Fri Sep 17, 2021 – 4:53 pm EDT
ATLANTA (LifeSiteNews) — In addition to temporarily stopping most abortions in the Lone Star State and putting more pressure on the U.S. Supreme Court to finally reassess its standing abortion jurisprudence, the Texas Heartbeat Act has sparked interest in similar laws in other states, including Georgia.
Signed in May and put into effect on September 1, the Texas Heartbeat Act requires abortionists to screen for a preborn baby’s heartbeat and prohibits abortion if a heartbeat can be heard (generally as early as six weeks), with exceptions only for medical emergencies.
Instead of having the state prosecute violators, the law “exclusively” empowers private citizens to bring civil suits against abortionists, punishable by a minimum of $10,000 in statutory relief per abortion plus whatever additional injunctive relief is deemed “sufficient to prevent the defendant from violating this chapter or engaging in acts that aid or abet violations of this chapter.”
This unique enforcement mechanism has been credited for the U.S. Supreme Court’s surprising decision not to block the law from taking effect, as well as the decisions of abortion chains Planned Parenthood and Whole Woman’s Health to temporarily suspend abortions
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