Thu Sep 30, 2021 – 5:02 pm EDTThu Sep 30, 2021 – 5:03 pm EDT
AUSTIN, Texas (LifeSiteNews) — Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has rejected a proposal to add exceptions for rape and incest to the heartbeat-based abortion ban the Lone Star State enacted in early September, making clear the law’s purpose was to “protect every child with a heartbeat.”
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.”
Last week, Republican state Rep. Lyle Larson, who voted for the heartbeat law, introduced legislation to add rape and incest exceptions, claiming in a letter to Abbott it was a “common sense fix”
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