Texas’ abortion law brings lawsuits, activism

Haya Panjwani
3 min readOct 14, 2021
Activists at the University of Houston bring signs to demonstrate against SB8. | Haya Panjwani

On May 19, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed one of the most restrictive abortion law’s in the nation into effect starting Sept. 1, Senate Bill 8, or as conservatives in the state have dubbed it, “the heartbeat bill”.

The law was signed amid a continuing effort by Republican lawmakers, at both the state and national level, to restrict abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected in a woman’s womb.

The Texas Tribune reports in a story that came out shortly after the law was passed, that opponents of the law call this an “outright ban” on abortions, since the six-week cutoff is two weeks after a missed menstrual cycle.

This top priority piece of legislation for Republicans creates a loophole for the government, making it so that any individual citizen can sue those who try to get, or try to assist someone looking to get an abortion.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayer called state lawmakers, “bounty hunters,” according to another story by the Texas Tribune that details how a lawsuit shortly after the law was put into effect played out.

Organizations like Planned Parenthood shared some accounts of the impact Senate Bill 8 has had on women in the state with the 19th News. One story shared with the platform details a woman’s journey of having to carry the child of her former abusive partner.

The 19th wrote, “Finding out she was pregnant just as she was starting to rebuild her life away from her abuser has been devastating. “There was just no way that I could physically, mentally, emotionally go through that again,” the patient said in an interview for the brief.”

The story continued and said, “But that might be her only choice, as she is not able to currently get an abortion in Texas under SB 8 and is unsure if she will be able to take time off from work and arrange for child care.”

Others in the state, like a doctor from San Antonio named Alan Braid, admitted in a Washington Post Op-Ed that he violated the abortion law and continued performing the procedure.

As a result, the Washington Post also reported Braid faced at least one lawsuit from Oscar Stilley, an attorney from Arkansas.

Stilley told the Post, “If the law is no good, why should we have to go through a long, drawn-out process to find out if it’s garbage?”

The law has seen legal challenge at the national level, with a circuit court appeal that halted the “heartbeat bill” for about two days, according to Vox News. The article continues to say, that the halt came after U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman issued a ruling, stating that Senate Bill 8 is “an unprecedented and transparent statutory scheme.”

Women are also at greater risk for maternal mortality, as Time Magazine details.

An analysis the publication conducted in response to a report found that “the state could see increases in maternal mortality of up to 15% overall, and up to 33% for Black women next year,” based on research data that finds correlations to maternal mortality and restrictions on abortion.

While the law still remains in place, advocates against the legislation continue to make their voices heard at the city, state and national levels.

Activists at the University of Houston make speeches against SB8. | Haya Panjwani

“This bill makes abortions functionally illegal, as well as allowing vigilantes to sue,” said Social Alternative member and air pollution Ph.D student Alex Spike at the University of Houston. “Making it so that anyone who receives, assists in or even performs an abortion hesitant.”

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Haya Panjwani

Journalism & Political Science student @ University of Houston