ELISA WELLS
Back in September of last year, Texas’ controversial six-week abortion ban went into effect, a strict measure that now gives private citizens the right to sue anyone who assists a woman seeking to have an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. The stringent bill, which is also known as Senate Bill 8, allows for an individual to sue the abortion facility and even healthcare officials who attempt to perform the procedure.
Abortion pills skyrocketed after Senate Bill 8 was enacted
Requests for abortion pills skyrocketed by 1,200 percent after the legislation was enacted in Texas, with an average of. 37.1 daily requests compared to 10.8 requests, which was before the bill took effect, according to NBC News. Women in desperate need of the pill would have received the medication by mail, but lawmakers quickly passed another piece of legislation that made it a felony to provide abortion pills through the mail, forcing individuals to undergo extreme testing and seek a prescription through a doctor.
Pro-abortion activists condemned the move, arguing that women should have the right to make their own reproductive decisions. The pill served as a loophole for those living in anti-abortion states because they could simply receive the pill by mail and take the preventative measure in a legal state. Pro-activists say that the medication prevents pregnant individuals from seeking dangerous alternatives or illegal forms of abortion.
More than 22 states are signing laws to restrict abortions
The community fears that the Supreme Court could overturn the right to abortion, dismantling the historic 1973 Roe V. Wade case. Legislators are already working fast to place restrictions on abortion procedures in more than 22 states. In March, Republican Governor Douglas Ducey of Arizona signed a 15-week abortion ban. Similarly, in South Dakota, the governor also signed four provisions that would restrict access to medication abortion, Guttmacher Institute noted. On April 5, Oklahoma lawmakers approved a Republican bill that would make performing an abortion illegal and even punishable by up to 10 years in state prison. Some states like Missouri are casting a wider net on abortion restrictions that would prohibit residents from receiving the procedure in legal states.
Some states are working to protect reproductive rights
States like Connecticut and California are combating the growing threat against women’s reproductive rights by striving to implement laws that would protect their citizens from being penalized for undergoing the procedure and for those who help women to seek an abortion.
