Texas fetal heartbeat bill allowing citizens to sue over an abortion clears major hurdle
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Texas State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, second from left, talks with fellow lawmakers in the House Chamber, Wednesday, May 5, 2021, in Austin, Texas, after she became upset while asking questions of Rep. Shelby Slawson about a proposed bill. Howard opposes a bill introduced in Texas that would ban abortions as early as six weeks and allow private citizens to enforce it through civil lawsuits, under a measure given preliminary approval by the Republican-dominated state House on Wednesday. The move would have Texas join about a dozen other Republican-led states to pass so-called heartbeat bills which have been mostly blocked by federal courts. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)Eric Gay, STF / Associated Press
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States Push to Extend Postpartum Medicaid Benefits to Save Lives
Two doulas attend a pregnant Medicaid beneficiary in her home in Minneapolis. States are moving toward extending Medicaid postpartum benefits in an attempt to stem high maternal mortality rates.
Leila Navidi
Star Tribune via Getty
More states are moving to extend Medicaid benefits to new mothers up to a full year after giving birth, far beyond the 60 days required by federal law.
That development, promoted by numerous medical groups as well as official state medical boards that focus on maternal health, reflects increasing alarm over the United States’ maternal mortality rate, which is the worst among developed nations and is trending in the wrong direction. There also is a growing awareness that women face increased health risks not only during pregnancy and labor and delivery, but also for months afterward. Nearly a quarter of postpartum-related deaths occur six week
Texas House passes contentious ‘heartbeat bill’ restricting abortion
The bill would ban abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy and let private citizens sue abortion providers or anybody else who knowingly “aids or abets” an abortion in violation to the ban.
The Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. (Lynda M. González/The Dallas Morning News)(Lynda M. González / Staff Photographer)
UPDATED on May 6, 2021 at 11:25 a.m. to reflect the House’s final passage.
AUSTIN Texas lawmakers are one step closer to passing a contentious bill that would ban abortions the moment a fetal heartbeat is detected.
It was inevitable.
When the Indiana General Assembly began considering a controversial abortion bill, there were questions about whether the measure ultimately would lead to a court fight. Lawmakers passed it, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the bill and now it appears a potentially costly legal battle is looming.
The new law, set to take effect in July, requires doctors to give patients an ultrasound photo of their fetus, demands minors have parental consent documentation notarized and ensures appointments for abortion-inducing drugs are held in person. House Enrolled Act 1577 also requires doctors to tell patients about abortion “reversal” – a disputed procedure challenged by medical experts and without approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.