President Biden and Congressional Democrats have vowed to respond to Texas’s recent six-week abortion ban, which prohibits abortion in almost all circumstances, including rape and incest.
The Conservative Party-led Supreme Court rejected the last-minute request to prevent the law from taking effect with a 5 to 4 vote. The three justices appointed by Trump voted in favor of the majority.
The ban will encourage citizens to sue anyone who helps and abets abortion, including medical professionals or anyone who provides transportation to the clinic for pregnant women. A successful lawsuit will give the plaintiff the right to receive $10,000 from the offender.
Breaking news: The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to review the Texas abortion ban and the Supreme Court’s abuse of its “shadow file”.
— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) September 3, 2021
The Women’s March will hold a national mobilization event to deal with Texas abortion laws https://t.co/92WUa4sezD pic.twitter.com/DMqIKSXKYt
— The Hill (@thehill) September 3, 2021
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Saying that “this ban requires the codification of Roe v. Wade” is a landmark decision. The Supreme Court ruled that women have the right to have an abortion within the first three months of pregnancy. Pelosi criticized the court’s decision, saying its “decision to timidly maintain a flagrant violation of women’s rights and health in the dark is shocking.”
Pelosi added that after Congress adjourns, Democrats will vote to pass the “Women’s Health Protection Act” in response to the new Texas law. The bill will ensure women’s abortions and medical providers’ rights to perform abortions.
“After we come back, the House of Representatives will introduce Congresswoman Judy Zhu’s Women’s Health Protection Act, which will incorporate the reproductive health care of all women in the United States into the law.” Pelosi says.
The “Women’s Health Protection Act” aims to reverse more than 500 restrictions imposed by Republicans in many different states, but it will face an uphill battle if it wants to enter the deadlocked Senate. According to Senate regulations, because 48 Democrats, along with Senators Susan Collins (Republican of Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Republic of Alaska), support the proposed legislation, obstruction of the bill will not be possible. The bill passed, but it was still ten votes short.
President Biden stated that Texas state law prohibiting abortion after six weeks of pregnancy “nearly meets American standards.” In particular, there is a provision that allows individuals to take civil actions against people who help women have abortions. https://t.co/w0dg4urwlJ
— CNN (@CNN) September 3, 2021
Illinois governor blasts Texas abortion law: “shame” lawmakers https://t.co/jf9mMhBxSZ pic.twitter.com/AoLTIj7taA
— The Hill (@thehill) September 3, 2021
The Democrats can vote to repeal the obstruction bill, but all 50 votes are needed to do so. Senators Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona) both expressed their reluctance to do so.
President Biden Said that the new Texas law was an “unprecedented attack” on female reproductive rights, that the law “nearly met American standards” and created a “compulsory police officer system.”
Biden announced that he is instructing his gender policy committee and the White House Office of Legal Counsel to “launch an entire government effort to respond to this decision, and in particular seek steps from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice. The federal government can take steps to ensure that Germany Women in Texas have access to safe and legal abortions protected by Roe.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that the Justice Department is “evaluating all options for protecting women’s constitutional rights, including the right to abortion.”
Pro-Choice advocates worry that the new Texas law may open the floodgates for more states to pass similar laws.Without action by Congress, the Biden administration could hardly fight back against the six-week abortion ban
