September 1, 2021, was the day the Texas Heartbeat Act was commenced. The law takes away women’s rights to their own bodies by prohibiting abortions after six weeks of being pregnant. In case you didn’t know, most women are unaware that they are pregnant before those weeks. To make the situation worse, there are no exceptions for rape nor incest.  

Having this law in Texas creates insurmountable difficulties for vulnerable groups, including teenagers who don’t realize they are pregnant until later, low-income individuals who need to come up with $550 for the procedure, people of color who can face maternal mortality meaning the pregnant women can pass away while being pregnant or within 42 days after giving birth to the child, undocumented immigrants who may have trouble getting to a location with an abortion clinic, and women with chronic illnesses that can find having a pregnancy life-threatening. Some minors may also face obstacles with their appointment because they need parent or guardian permission which in some cases the minor may need to bring to court. 

This saddening law doesn’t stop there but also allows private citizens to sue anyone that provides a ride or financial assistance towards someone in need of an abortion. To top that the person who sues doesn’t need to show any connection to those who are getting sued. Again there are no exceptions for someone who was raped or a pregnancy involving incest. You probably think things couldn’t get any worse but sadly they do. The person who brings this to court can receive $10,000 for trying to punish women for doing what is best for them personally. 

What needs to be brought to attention as well is this law will not stop abortion but is stopping safe abortions. Illegal abortions can be done or at home abortions which puts the women’s lives in danger. There are many reasons a woman gets pregnant without wanting to have a baby including condom break, partner taking the condom off without consent, an abusive partner, being raped at any age including the young age of eleven, women who have trauma from adoption and don’t want another person going through that, women’s lives being in danger with continuing the pregnancy, and just not being ready to have a child. All these reasons to have an abortion should be okay because it is the women’s choice it is their body. 

No law, government, or politicians should take control over somebody else’s body and right to their own bodies. Men who do not have a uterus should not even be thinking about what others with a uterus are able to do with their own bodies. If someone doesn’t agree with the choice of having an abortion then they don’t have to get one but they should not put their beliefs on someone else who may not share those same options including religious beliefs. We live in a world where many people have different religions, one person’s religious beliefs on women’s bodies should not affect all women. An individual knows their own body more than anyone else in the world, they should have the right of doing what is best for them and their body.