Kaicie Boeglin
Editor-in-Chief
Nina Totenberg, SCOTUS reporter for NPR said it best, the Supreme Court “tossed a legal bomb into the abortion debate”. There is a deeper issue beyond pro-life and pro-choice for women who find themselves in this situation. Our rights are being threatened. Roe vs. Wade is under constant attack and yet little to no one will notice until it is too late. Refuse to let your mind see this as a dormant issue as it is a secret political weapon.
Rhode Island U.S. congressman Jim Langevin, who once was pro-life, has come forward with an evolved stance on the issue. The evolved stance is the common sense females have continuously stated. A women's right on her reproductive health should not be decided upon by the opposite sex. Langevin is commendable in coming forward as he understands males do not give birth, just as testosterone is not estrogen. It is also honorable to see a long term pro-lifer evolve their stance because they want women to have time to make the choice.
Grassroots pressure can reshape the current Rhode Island abortion laws. As the Supreme Court allows Texas to go on with the law banning abortions after six weeks- before most women gain knowledge or symptoms of their pregnancy- the mission to out-extreme the current abortion rules continue. Republican controlled states are pushing a boundary of weaponizing a deeply rooted personal issue for women.
State lawmakers in Arkansas, Florida, South Dakota, Idaho, Indiana and Oklahoma,
have come forward on social media saying they will attempt to mimic the near-total abortion ban. This brings into question: will every state try to induce the private citizen sue-ing cycle, thus protecting the states through sovereign immunity.
The Texas' bid to ban abortion is supported through soverign immunity as being a state without legal risk. In a breakdown, the new law not only bans abortions after six weeks, but also encourages private citizens to sue anyone aiding in an abortion. This means the state itself can never be sued in federal court. The state government is locking themselves away in a fortress watching the people fight one another while dismantling hope and faith.
The doctrine of sovereign immunity allows people to sue states only if they're targeting the official who enforces a law. As Texas is saying there is no such official to sue because citizens are suing one another, there's no way to bring this constitutional challenge to court.
Texas is avoiding Roe vs. Wade due to the possibility of having to pay attorneys' fees if the state were to lose any constitutional challenge. PBS reporter John Yang illustrates in an interview with Mary Ziegler that the Texas briefs in the Texas SB8 bill never mention Roe vs. Wade. This bill, which went into effect as a law in early September, was a solid attempt to maneuver around Roe vs. Wade rather than confronting it. Neglecting to acknowledge the Roe decision is neglecting the voices and screams of the women who earned us this right. The new Texas law will not provide an abortion to a women past six weeks even in cases of rape.
The higher authority is composed of males complaining about the overpopulation problem and inevitable food shortage, yet they’re forcing women who aren’t physically, mentally or financially ready to have as many children as possible. Mainstream news outlets lack a display of facts and do not represent stories in a correct time frame. All women today refuse to waltz silently back to the 1950’s, yet little realize their rights are being threatened. Help push the movement of the Women’s Health Protection Act by following the current abortion issue and spreading the word.