New Texas Anti-Abortion Law

The newly approved anti-abortion law in Texas has created quite the stir in the past month. It is now forbidden to get an abortion past six weeks of pregnancy, a time period where may women still don’t realize they are pregnant. This is an issue that I feel strongly about, so I would like to weigh in, even if I may lose followers over it. Here is some background.

In 1973, Jane Roe won her case in the Supreme Court against Wade, a Texas state official, claiming that she should have the right to get an abortion. This set a Supreme Court precedent, which most states abide by.  

While Trump was president, he skewed the Supreme Court in a conservative pro-life direction when he appointed Brett Kavanaugh as a new judge. These positions are held for life. This makes the new state law in Texas likely to be upheld were there to be any Supreme Court challenges brought. There is such a challenge coming forward very soon in Mississippi, which will set a new precedent for the entire country.

The new Texas law makes no exception for rape victims, age, birth defect testing or medical history. The effect will be that women who can afford to travel to another state to get an abortion will be helped. This, in itself, creates a higher percentage of Texan children being born into poverty. If these same low income women cannot afford health insurance, this means worse health outcomes for their children. Of course women could always choose to perform their own dangerous antiquated termination procedure at home, god forbid. 

You may have already gathered that I am pro-choice. I had one abortion when I was in university and I also helped a young friend from Zimbabwe to get hers in a Canadian hospital while she was here on a student visa. Both our lives would have been dramatically worsened if this procedure had not been available and I am grateful to live in Canada, where this service is legal. 

Please share your thoughts on this new law or anything related. Thank you.