The Texas Heartbeat Act, which went into effect the first of September, bans abortion once there is a discernible heartbeat. The Supreme Court declined to block the law. Josh Blackmun explains why.

Pro-abortion activists are furious and ratcheting up the rhetoric—Texas is the Taliban etc. The Satanic Temple has gotten involved and is challenging the law under “freedom of religion.”

Catherine Glenn Foster of Americans United for Life explains and applauds the law;  her colleague Steven H. Aden agrees, yet warns it may only be a temporary victory if we can’t get rid of Roe.

The civilian reporting aspect of the law has given even pro-lifers pause, but there has also been much misreporting as well as confusion about how it works. Foster explains:

Importantly, no one seeking an abortion can be sued and no woman can be prosecuted under this Texas law. Rather the law is about holding abortion businesses and abortionists themselves accountable for protecting life after a heartbeat can be detected, and establishes a way for any Texan to hold an abortionist accountable if an abortion after six weeks takes place.

Lets hear from some Texans!  First, the Human Life Review‘s senior editor, William Murchison, who  writes that Texas keeps on resisting Roe:

History, thy ironies! — they spin; they box the compass. The new law is Texan in origin. From the material of Texas law came the original federal clampdown on the right of states to protect unborn life as a matter of right. The Wade in Roe v. Wade was the district attorney of Dallas, defending the state’s prohibition of abortion in most circumstances against the claims of a woman — Roe in judicial usage — who subsequently renounced the whole idea that abortion was fine and dandy and Nobody’s Business But the Mother’s. By which time it was a little late, of course, but her point stands. The high court will consider it this fall when the Mississippi case comes on for argument.

And his fellow Texan, Kevin Williamson, in National Review Online asks if this is The End Roe Deserves?

The Texas law is, as you may have heard, a goofy one, a Rube Goldberg–worthy contraption of legal machinery designed to preempt the kinds of legal challenges that have undone other early-stage abortion bans. To that extent, it would be precisely the end Roe v. Wade really deserves: Roe was an implausible bit of canned legal maneuvering that retrofitted a risibly light “constitutional” pretext onto an outcome that already had been arrived at to satisfy political and cultural demands having nothing at all to do with the law, and the Texas law is an equally contrived means of partly reversing it.

And what about those who actually work with abortion-minded women in Texas? Are they ready for an influx?

Pro-life groups say they are ready: “Organizations like mine will not rest because we are actively helping women facing unexpected pregnancies,” stated Chelsey Youman, Texas legislative director for the group Human Coalition Action.  But some in Texas are asking ask their fellow Texans to step up and change more than laws.  Destiny  Herndon de la Rosa of New Wave Feminists, writes:

You got your law. Now the real work begins. It’s no longer an option to ignore these broken systems. Now it’s a necessity to fix them. . . .  Nobody grows up “wanting” to get an abortion. They often make that “choice” because it feels like they have no other real options. No matter what the laws are, we must focus just as much time, money, and energy on building systems that prevent unintended pregnancies in the first place, and fighting against broken ones that make pregnancy a liability for so many people in our state. The humanity of the unborn should absolutely be protected. As Consistent Life Feminists, we believe in bodily autonomy from the moment our bodies first come into existence. These children must be humanized but so should their parents.

And Amy Ford, of Embrace Grace,  shared a social media post on their Facebook site:

CHURCHES:

What are you doing to help women with unexpected pregnancies PRACTICALLY?

What are you doing to help women with unexpected pregnancies EMOTIONALLY?

What are you doing to help women with unexpected pregnancies SPIRITUALLY?

If you don’t have an answer for all 3 of the questions above, you’re not ready ….you better get ready. Your time is up.

Start an Embrace Grace, Inc. group at your church immediately! The time is now! Together, we can make abortion unthinkable by using the greatest tool ever – LOVE! #prolove #embracegrace #helpherbebrave www.EmbraceGrace.com

Finally, the latest news and more about the Act  can be found at the website of Texas Right to Life.