September 1, 2021 marked another moment in which the progression of women’s rights was set back.

On this date, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott introduced a law that allowed the government to have a say in regard to when a women can have an abortion. This law specifically states that a woman cannot get an abortion after she has reached over six weeks in her pregnancy. 

If a woman does get an abortion after six weeks, they can be fined a minimum of 10 thousand dollars. This law also allows people who help facilitate an abortion to be subject to the same fine. 

 “I think the law is an abomination. I think the law is patriarchal and based on religious values and is about controlling women’s bodies by holding only them responsible for a failure of birth control.” AHS librarian Jane Scharankov said.

Scharankov is not the only one frustrated with this law; many women in Texas share the same feelings. 

They believe that the government is just trying to control their basic human right to do whatever they want with their bodies.

The Human Life Protection Act, also know as the Texas abortion law is not the first government-enforced law that has tried to dictate whether or not women can get abortions. 

Believe it or not, around 47 years ago, Texas completely banned abortions. It wasn’t until the Roe V. Wade case that abortions were allowed again in Texas. However, with the new abortion law, Texas is back at it again.

“We would never see a bill like this linked to men’s bodies or health. How would they feel if a bill was passed that required all men to have their testicles removed at the age of 20? It is ludicrous,” AHS Librarian Patricia  Brown said.

 There is a debate on whether Texas really put this law into effect because they want to save unborn children or because they want to control women’s choices. 

The day that Texas Governor Greg Abbot signed the law he said that this also included rape victims. He stated that rape is a crime and that they will try their hardest to remove rapists from the streets of Texas.

According to the statistics of the Criminal Justice System, out of 1,000 sexual assaults, only around 310 are reported to the police.

 That being said, how is Texas planning on clearing their streets from rapists when they don’t even know who to look out for? 

Texas legislation doesn’t seem to understand the implications of having an abortion., “Women don’t often choose abortion just for the sake of it. It is a difficult, emotional, physical, and lifelong decision,” Brown said. Regardless of the purpose of the Human Life Protection Act, it seems like it is trying to villainize women for making an impossible decision that they shouldn’t have to make.

Maybe before trying to limit women’s rights to do what they want with their bodies, Texas should focus on bettering life conditions to make sure abortion is not the result of traumatic experiences, lack of resources and financial restraint.