By Nupur Kudapkar
The Texas Abortion Law was enacted on May 19, 2021, and commenced on September 1, 2021. Here is what you need to know about the “Texas Heartbeat Act.” First of all, to understand pregnancy here are the 6 stages of the female menstrual cycle: menstruation, the follicular phase, the proliferative phase, ovulation, the luteal phase, and lastly, the secretory phase. Menstruation: the period; the follicular phase: the time between the first day of the period and ovulation; the proliferative phase: after the period, the uterine lining builds back up again; ovulation: the release of the egg from the ovary; the luteal phase: the time between ovulation and before the start of menstruation, when the body prepares for a possible pregnancy; the secretory phase: the uterine lining produces chemicals that will either help support an early pregnancy or will prepare the lining to break down and shed if pregnancy doesn’t occur (Clue). The Texas Abortion Act prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect a heartbeat. This is usually around six weeks which is when most women find out they are pregnant. In addition, this act permits any private citizen to sue Texas abortion providers who break the law, as well as anybody who “aides or abets” a woman undergoing the operation. Patients who had abortions, on the other hand, cannot be sued. The legislation makes no exceptions for rape or incestuous relationships. If the case is successful, the person who filed it, who does not have to be related to the woman having an abortion, is entitled to at least $10,000 in damages. Texas Right to Life, the state’s largest anti-abortion organization, has created a website to gather information about potential breaches and has attorneys ready to file lawsuits. In 2020, Texas abortion clinics conducted around 54,000 abortions on citizens. More than 45,000 of these happened at eight weeks or less of pregnancy (AP News). Due to the new law, women do not have access to safe abortions which will lead them to try unsafe methods like sharp sticks up the uterus, drinking unsafe concoctions, falling down stairs, etc. Keeping abortions legal is the way to go, a women’s body is HER choice, not the government’s or anyone else’s.