As you’re walking into a grocery store you overhear a woman refusing to wear a mask, despite being in a global pandemic. She screams, “My body, my choice.” All this ruckus over a simple piece of cloth.

This is how women and teenage girls in Texas feel except it’s not a piece of cloth that’s restricting them but their own governor, as he is slowly stripping their reproductive rights away from them. 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the strictest abortion law in our nation which prevents abortions after six weeks, even in pregnancies of rape or incest. The law is also known as Senate Bill 8 (S.B.8) and it commenced on September 1, 2021. 

This law also lets anyone sue someone who has helped a women get an abortion after six weeks which includes medical professionals such as doctors and nurses to their own friends and family.

Six weeks is nowhere near enough time to find out if you’re pregnant. The American Pregnancy Association states that women mainly discover their pregnancy in about four to seven weeks. It’s the equivalence of missing one full menstrual cycle, also having an irregular menstrual cycle is very common.

 In fact, Teens Health, a website physicians contribute to, claims that irregular periods can be caused by stress, medications like birth control, overworking your body with exercise, and not eating enough calories.

Women in Texas now have to find ways around this law. If someone is in need of an abortion after six weeks, they will either have to travel out of state to seek care or be forced to carry and endure the pregnancy against their will. Either way both of these choices are very traumatizing.

Going to neighboring states like New Mexico, Louisiana, and Oklahoma will cause a higher demand for abortions all over the southwest. Also, those surrounding states have fewer than four abortion clinics while Texas has 10. The longer a woman has to wait, the more it will cost. 

As stated by NCBI, National Center for Biotech Information, on average patients pay $500-$700 for a surgical abortion during the first-trimester, around $1,195 during the second-trimester and a later term abortion can cost around $3,000 or more.

Women and teens that are in low-income situations now have to miss work and probably don’t have enough money to travel to another state and stay overnight. Leaving the state honestly isn’t an option for everyone, it’s very time consuming and it’s such a hassle having to leave and drive hours away to get needed help. 

Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood, says, “Abortion is health care, basic health care, essential health care, health care that cannot wait.”

Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision of the Supreme Court, protects anyone’s right to privacy without government restriction. No matter the cause, the only form of protection that U.S. citizens have is on the verge of becoming extinct in Texas. As this law continues to make national news, it can soon cause other states to start thinking the same idea. 

According to The United States Department of Justice, Attorney General, Merrick Garland agrees. “The Act is clearly unconstitutional under long standing Supreme Court precedent,” said Garland. “The United States has the authority and responsibility to ensure that no state can deprive individuals of their constitutional rights through a legislative scheme specifically designed to prevent the vindication of those rights.”

NPR News has said that on November 1, 2021, The Supreme Court agreed to inspect this matter. However, they have refused to block the law until they examine it thoroughly.

It’s our freedom to be able to make the best decision for ourselves. For now, it’s just a waiting game. In the meantime, women in Texas will still have to deal with this restricting law.