Newly signed Texas law restricts abortion-inducing medications
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[September 25, 2021]
By Brad Brooks
LUBBOCK, Texas (Reuters) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday signed a
new law that restricts access to abortion-inducing medications, just
weeks after the state rolled out a near-total ban on abortion
procedures.
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The law on medications prohibits mail-order abortion-inducing drugs
and says doctors in the state are only allowed to prescribe them up
to seven weeks after conception. Previously that restriction was set
at 10 weeks.
"Texas continues to lead the way in protecting unborn children and
fostering a culture of life," Abbott said in a written statement.
"We have taken monumental steps to save babies from the ravages of
abortion."
Texas is at the center of the debate over abortion in the United
States, enacting the most restrictive abortion laws in the country
during recent legislative sessions.
On Sept. 1, a new Texas law went into effect that bans the procedure
after a fetal heartbeat is detected - which is at about six weeks in
most cases. Abortion rights groups say that 85% to 90% of all
abortions are carried out after six weeks.
Texas is among a dozen mostly Republican-led states that have
enacted "heartbeat" abortion bans that outlaw the procedure once the
rhythmic contracting of fetal cardiac tissue can be detected - which
is at times before a woman realizes she is pregnant. Courts have
blocked such bans.
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But the Texas law empowers
private citizens anywhere to sue abortion
providers and anybody who assists a woman in
getting one. That helped shield the law from
being immediately blocked as it made it more
difficult to directly sue the government.
Abortion providers in Texas on Thursday asked
the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene on an urgent
basis in their challenge to a state law imposing
a near-total ban on abortion.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas;
Editing by Sam Holmes)
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