Policy Analysis: The Texas Heartbeat Act

Policy Analysis: The Texas Heartbeat Act

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Policy Analysis: The Texas Heartbeat Act

1.0  Introduction

1.1 Overview

The sexual and reproductive health of women is related to multiple human rights, including the right to be free from torture, the right to life, privacy, the prohibition of discrimination, and the right to education. The woman body has almost thrice as many policies and regulations seeking to control it compared to their male counterparts. Looking at history, however, this phenomenon should not come as a surprise. Historically, women's sexuality and fertility have been subjected to obsessive control by individual men, the family, and even the state. Therefore, the most recent Texas Heartbeat Bill is nothing new under the sun. Indeed, the bill is part of abortion restriction laws that have emerged recently – since 2018 – in the United States. States such as Ohio, Georgia, Missouri, Alabama, Kentucky, and South Carolina have passed similar bills, with Texas' being the latest. The Texas Heartbeat Act (or Bill) has received both support and backlash in the same breath leading to a divided public opinion. In reaction to these differences, the current paper presents a policy analysis of the new Texas legislation through a critical analysis of underlying issues and their implications to key stakeholders: the public.

1.2 The Texas Heartbeat Bill

            The Texas Heartbeat Bill illegalizes abortion once fetal cardiac activity is detected. Typically, fetal cardiac activity can be detected six weeks after menstruation, a stage at which most women know they are pregnant. Further, the law allows private citizens to sue abortion providers or women who get abortions beyond six weeks. The law promises private citizens $10,000 if they successfully sue those who violate the act's provisions. In other words, a relative or any other private citizen can sue a woman for getting an abortion for pregnancies older than six weeks or the abortion service provider, including institutions, facilities, individuals, and private care providers. The law bans anyone who impregnates a woman through incest or rape from filing a lawsuit while limiting the ability of abortion services providers from suing the state to stop restrictive abortion laws from taking effect. Women with pregnancies resulting from rape or incest are not exempted. Beyond the six weeks, they are banned from seeking abortion services while provide...