Issues@Hand

AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs

December 2021 – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed Senate Bill 8, dubbed the Texas Heartbeat Act, on May 19. The law went into effect September 1, outlawing abortions past six weeks, the time at which a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

Unsurprisingly, the abortion lobby, led by Planned Parenthood, sought to undermine the lifesaving law by petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court for an injunction to block the law before it could go into effect. Fortunately, in a 5-4 decision, the court upheld the law.

The Family Research Council reported that between the law’s implementation and October 1, “about 150 unborn lives have been spared from abortion each day, meaning an estimated 4,500 babies will have the opportunity to be born because of the Act.

Predictably, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, an Obama appointee, issued a ruling temporarily blocking the lifesaving law. At press time, a higher court had overruled Pitman, and the abortion ban was back in effect.

capitol.texas.gov; frcblog.com, 10/4/21;
lifenews.com, 10/6/21; afn.net, 10/7/21