Texas Governor Greg Abbott just signed a bill banning the safest and most effective procedure for abortion in the second trimester of pregnancy. It is called a D&E (Dilation & Evacuation). It is now prohibited even in cases of rape and incest. The only way a woman can get the procedure is if she has a medical emergency.
The San Antonio Current reports:
“The only alternatives to D&E are making a woman go through labor and deliver the fetus or going under the knife for a procedure similar to a hysterectomy — both procedures that abortion doctors say are incredibly risky and expensive.”
The law also bans the sale of fetal tissue and “partial-birth” abortions, even though both of these are already illegal. Also, the bill requires burial or cremation for aborted or miscarried fetuses.
Several states have already tried to enact similar measures requiring fetal burials and they were struck down by courts. In fact, Texas tried to do the same thing earlier this year, and the law was struck down in Federal Court – twice.
Nancy Northup, president, and CEO of the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights said:
“Our Constitution protects a woman’s fundamental right to access reproductive health care without needless barriers, and we will continue fighting for decisions like this wherever politicians choose to ignore that right.”
Texas Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists wrote the following in a letter to the Texas Department of State Health Services:
“Mandating that fetal tissue at any point in gestation be collected for cremation or interment could become a cruel mandate on a woman who is experiencing the grief and trauma of losing a very wanted pregnancy.”
Texas has a similar history of trying to pass Draconian anti-abortion laws. The Supreme Court struck down Texas’s House Bill 2 law that required abortion clinics to be outfitted like surgical centers and the doctors to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. It forced a lot of clinics to close, creating undue burden by way of financial and logistical problems for women trying to get abortions.
Politicians have no room in women’s medical decisions. This new law will hurt a lot of women who are needing this procedure.
Watch this video for more information about Texas’ restrictive and unlawful abortion bans (after the jump):
Featured image via Twitter.
