December 02, 2021
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Texas law banning medication induced abortions after seven weeks goes into effect - Chron

Lila Bonow, Alana Edmondson and Aiyana Knauer prepare to take abortion pill while demonstrating in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices hear hear arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, a case about a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks, on December 01, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Lila Bonow, Alana Edmondson and Aiyana Knauer prepare to take abortion pill while demonstrating in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices hear hear arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, a case about a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks, on December 01, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Under the measure, those who "intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly" violate the provisions of the bill would be committing a "state jail felony" and can be fined up to $10,000 or face between 180 days and two years in prison. Previous law allowed physicians to provide such medication to patients who were up to 10 weeks pregnant.

State data shows medical abortion is the most common way women in Texas terminate their pregnancies. In 2020, medical abortions accounted for 53 percent of terminated pregnancies in the state, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. Early non-surgical, medication abortions were first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000 and typically involve the combination of two pills: mifepristone and misoprostol.

Critics of the new restrictions on abortion-inducing medication worry more women will turn to "self-managed" abortions, in which pregnant people obtain the medications from out-of-state or international providers, according to the Texas Tribune.

"Texas is looking at the ways that people are navigating around restrictions and trying to essentially make that as unsafe and as frightening for people as possible in order to deter them," Farah Diaz-Tello, senior legal counsel for reproductive justice legal group If/When/How, told the Tribune.

The Tribune also reported that even before the new law, Texas already had some of the most strict rules regarding abortion medication in the country. Research from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows Texas is one of 19 states that prohibits the medications from being prescribed using an online doctor visit.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court began hearing arguments in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which centers on a 2018 Mississippi law banning almost all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The court is expecting to issue a ruling in June.

The case could potentially overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade case, which gave women the right to an abortion. The overturning of Roe v. Wade would trigger laws fully criminalizing abortion in 12 states, including Texas and Mississippi. The justices have still not made a decision on Texas' controversial Senate Bill 8, which prohibits abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy and is enforced by private citizens. It is currently under legal review.



source: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/Texas-abortion-medication-law-7-weeks-16669186.php

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