The abortion industry has been reeling since the passage of the life-saving Texas Heartbeat Act earlier this year. The law, which bans elective abortions from the time a heartbeat is detectable, about six weeks’ gestation, is set to take effect on September 1.
Abortion activists have tried desperately to halt the law, most recently by suing Texas Right to Life. The Texas Heartbeat Act, Senate Bill 8, is a unique approach to life-saving legislation as the law is only enforceable through private civil action. Any private citizen can sue an abortionist for committing an abortion in violation of the Pro-Life protections of Senate Bill 8. Because of this novel approach, the abortion industry cannot preemptively block the law.
Of course, that did not stop abortion activists from trying. Because Texas Right to Life launched a website for whistleblowers to report violations of Senate Bill 8, abortion fanatics have targeted the organization with a frivolous lawsuit.
Abortion activists continue to try everything to stop the law, including falsely claiming Pro-Lifers are equivalent to the Taliban, and reports indicate that abortionists are taking the law seriously. The Houston Chronicle reports, “The National Abortion Federation has told doctors in Texas it will stop referring patients and sending money to clinics that offer abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.” Likewise, the Texas Equal Action Fund announced the abortion group will likely “pause” a program that involves driving mothers to elective abortion appointments in Texas.
Bhavik Kumar, an abortionist at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast in Houston, has “cleared his schedule” in order to end the lives of as many preborn babies as possible by the end of the month. After that, he told the Houston Chronicle, he will effectively be out of work in Texas. Although Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast plans to still commit elective abortions within the limits of Senate Bill 8, Kumar admitted that they will likely be unable to legally end the lives of any preborn children.
Blatantly mischaracterizing the Pro-Life law, Kumar said, “This law is senseless, it’s not in the best interest of the people of Texas. But it is the law, and if it passes, we have to comply.” Kumar ignores the almost 60,000 preborn babies killed in elective abortion each year, tiny Texans who have the Right to Life and deserve legal protection. He also ignores the mothers of these children whose lives are irrevocably altered by the death of their children. Pro-Lifers are the majority in Texas, as evidenced by the growing Sanctuary City for the Unborn movement spreading across the state.
Many abortion businesses are planning to shut down indefinitely as the law goes into effect, as many abortionists are unwilling to continue ending the lives of the preborn when they could face civil lawsuits for ending the life of a child whose beating heart can be detected. Even before the heartbeat is detected, the child’s heart forms at just 18 days after conception and is beating by about 21 days. As the public knows more about the facts of preborn Life and the development of the child in the womb, abortion is no longer seen by many as an acceptable option and is recognized as taking an innocent Life.
The chief executive of Whole Woman’s Health, Amy Hagstrom Miller, told the Houston Chronicle, “I have one physician who’s for sure willing to provide abortions and comply with S.B. 8. But the rest of my 16 physicians are still trying to figure out where their risks stop and start, and if they’re willing” to commit abortions.
Although Whole Woman’s Health plans to remain open under the guise of providing other pregnancy services, the reality is that the organization is an abortion business. If elective abortions are not available, the abortion industry will be effectively shuttered in the Lone Star State. As Texas Right to Life’s Legislative Director John Seago told the Houston Chronicle, “There’s a lot of people who are interested in this fight from different angles. And you’re going to see a lot of these people getting involved, now that they have the tools to do it.”