![]() For example, subsection (b) of section 171.205 “requires a physician who performs or induces an abortion under circumstances described by Subsection (a) to make written notations in the pregnant woman’s medical record of the physician’s belief that a medical emergency necessitated the abortion and of the medical condition of the pregnant woman that prevented compliance with this subchapter.” Senate Committee and VoteĪs this was a Senate Bill, it began in the senate where it was assigned to the State Affairs committee. So these sections make sure that physicians make sure to check for a heartbeat but also goes a bit a further. We’ve been asked quite a few questions about how this impacts physicians and this is covered in sections 171.204 and 171.205 of the the bill. The official author as listed on the Bill stages however is Senator Bryan Hughes from Texas state District 1 (think Bowie, Camp, Cass, Franklin.etc). One typically finds this on pieces of historic legislation, or bills with quite a bit of party wide support, as representatives want to have their name on early stages of the bill. We won’t even bother naming the list of cosponsors but let’s just say it’s more than double the list of authors. A dicey issue for sure but, as far as the official bill author goes, the bill was presented by more then a dozen authors including (by last name): Hughes, Bettencourt, Birdwell, Buckingham, Campbell, Creighton, Hall, Hancock, Huffman, Kolkhorst, Lucio, Nelson, Paxton, Perry, Schwertner, Springer, and Taylor. Well, as we’ve discussed, bills are often written by nonprofits and lobbyists at the federal level. The doctor in this case, will become liable in civil court if they do not perform these actions. This is an attempt to avoid cases where the doctor will perform an abortion and argue that it was done for the safety of the mother (without providing evidence). If an abortion is performed, the doctor must make explicit notes about the patients medical record.Now starting to get more controversial, the Senator’s third argument is that the bill requires that doctor’s check to see if the fetus has a heartbeat.The Bill overturns existing codes related to Health and safety, as well as Civil procedures (we’ll get to in subsequent sections).In the first premise, the author states that 20 weeks (the current law prior to September 1, 2021) is well beyond the time when a fetus is viable. A fetuses heartbeat is a primary predictor of whether a fetus will reach a live birth.Whatever criticisms of the bill one may have, the statement of intent is, at the very least, clear. Though you can read the full bill here, the bill makes four assertions or claims to the purpose and reasoning of the bill in its statement of intent. We’ll walk through the bill stages but first give an overview of what the bill does, how it impacts physicians, and what this means going forward. These bills are based on model legislation from Faith2Action Ministries, a Christian anti-abortion organization that defines a fetal heartbeat as a marker of “an unborn human individual.Texas’ version of the heartbeat bill overturned many existing laws and practices regarding how Abortion was regulated (and how that regulation is enforced). Similar “heartbeat bills” have been passed in other states but were eventually blocked by federal courts before going into effect. It’s incredibly unconstitutional,” said Aimee Arrambide, executive director of the statewide abortion rights group Avow Texas. But what it is in reality is just a ban on abortion at six weeks’ gestation, which is two weeks after a missed period. “ is intentionally written that way in order to evoke an emotional response. Still, abortion rights groups and women’s health advocates emphasize that the label is intentionally misleading. Trying to say, we’re not using the most scientific, accurate terms, just like the unborn child versus fetus debate, that doesn’t change the moral importance of that,” Seago said. “We can parse out what the scientific description is, but it’s kind of like using the term unborn child instead of fetus, it’s still the same biological reality.
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