Recently, conservative law makers in Texas have teamed up to pursue safe environments in abortion clinics in the name of women’s health. By restricting abortion laws, the Texans hoped to see mortality rates of expected mothers drop from .6 deaths per every 100,000 abortions. A Texas House Bill, (3994), introduced in 2015 has effectively done the opposite of its said intent by limiting access to safe terminations and increasing requirements for operation. As a result, safe and legal abortions have become increasingly difficult to gain access to. This bill has ineffectively decreased the abortion rate while unsuccessfully limiting the rate of unwanted pregnancies. The focus should turn away from a bipartisan issue and towards lowering the amount
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According to Planned Parenthood, (Texas Abortion Laws) the law first assumes that all women are minors until they prove otherwise. To do so women must now provide government identification in order to receive treatment. However, not everyone has access to government issued IDs. Women of low socioeconomic status are much less likely to have had a need for an ID other than for termination purposes. To get one takes time and money, two things that aren’t readily available. The second part puts restriction on judicial bypass (Texas Abortion Laws). Previously, minors seeking an abortion who felt it wasn’t in their best interest to get consent from their parents could get permission from a judge. The judge could provide consent if the minor could prove that disclosing information to their parents would cause emotional, physical or sexual abuse. However, Texas HB3994 makes judicial bypass only apply to minors who are in danger of sexual abuse as a result, effectively eliminating emotional and sexual abuse from consideration (Texas Abortion Laws). The bill also extends the amount of time a judge has to rule on the case, which again could push a women past the gestational age limit (Texas Abortion Laws). This has been criticized because filing for judicial bypass seems to be a demanding and expensive task to expect a minor to achieve by themselves. Additionally the bill forces abortion clinics to discontinue the use of medicated abortions (Texas Abortion
According to Planned Parenthood, (Texas Abortion Laws) the law first assumes that all women are minors until they prove otherwise. To do so women must now provide government identification in order to receive treatment. However, not everyone has access to government issued IDs. Women of low socioeconomic status are much less likely to have had a need for an ID other than for termination purposes. To get one takes time and money, two things that aren’t readily available. The second part puts restriction on judicial bypass (Texas Abortion Laws). Previously, minors seeking an abortion who felt it wasn’t in their best interest to get consent from their parents could get permission from a judge. The judge could provide consent if the minor could prove that disclosing information to their parents would cause emotional, physical or sexual abuse. However, Texas HB3994 makes judicial bypass only apply to minors who are in danger of sexual abuse as a result, effectively eliminating emotional and sexual abuse from consideration (Texas Abortion Laws). The bill also extends the amount of time a judge has to rule on the case, which again could push a women past the gestational age limit (Texas Abortion Laws). This has been criticized because filing for judicial bypass seems to be a demanding and expensive task to expect a minor to achieve by themselves. Additionally the bill forces abortion clinics to discontinue the use of medicated abortions (Texas Abortion