Six Weeks Notice: Changing Abortion Laws Create a Climate of Fear
*Article from Lexington Line’s Autumn/Winter 2021 Issue, pages 24-25
Check out the full issue here.
Most standard college semesters range from 15 to 17 weeks, with weeks six to eight usually serving as mid-semester check points. Sometimes, the span of six weeks can fly by in an instant. But that 42-day timeframe has the power to alter entire livelihoods.
According to AmericanPregnancy.org, most women learn of their pregnancies within five to six weeks of insemination. Jane, a [then] 16 year-old high school student, discovered her pregnancy seven weeks after conception.
At her cousin’s insistence, Jane went to her local Planned Parenthood in Hackensack, New Jersey. They discussed possible outcomes and choices for her, including family services counseling, adoption, and abortion. Ultimately, Jane decided to schedule an appointment for an abortion. Jane thought about every choice, but without parental support, she knew she could not safely engage in a full-term pregnancy. Although it was “painful, mentally and physically,” Jane was relieved to have “had the sources and opportunity to choose for myself as well as the emotional support.”
While a traumatic experience in its own right, Jane’s abortion story is similar to many other women who find themselves in a position where they cannot support or raise a child. The Guttmacher Institute calculates that nearly 18% of early pregnancies end in abortion. However, there is a vast contrast of opinion and laws surrounding abortion depending on the state in which a woman resides. The Guttmacher Institute states that 58% of women of reproductive age currently live in states considered “hostile” towards abortion rights, among these states includes Texas. On May 19th 2021, the Texas Senate enacted one of America’s most restrictive anti-abortion bills.
Texas Senate Bill 8, known as “The Heartbeat Bill,'' established further limits surrounding abortions in Texas. According to the Texas Senate, the law bans any abortion in which there is a detection of cardiac activity (no exception for incidents of incest or rape), specifically at the six week mark—incidentally, when most women discover their pregnancies.
Stated in HeathLine, fetal heartbeats usually begin within the five to six-week range of pregnancy. This time frame overlaps with most 28-day menstruation cycles, according to the NHS. Women can also experience period irregularity due to [not limited to]: diabetes, eating disorders, hyperprolactinemia, medications, and stress, as listed by Penn State Medical. Regular and irregular period cycles can factor into the timeline of pregnancy discovery. The New York Times cites Senate Bill 8 as one of the most time restrictive abortion laws in the country.
The bill not only villainizes the women involved, but also institutes the precedent of deputizing citizens as abortion vigilantes for financial gain. In fact, Fox News believes the law itself upholds Roe v Wade because it is enforceable by “judge and jury” citizens, not the state. Senate Bill 8 allows private citizens of Texas to sue, not only those undergoing an abortion procedure, but also those that “aid and abed” these individuals. NPR reveals this extends to intended and unintended third-parties, as well as anyone who plans to aid with future abortions. According to Planned Parenthood, third party individuals can include (but are not limited to): clinic workers, doctors, nurses, counselors, parents, significant others, friends, and drivers. “I interacted with four people at the time,” Jane remembers, “My closest friends at the time and my older cousin.” Those that sue under the Senate Bill can obtain $10,000, The New York Times confirms. Various appeals and lawsuits have already been filed in Texas, and recently a Texas judge upheld the court’s decision with an appeal granting administrative stay as reported by Associated Press. During his interview with Fox News, Richard Rosen, a law professor at Texas Tech stated, “I believe the authors of the laws used citizen enforcement as means of precluding preemptive attacks on the law.” As such, the legal framework of Senate Bill 8 is difficult to undermine.
Due to the staggering limitations placed on women in need of abortions, Bloomberg estimates many are traveling up to 250 miles from Texas to receive treatment. During her interview with NPR, Kathy Kleinfeld, an administrator with Houston Women’s Rights Reproductive Services, revealed that this issue is twofold: traveling for abortions introduces a financial burden and the opportunity for risk at unsafe or undocumented abortion sites. Once that six weeks notice is up and a pregnancy is confirmed, Kleinfeld states, “the clock is really ticking.” Women in this position have less than a week to schedule a clinic checkup and an abortion appointment, adding to the already stressful experience. Jane herself recalls feeling “embarrass[ed] and overwhelmed [by] my situation.”
Texas Senate Bill 8 has created an atmosphere of guilt, suspicion, and fear by “establishing a completely unsafe and scary environment for women” according to Sierra Escobedo, a 21-year old resident from Austin, Texas. She and her friends were “disgusted” when learning of the impending law, citing it as “a complete violation of human rights.” Sierra vocalized her female peers’ opinions, reaffirming Kleinfeld’s worry of financial and safety concerns. “Not every woman is able to go to another state and get a safe abortion because [of] finances, jobs, childcare [etc.].”
This bill has led to further discourse between the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice communities across the country and expanded the social and political conversation surrounding abortion and women’s reproductive rights. Sierra finishes by stating, “As a young woman in Texas [and America as a whole], this is extremely important to me.” Minimizing a woman’s support system and timeframe to six weeks through Senate Bill 8’s legal parameters establishes an environment of worry and shame. Instead of providing protection/ contraceptives and proper sex education, the Texas government is potentially invoking unsafe, even dangerous conditions for young women and their supporters.
It would be difficult for anyone in any position to have a contingency plan in place within six weeks, let alone a woman in the process of making such a life altering decision.
*Some names have been changed to respect anonymity of interviewees.