The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Texas on grounds of a highly controversial anti-abortion law, which Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) signed earlier this month, and it is “in open defiance of the Constitution," according to the New York Post.
Senate Bill 8, or the Texas Heartbeat Bill, relates "to abortion, including abortions after detection of an unborn child's heartbeat; authorizing a private civil right of action," according to LegiScan.
NPR reports that the law permits private citizens to file lawsuits against abortion providers and anyone else who helps a woman obtain an abortion, including anyone who gives a ride to a clinic or provides financial support.
The law does not provide exceptions to those who are pregnant through rape or incest.
Abbott has falsely claimed that the law “provides at least six weeks for a person to be able to get an abortion." The Los Angeles Times breaks down why Abbott has the timing wrong.
"Here's why: Pregnancy as doctors measure it typically lasts 40 weeks, or about 10 months, not nine months," the Los Angeles Times reported. "That’s because they start the clock on the first day of the woman’s last menstrual period before the pregnancy, even though at that point the egg and sperm are still weeks away from meeting. So on the first day of what will be described as your “pregnancy,” you are definitively not at all pregnant."
Week one of pregnancy, in reality, is the first day of a woman's last period where the uterus sheds its lining that was prepared for a possible pregnancy the month prior. During the second week, a woman's body prepares itself to release an egg during ovulation. Week three would be when someone conceives a child due to the egg and sperm joining together, typically around 14 days after the first day of a woman's period. Week four consists of when a woman with a normal period cycle would have her period if she is not pregnant, typically around day 28 of her monthly cycle.
"Most people are not trying to get pregnant every month of their lives," the Los Angeles Times reports. "And plenty of people who menstruate don’t have perfect 28-day cycles. A period being a few days late isn’t something a lot of people would even notice. Medical conditions, stress, certain types of contraception or even a recent COVID-19 vaccination can all interfere with a menstrual cycle. Some people just naturally have cycles that last 30 days, or 35 days, or 40 or more."
The Los Angeles Times also reported that bleeding a little is not abnormal in early pregnancy.
"A person might notice spotting and assume she’s gotten her period. It could be days, weeks or even months before she realizes it wasn’t menstrual blood. In fact, many of the common symptoms of early pregnancy — bloating, fatigue, hunger, sore breasts — can easily be mistaken for signs of an impending period."
Abbott is facing harsh criticism after passing the bill from both citizens and lawmakers alike.
“In case no one has informed him before in his life, six weeks pregnant means two weeks late on your period," U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said, The Guardian reported. "And two weeks late on your period, for any person with a menstrual cycle, can happen if you’re stressed, if your diet changes, or for really no reason at all. So you don’t have six weeks.”
