Holly Gibbard

HEARTBEAT BILLS:

THE LATEST STRATEGY IN THE FIGHT TO BAN ABORTION

Introduction

Since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, there has been a strong pro-life movement aimed at prohibiting abortions. Recently, individual states have been passing heartbeat bills. A heartbeat bill is a bill that prohibits abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected (Estep). The states that have already passed these types of bills are Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri (Lai). The fetal heartbeat can be detected as early as five weeks (Medical News Today), which causes a problem because many women do not even know they are pregnant by the fifth week (Lai). These heartbeat bills violate a woman’s constitutional right to obtain an abortion, which is protected by the 14th Amendment, therefore the federal government needs to step in to protect abortion rights.

The Legality of Heartbeat Bills

In 1973, the Supreme Court decided on the Roe v. Wade case that a woman has the right to obtain an abortion, under the right to privacy in the 14^th Amendment (oyez). Individual states cannot prohibit a woman from getting an abortion before the fetus is viable, which is at 24-28 weeks of pregnancy around the start of the third trimester (Lai). After the fetus is viable, states can decide whether or not to allow, prohibit, or restrict abortion (Oyez). The recent heartbeat bills are in violation of a woman’s 14^th Amendment rights because of the Roe v. Wade precedent.

A fetal heartbeat is only detectable as early as 5 weeks using a transvaginal ultrasound (Medical News Today). A transabdominal ultrasound detects a heartbeat around 8-12 weeks of pregnancy (North and Kim). Planned Parenthood refers to the anti-abortion legislations as six-week bans not heartbeat bills because the “heartbeat” that is detectable through a transvaginal ultrasound at 5-6 weeks of pregnancy is not a heartbeat, but a movement by a fetal pole (North and Kim). A fetal pole is an appendage made of tissues that comes out of the developing heart (North and Kim). At this stage, the heart is not fully formed so it is up for debate whether this movement can even be deemed a heartbeat (North and Kim).

Legally, a fetus is not a person until they are born. By restricting abortion on the grounds that a fetus is a person, many issues arise regarding the fetus’s rights. If a fetus is a person, should mothers begin collecting child support when she finds out she is pregnant instead of when the child is born? (Chatman) If a fetus is a person, could an illegal immigrant who conceived her child in the U.S. be deported even though technically her child is a U.S. citizen because they were conceived on U.S. soil? (Chatman) If a fetus is a person, could the mother insure the fetus and collect if she miscarries? (Chatman) All of these questions posed above are issues that arise when a fetus is regarded as a person from conception.

A Look at Some States Implementing Restrictions on Abortion

Georgia

In Georgia, doctors who provide abortions could get up to ten years in prison (North and Kim). The laws in Georgia also do not directly state what would happen to a woman who performs her own abortion (North and Kim). This leaves the door open for women who perform their own abortions to possibly be charged with murder if the fetus is considered a person from conception (North and Kim).

Alabama

Alabama recently implemented a complete ban on abortion, with no exception for rape or incest (Chatman). This goes beyond the heartbeat bills introduced in other states, even though those are basically complete bans as well. Ohio is another state that does not allow exceptions to the restrictive legislation for rape or incest. In Alabama, a fetus is considered a person from conception, regardless of viability (Chatman).

Texas – (all Najmabadi) <- ignore that pls

On March 30, 2021 the Senate of Texas passed various pieces of legislation imposing significant restrictions on abortion. The legislation still has to go through the House and Governor.  If federal abortion laws are changed or Roe v. Wade is overturned and these abortion bills stand, doctors who violate the laws could be faced with up to a $100,000 fine. To compare, the maximum fine for sexual assaults in Texas is $10,000.

There are some exceptions for medical reasons, but not for rape or incest. Additionally, late term abortions in the case of birth defects or a baby who would not survive very long outside of the womb are also prohibited. The woman will be forced to carry to term even though her baby will not survive, and then she will be provided resources for how to handle her terminal child.

Why Now?

Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, which is almost 50 years ago, so why are heartbeat bills only being introduced now? The appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court created a conservative 5-4 majority (Lai). Conservatives and anti-abortion activists saw this as their opportunity to pass strict abortion laws that will hopefully be challenged and go to the Supreme Court (Lai). The Supreme Court can then either uphold or overturn Roe v. Wade (Lai). Conservatives are even more empowered now to get a case dealing with abortion rights to the Supreme Court because as of late 2020 there is a conservative supermajority after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a left-leaning judge, and the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett, a right-leaning judge who is known for being against abortion (Lai).

Negative Effects of Restricting Abortions

There are many negative effects to implementing harsh restrictions on abortion, some of which are listed below:

• Liberty is one of the core ideals of the American culture and the Constitution. Abortion restrictions violate a woman’s right to liberty over what she does with her own body (On the Issues).
• 49% of women who get abortions live below the federal poverty line, so abortion restrictions will disproportionately affect poor women (Wind).
• The abortion rate for Black women is 27.1 per 1,000 women. The abortion rate for white women is 10 per 1,000. Abortion restrictions will disproportionately affect black women, which is another example of institutional racism (Wind).
• Abortion restrictions do not stop abortions from happening, it just makes them illegal and unsafe. This puts both the mother and fetus at risk. Restricting abortions actually causes a slight increase in abortions (Estep).
• In 1965 (before abortion was legal federally), illegal abortions were 17% of maternal deaths. About 200 women died that year from illegal abortions. These are only the reported deaths, but there was most likely more (Gold).
• 6% of abortions (20 million procedures) worldwide are unsafe. ~68,000 women die of unsafe abortions each year, which accounts for 13% of all maternal deaths due to pregnancy or childbirth. 5 million of the surviving women will face long-term health effects from the unsafe procedure (Haddad and Nour).
• Women who cannot get abortion but want one are 4x more likely to live below the poverty level (Estep).
• Women who are not able to have an abortion but want one are more than twice as likely to become victims of domestic violence (Estep).

Effective Ways to Lower Abortion Rates and What the Federal Government Can Do

In the United States, 50% of pregnancies are unplanned and 90% of abortions are the result of unplanned pregnancies (Williams). From 2008-2014 there was a decline in the rate of abortions which could be attributed to more widespread use of contraceptives (Wind). If anti-abortion activists actually want to reduce the number of abortions, they should support legislation and programs that provide free birth control. The most effective forms of contraception are IUDs (intrauterine devices) and implants, but they can be very expensive and might not be covered by insurance (Williams). Free birth control leads to less unplanned pregnancies, which leads to abortions decreasing by 62-78% (Williams).

The federal government also needs to take action to protect a woman’s right to get an abortion. Cory Booker, a Democratic Senator from New Jersey, discussed some of his ideas of what he would do to protect abortion if he was elected President in the Democratic Primary Debates for the 2020 Election. His first idea is to codify Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to have an abortion (On the Issues). His next idea is to create an Office of Reproductive Freedom and Reproductive Rights in the White House (On the Issues). These two ideas are great steps for policymakers to implement to protect a woman’s right to choose.

Conclusion

The Democrats are the more pro-choice party, and right now they control both houses of Congress and the Executive Branch, which is why now is the time for Democratic lawmakers to take action to protect American women’s right to obtain an abortion. The heartbeat bills that are being introduced in several states across the country could have far reaching negative impacts. Restricting access to safe, legal abortions have serious socioeconomic, physical, and mental/emotional effects. Additionally, the heartbeat bills violate a woman’s constitutional right to privacy, and they create problems in other areas if a fetus is considered a person. In order to effectively lower abortion rates without infringing on someone’s liberty, free contraception programs should be supported, not bills that prohibit abortion before most women even know they are pregnant.

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