texas in federal court. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that, “The act is clearly unconstitutional under long-standing Supreme Court precedent.” However, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton 

The Texas government has attempted to find a loophole in the argument of constitutionality. The “Heartbeat bill” describes that public officials will not be the ones carrying out this law. The power to enforce the abortion ban lies in the hands of individual citizens, who now have the power to sue anyone who assists a woman in getting an abortion. This law dramatically expands the concept of civil lawsuits, and allows individuals to sue anyone who they believe has provided an abortion or has been found to “aid or abet” an illegal abortion. The Texas government strategically designed this law to seem like an individual right rather than a state right, in order to attempt to avoid impending lawsuits. 

In reality, the law has created the concept that private citizens are now deputized, “to serve as bounty hunters authorized to recover at least $10,000 per claim from individuals who facilitate a woman's exercise of her constitutional rights." as stated by Attorney General Garland. The rights of women and their bodies have, in effect, been rested in the hands of any possible whistle-blower who is seeking the $10,000 reward.

In an interview with NPR, Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi, an OB/GYN in the state of Texas, explained that abortion clinics were flooded with women seeking help for fear of the impending abortion ban. Doctors worked tirelessly until midnight of September 1, attempting to assist as many women as possible before the new abortion laws went into affect. She described that most patients she saw during the month of August were curious about the future women who would come in seeking abortions; she stated, “They've been asking about it and asking, you know, 'If I were here in September, would I be able to get this?' " 

Furthermore, the Biden administration has stepped in and exhibited their disapproval of “the Heartbeat Bill”, explaining that it is a violation of constitutional rights. President Joe Biden has stated that Texas’ abortion ban is, “an unprecedented assault on a woman's constitutional rights under Roe v. Wade, which has been the law of the land for almost 50 years." Both the President and Vice President have publicly supported the Justice Department’s lawsuit, and wish to vindicate the rights of Texas women.

The controversy in Texas raises the question that, if the Justice Department does not win their lawsuit, what does this mean for women in other states as well? If Texas succeeds in keeping these strict abortion laws in place, other Republican states will likely follow suit and create similar laws. The precedent set by landmark Supreme Court case Roe V. Wade could cease to exist, and women’s rights could return to the way they were fifty years ago. Now we can only watch in suspense, as we await the decision that will decide whether or not women in Texas will continue to be at risk to vigilantes seeking their $10,000 compensation, or if they will be able to reclaim the right to control their own bodies. 

Works Cited

Astudillo, Carla, and Erin Douglas. “We Annotated Texas' near-Total Abortion BAN. Here's What the Law Says about Enforcement.” The Texas Tribune, The Texas Tribune, 10 Sept. 2021, www.texastribune.org/2021/09/10/texas-abortion-law-ban-enforcement/.

Johnson, Carrie, and Barbara Sprunt. “Justice Department Sues Texas over New Abortion Ban.” NPR, NPR, 9 Sept. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/09/09/1035467999/justice-department-sues-texas-over-new-abortion-ban.

McCammon, Sarah. “What the Texas Abortion Ban Does - and What It Means for Other States.” NPR, NPR, 1 Sept. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/09/01/1033202132/texas-abortion-ban-what-happens-next.