Separate legislation in Texas focused solely on medication abortion has been sent to Republican Gov. Emergency contraceptives like Plan B are not affected by the law. Medication abortion, through pills that must be given by a physician, is restricted under Texas’ law since it applies to any abortion after six weeks, reproductive experts and a Planned Parenthood spokesperson said. “Abortion funds in and outside of Texas have been working around the clock to provide people the support people need to get abortion care.” “Those with fewer financial resources, Black and Latinx women, young people will bear the brunt of this inequity in access,” she continued. But this is not an option for most people, who do not have the time, money or support needed to travel out of state for care,” she said. “Those with resources can try to leave the state to seek care. Jamila Perritt, an OB/GYN and president of Physicians for Reproductive Health, said the law leaves people seeking abortion care “with very few options.” “This is essentially a ban of almost all abortion in Texas except for those who know pretty immediately that they are pregnant - a physician cannot hear a fetal heartbeat or there is a medical emergency,” Rachel Rebouché, a law professor at Temple University and an expert on reproductive rights case law, told The 19th last month. Those factors mean someone might not realize they are pregnant until 30 or 40 days, which is just shy of the six-week deadline. A typical menstrual cycle is 28 days, or four weeks, though many people have irregular periods. The pregnancy clock starts by counting back to the beginning of the person’s last menstrual cycle, as The 19th’s Shefali Luthra explained earlier this year. The law provides an exemption for broadly defined medical emergencies, but does not include any exemptions for rape or incest. Texas law defines a medical emergency as a “life-threatening physical condition.”Ī pregnant person in Texas essentially has a two-week window - the luteal phase of pregnancy, in which early symptoms include food cravings, headaches, bloating and breast tenderness - to seek abortion care. Within Texas, if someone sues an abortion provider or someone who supported an abortion patient and loses, there are no consequences built into the law for the defendants to recover costs to defend themselves, Marc Hearron, lead attorney for Center for Reproductive Rights, told reporters last month. In a successful lawsuit, the plaintiff would receive at least $10,000 and be reimbursed for legal fees. The “aiding and abetting” part of the law lets private citizens sue anyone they believe may have helped someone getting an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. Another patient, a retail worker, is struggling to get through the work day and doesn’t know if seeking abortion care out-of-state is an option, The 19th’s Jennifer Gerson reports.ĭuring the 48-hour window in which the ban was lifted, many Whole Woman’s Health physicians and staff were worried about being sued retroactively if they provided abortion care, CEO Amy Hagstrom Miller told reporters that week - demonstrating another potential hurdle as legal fights over the law continue. One, a single mother who cannot get an abortion in the state under SB8, doesn’t know if she will be able to take time off work or get child care for her new pregnancy. In an amicus brief filed by six regional Planned Parenthood groups in Texas, several patients shared how the law has affected them. Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast canceled more than half of 23 patients scheduled to be seen on October 9, Linton said in her statement. What happens now that the ban has resumed?Ībortions after six weeks into pregnancy, or after cardiac activity is present, are once again banned in the state. Here’s what you need to know about Texas’ law, and answers to some questions from our readers. Under the law, Senate Bill 8, patients themselves cannot be sued for seeking an abortion - but providers and anyone who helps them are fair game. The law, which originally took effect at midnight on September 1, empowers private citizens to sue anyone they believe may have “aided or abetted” someone getting an abortion after six weeks, which has caused confusion.
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