The article by Ellingson et al. discusses the infringement of women’s reproductive and birthrights following the enactment of Senate Bill 8. Lasswell’s definition would suggest that, since September 1st, anti-abortion groups and medical professionals in Texas have obtained a legally viable reason to deny the procedure if the fetus’ heartbeat has been detected (Ellingson et al., 2021). As the heartbeat becomes evident especially early, many women will be denied abortion services regardless of the nature of the pregnancy (Lopez, 2021). I believe that the introduced law violates women’s civil liberties and constitutional rights.
As such, it forces women to give birth rather than make an individual and informed decision. The freedom to choose between an abortion and giving birth has already been recognized as a constitutional right in Roe v. Wade. The precedent regards the individual’s capability to determine their intentions for their medical conditions (Bentele et al., 2018). Furthermore, Senate Bill 8 does not consider victims of rape, incest, and sexual abuse. This aspect further decreases its credibility as a morally and ethnically applicable legislation. Women should be granted the freedom to decide between abortion and birth without the presence of legislative prohibitions to govern this behavior.
References
Bentele, K. G., Sager, R., & Aykanian, A. (2018). Rewinding Roe v. Wade: Understanding the accelerated adoption of state-level restrictive abortion legislation, 2008–2014. Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, 39(4), 490–517. Web.
Ellingson, K., Vasquez, L., Ernst, S. W., Gonzalez, J., Clayton, J., & Katz, D. Reproductive rights protests target Texas capitol, Supreme Court, and cities from coast to coast. (2021). Texas Standard. Web.
Lopez, A. Texas now has a ban on abortions as early as five weeks. Anti-abortion groups are prepared to enforce it. (2021). KUT Radio. Web.