As many of us probably know, Texas has recently passed a law banning abortion after 6 weeks. This ban is known as The Texas Heartbeat Act. The law states that once a fetal heartbeat is detected, the woman carrying the fetus will no longer have the right to an abortion. As stated earlier the law bans abortion after 6 weeks, which at that point most women don’t even know they are pregnant. There are no exceptions for cases of rape or incest- victims will be forced to carry the pregnancy to term. When asked why the law does not include such exceptions, Gov. Greg Abbott explains “Rape is a crime, and Texas will work tirelessly to make sure we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets. So goal number one in the state of Texas is to eliminate rape so that no woman, no person, will be a victim of rape.” In a perfect world, this goal would be quite reasonable; however, it’s easier said than done. Every rapist cannot be convicted at the same time, so while they are being hunted down, shouldn’t victims have access to abortions? Why does the ban have to be so strict on the current and future victims?
When thinking in the long term, the topic of women’s rights becomes a topic of economical growth and stability. In more recent years women have been becoming more active in their birth control methods and reproductive responsibilities. With women being more adamant about having children when they are ready rather than fulfilling a societal requirement, we will start to see an economic shift in 20 or so years. Children will stop being born into poverty, which in turn will cause fewer people to be desperate for work and less willing to work for any wage. This will cause a drastic decrease in workers and cause a huge labor shortage. The economy has lost many potential workers since the legalization of abortion. In the eyes of many supporters, abortion bans can stop the upcoming labor shortage. The economy’s success should not be determined by women’s rights or lack thereof.
This is not a political topic, it is plain and simple a topic of fundamental rights. There has been an outpour of criticism against the ban and its supporters. The Department of Justice has made it known that they are actively working towards taking action against Texas lawmakers. Attorney General Merrick Garland has spoke out about his feelings on Texas and the court rulings related to the ban, “This kind of scheme to nullify the Constitution of the United States is one that all Americans — whatever their politics or party — should fear.” Political parties should be equally concerned about what this means to them and their future. Garland is exactly right: if Texas and the Supreme Court are okay with taking away the right to an abortion, what’s stopping them from taking away any group of people’s rights to various things?
At the end of the day, this ban is so much more than the right to an abortion. So much more goes into what this means for our women and any citizen in the US. I hope that after reading, you have a better understanding of the ban and what it means on a broader scale.