On Wednesday, May 19, Texas signed the Heartbeat Bill into law. Many pro-lifers are saying that this is the “strongest pro-life legislation” that exists currently.
The Texas Heartbeat Act (SB8) prohibits abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy since that is when a heartbeat can first be detected. In the midst of federal courts blocking other states’ heartbeat bills, Texas carefully wrote up this bill, making it almost impossible for the courts to stop.
This law will require the doctors to check for a heartbeat on the child and inform the mother that her unborn child has a heartbeat if they detect it. Once they inform the mother, they must do all they can to protect the life of the child.
“The Texas Heartbeat law is very simple, if a heartbeat is detected, the baby must be protected. We are proud that Texas, Gov. Abbott, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers are leading the way with the strongest heartbeat law in the country. SB8 is designed to withstand the usual legal challenges and will protect babies in the womb from abortion,” Jonathan Saenz, president and attorney for Texas Values, explained.
It is understood by many that a heartbeat is tangible proof that life exists. Of course we know that life begins at conception, but the concrete sign of a heartbeat helps others to recognize an unborn child as a living human.
Texas is not the first state to pass a heartbeat bill. Since 2013, over a dozen states have passed similar laws: Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and most recently Idaho and Oklahoma.
While ideally life will someday be protected from conception, it is always cause for celebration when incremental steps are taken to improve the protection of all human life. Each and every step is progress! To learn more about what Illinois Right to Life does to protect life, please visit our website.
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