Rick Perry the Governor of Texas has signed a law restricting the availability of abortions in his state. The Republican governor was able to ban all abortions in Texas after 20-weeks of pregnancy using House Bill 2.
Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that determined abortion is a private issue says an abortion may be performed as late as 24-weeks into a pregnancy. Roe vs. Wade also says that a state cannot legally deny a woman an abortion as such an act violates the 14th Amendment.
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State criminal abortion laws, like those involved here, that except from criminality only a life-saving procedure on the mother's behalf without regard to the stage of her pregnancy and other interests involved violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects against state action the right to privacy, including a woman's qualified right to terminate her pregnancy.
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Roe vs. Wade was fought in Texas over the state's abortion laws. Now Rick Perry has signed a bill that will essentially close down all but three abortion clinics in the state. The new law requires that all abortion clinics operate as ambulatory surgical centers. This measure forces doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30-miles of the clinic.
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Democrats and pro-choice advocates say this bill is a blatant assault on a woman's right to make her own decisions regarding her body and her health. Republicans say it is a measure taken to safeguard women's health.
As of right now there are 42 abortion clinics in the state of Texas. The restrictions placed on them by House Bill 2 will force almost all to close down indefinitely if not permanently as they try to adhere to the state's new policies. This means expensive renovations and relocation for some clinics.
Democrat and state Senator Wendy Davis and her party worked hard to kill the bill before it reached the governor's desk. Six months ago the governor swore to make abortion at any stage of pregnancy "a thing of the past."
Davis led a successful 13-hour filibuster resulting in the bill being declared dead. Rick Perry would not accept this decision and called a second special session to push the bill through, despite democratic objections.
As of this morning Texas has passed one of the toughest abortion laws in the country.
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