The controversial abortion law in Texas still stands. This Thursday, a ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals allows the rule that punishes the termination of a pregnancy to continue as soon as the fetus’s cardiac activity is recorded, a period of around six months of gestation. The entry into force of the law, at the beginning of September, caused several mobilizations and protests. The administration of President Joe Biden promised to fight her in court as the greatest threat to the legalization of abortion brought about by the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling nearly 50 years ago. This afternoon, however, part of the legal offensive launched by the Democratic Administration has failed.
Two of the three judges who make up the appellate court panel decided to leave the rule promoted by local Republican senators in effect, known as Law 8 of the upper house. This is the third time that the robes, considered by experts as one of the most conservative courts in the country, have prevented the controversial initiative from being without effect. The law has been criticized because it does not provide exceptions for cases of rape or incest and opens the possibility of a lawsuit to any citizen who helps a woman to have an abortion, such as doctors, nurses, secretaries of abortion clinics and even Uber drivers.
This Thursday’s ruling surprised few. Texas lawmakers designed the rule so that its challenge in court is full of obstacles. As it is happening. This is because no local authority, neither the Texas police nor the prosecutor’s office, is in charge of preventing women from aborting. This responsibility, on the other hand, falls on any ordinary citizen, who can initiate a civil lawsuit against the accused or who has assisted him. The wording of the law allows the accuser, if he wins the lawsuit, to obtain up to $ 10,000 to cover his legal expenses (something that the defendants do not get). The rule has caused dozens of women to leave the State and have to drive hundreds of kilometers to be able to have an abortion in neighboring states such as Oklahoma.