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Likely half of US states will implement abortion ban
It is likely over half of the US states will implement some sort of abortion ban. And over a dozen of those states have a trigger law designed to ban abortion almost automatically once Roe v Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court. Texas is one of those states.
AUSTIN, Texas - It is likely that over half of the US states will implement some sort of abortion ban after Roe v Wade was overturned last Friday. Texas is one of those states.
"This is a major decision by the court. This is a very rare decision," said Dr. Eddy Carder, Assistant Professor Of Constitutional Law And Philosophy At Prairie View A&M University.
The elimination of Roe v Wade on the federal level is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.
"They're going to be those states that will provide guidelines for access to abortion and to various abortion procedures, there will be those states that will absolutely have the most excessive and rigid obstructions, eliminating abortion, and then there's going to be the range of states in between," said Carder.
Over a dozen states, including Texas, already have a trigger law in place that is set to immediately ban abortion in this case scenario.
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"The law says if the Supreme Court overrules Roe and abortion is no longer about an option and at the federal level, then abortion will therefore be illegal in the state of Texas," said Carder.
Texas’s trigger law is set to kick into effect 30 days after the reversal of Roe.
"The trigger law in the state of Texas is aimed at those individuals who would perform or provide the abortions. Essentially, the individual who knowingly, according to the law, knowingly performs, induces, or attempts to perform an abortion is guilty of second-degree felony. If the unborn child dies as a result of that procedure, then the criminality is enhanced to a first-degree felony," said Carder.
The law is aimed at eliminating a woman’s access to getting an abortion with prison time and fines.
"The objective has been to so burden the process and to inconvenience individuals who would provide those services. That serves as a significant deterrent in addition to attaching a level of criminality with regard to providing those services," said Carder.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will officially announce when abortion if outlawed.