The Texas Heartbeat law went into effect this week when a law in Texas. The law rules that if a heartbeat is detected, then abortion is not permitted to be done on the baby.
Although the Supreme Court could still overturn the law at any time, pro-life advocates celebrated what they saw as a watershed moment in the decades-long legal and political battle against abortion on demand.
In a statement made by the Texas Right to Life organization, the state is the first to enforce the heartbeat law. The president of Live Action said in a Tweet, “The new Texas Heartbeat law will save the lives of an average of 150 children each day.”
Abortion clinics have petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the law, claiming that it prohibits 85 percent of abortions in the state. At around six weeks of pregnancy, a fetal heartbeat is usually detected. Abortion rights activists, on the other hand, have found the law difficult to challenge because it prohibits state officials from enforcing it. Instead, it gives citizens the right to sue abortion clinics that violate the law.
Texas Right to Life legislative director John Seago described the Supreme Court appeal as the abortion industry’s “last desperate attempt to prevent the life-saving Texas Heartbeat Act from taking effect on Wednesday.”
The law was lauded by many including Ed Whelan, a senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He said, “The Texas Heartbeat Act was written this way to prevent abortion providers from obtaining pre-enforcement relief against state officials.” He also called the law “innovative” and “brilliant”.
Some areas of the law state that “Texas has compelling interests from the outset of a woman’s pregnancy in protecting the health of the woman and the life of the unborn child.”
According to abortion clinics, the law will prohibit about 85 percent of abortions in the state.
Praise the Lord for those who fight for the right of the unborn!