The U.S. Supreme Court today (Friday, June 24, 2022) issued an order to overturn Roe v. Wade, the case that made abortion constitutionally legal 50 years ago.
According to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, the Justice Department will work to protect and advance reproductive freedom. The agency will protect providers and those seeking abortions in states where it is legal, but will stand by the FDA approved use of the drug Mifepristone for medication abortions.
The court’s ruling would enable states to ban abortion; nearly half are expected to do so.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Rep. Bryan Slaton praised the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and leaving it up to states regarding the matter.
“Texas is a pro-life state, and we have taken significant action to protect the sanctity of life. Texas has also prioritized supporting women’s healthcare and expectant mothers in need to give them the necessary resources so that they can choose life for their child. I signed laws that extended Medicaid health care coverage to six months post-partum, appropriated $345 million for women’s health programs, and invested more than $100 million toward our Alternatives to Abortion program. This critical program provides counseling, mentoring, care coordination, and material assistance, such as car seats, diapers, and housing to mothers in need,” Gov. Abbott stated in a June 24 press release regarding Roe v. Wade.
District 2 Rep. Bryan Slaton also commended the Supreme Court for “standing strong to affirm the sanctity of human life,” in answer to decades spent praying and fighting to have the landmark case and law overturned. Now, Slaton said, Texas must stand firm by never forgetting or repeating the “evil that was allowed to fester in this country for nearly 50 years. For millions of innocent children, the light of life and liberty was extinguished, their futures erased, as they were killed in the womb. In this evil, our country has been complicit.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton responded to the Supreme Court ruling be declaring June 24 an annual holiday for the AG’s Office in recognition of what he called “an end to a half century of the unconstitutional and unconscionable national right to abortion.” The office closing, Paxton said, honors “the nearly 70 million unborn babies killed in the womb since 1973.”
Texas Congressman Pat Fallon (District 4) considers the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which he called a “massive federal overreach,” “a huge win for life and an ever bigger win for the United States of America.” Along with a photo of him outside the court building, Fallon in a social media post he has been “committed myself to always fight for the sanctity of life,” and feels “blessed to be on sight and bear witness to HISTORY!”
“At the end of the day — unborn children are no less alive than you and me, for precious life begins at conception. It doesn’t stop here; we must continue our fight to protect life,” Fallon posted on another social media account as his official statement at 10:26 a.m. June 24, 2022.
Before the Supreme Court decision, enacted in Texas was Senate Bill 8, which prohibits abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy and would allow private individuals to sue doctors who perform illegal abortions or individuals who in anyway assist in an abortion. Texas law as approved in SB 8 would allow no exceptions to the abortion ban. No exceptions are allowed for rape, incest
Texas is one of 13 states that enacted so called “trigger laws” prior to the news of Friday’s Supreme Court order.
According to a legal advisory issued Friday by Paxton, Texas’ trigger law would go into effect 30 days after a judgement is issued by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court issued an opinion Friday; not a judgement.“
Texas’ trigger law would making performing an abortion at any point during a pregnancy a felony. Approximately 2 dozen states are also reported to have near-total or six-week bans on abortion already in place before the court decision.
“Now the trigger bill we passed last session will take effect, but we cannot stop at pre-Roe laws. We must also completely and utterly abolish abortion in Texas. We must do so in a way that upholds and honors the 14th Amendment, and truly applies the equal protection of the laws to all people. I look forward to re-introducing the bill to abolish abortion next session, and I invite every member in the Texas Legislature to join me,” Rep. Slaton said.
