Editorial: US Justice Department Rightfully Sues Texas over Abortion Ban

Jenna Reiber, Copy editor

Having to cross state lines to get an abortion is the new reality for women. Additionally, those women who do seek an abortion out of state could still be prosecuted under Texas law.  Thankfully, Attorney General Merrick Garland said that the Justice Department is willing and ready to protect Texas women seeking help. 

The Texas abortion ban is wrong.

This Texas Law bans abortions after a heartbeat is detectable, which can be even earlier than six weeks along. At that point in a pregnancy, most women are still unaware that they are even pregnant. 

The law also allows citizens to sue abortion provides along with anyone that helps a woman get an abortion for up to $10,000.

To help with this, Texas Right to Life  have set up what is called a “whistleblower” website where citizens can log onto it and anonymously report anyone who helped a woman terminate her pregnancy, or the woman herself, according to NPR.

The Texas Right to Life group is very supportive of this new ban, which does help Texas to keep it enforced. Although, this ban should not be supported because it can put many women/teenage girls in a bad place.

Garland said, “The United States has the authority and the responsibility to ensure that no state can deprive individuals of their constitutional rights.” Which is exactly what Texas is doing with this new law in place.

Texas should not be allowed to force this ban upon any woman, because it is taking away safe abortion opprotunities from women, and taking away their rights as well.

The Justice Department filed suit in Texas’s capital, but Texas is in the ‘5th Circuit’, which means that it is the most conservative circuit. Unfortunately that means it will be more difficult to get this law taken down.

Banning the ability to get an abortion when a heartbeat is detected is very unconstitutional like Garland said. Let alone Texas being able to make it difficult to get any exemptions from this law.

The ban was purposely designed to make it more of a difficult process for clinics to get a federal court order to block the enforcement of the law, according to CNN. It is chilling that women may have to go to Mexico or different states just to terminate a pregnancy, all because of this new law. 

“The act is clearly unconstitutional under long standing Supreme Court precedent,” Garland said.

Many lawyers have spent a majority of their time trying to find ways to challenge the law directly, but it is very confusing and it may not work, no matter how hard they try.

If you agree that this ban is unconstitutional and wrong, donate to Planned Parenthood to keep abortions safe and available.