Research Project Abortion Bill: Republicans Versus Democrats

Bill HB 896 is currently trying to be passed by the Texas Legislature. The bill is entitled to prohibit abortion and protect the rights of an unborn child. It would take place once “a living human child, from the moment of fertilization on fusion of a human spermatozoon with a human ovum. The entitled rights given to the “human child” would be the same rights, powers, and privileges as granted by the laws of this state to any human child. (examples such as bill of rights)

Personally, I feel like we need to implement this bill in our Texas legislature because abortion has been a big problem and putting new laws in effect would balance the situation. Society has set standards to how we see abortion and according to healthguidence.org people see abortion as a crime because you are denying someone’s life and you are depriving someone’s chances to live. Others bring the argument that a baby is a sacred blessing and the baby has a purpose and denying it would be act against the creator of the world (GOD). Abortion also leads to serious health problems/complications where the worst possible scenario is death or being unable to be pregnant again. I feel like abortion shouldn’t be a thing because it seems harsh to deny life to your own flesh and blood. I personally couldn’t imagine the pain to make such a life-changing decision because life is sacred, and everyone should have the chance to live… we are all humans and we have the right to.

In our government, we’ve never settled whether abortion should be abolished or be in place. Both parties have argued and brought up ideas to come up with a compromise, but the only problem is that the republican party and democrat have 2 different types of views. The republican party supports human life and encourages people to have their baby. They believe any unborn child has individual rights to life and should not be jeopardized by anyone. According to “republicanviews.org” “The party adamantly believes that the rights guaranteed to all Americans in the Fourteenth Amendment apply to unborn children as well. They support a constitutional amendment which states this, and which will end abortion entirely.” The republican pro-life agenda is to help women with their pregnancies and support them as long as they need it and does not infringe the rights of the child. Their efforts to stop this movement go to great distances according to “republican views” “republicans work at the federal level to defund abortion and have even reached into the private sector by encouraging health insurance providers to not cover abortions. They seek Supreme Court justices who are likely to overturn Roe v. Wade, and push for incremental laws that are progressively stronger, hoping to begin a sway in public opinion. At the state level, they also seek incrementally stronger restriction laws, specifically in the hopes that one will provide grounds for an overturning of Casey v. Planned Parenthood”. Slowly republicans are changing how abortion can be avoided. By implementing more help, they seek to continue with their promise… “Theory Pro-Life agenda” not only do they help the adults who are in that situation but also the children. “The party supports an increase in educational funding to be used to teach abstinence in schools, to not only prevent unwanted pregnancies but to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and infections as well. In relation to this, republicans oppose school-based clinics to provide abortion, counseling, and contraception, as they believe this money would be better spent on abstinence education. The Republican Party also supports efforts to improve the foster care system, as well as efforts to increase funding to family services.” (republican views). Republicans know that abortion isn’t right, they are proving so much help and the reality is none of them say it’s a permanent ban. Former President Richard Nixon said, “there are times where an abortion is necessary, I know that”. There are times where abortion is your only choice; times like when you’re a victim of rape or your health is at risk.

In 2002 Republican Mitt Romney stated that “wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of a mother.” Overall the Republican agenda is to be “pro-life” and protect the rights of a child.

Democrats view this as “anti-women’s rights” this is because they believe “every woman has a choice” They believe it’s constitutional liberty, one of their goals is to “make abortion rarer not dangerous”. Their goal is to support women decisions and provide the help they require by providing affordable care, ensuring access to programs that would help women during pregnancy, after pregnancy and adoption care programs. They claim that “choice is fundamental and it’s a constitutional right. That’s why they support abortion and give the option to have an abortion. One of their main arguments towards this nonstop argument is that they support the Roe v Wade case. This case was revolutionary it was a US supreme court decision in which restrictive state laws banning abortion were ruled unconstitutional. In the end the court decision established that it is legal for a woman to have an abortion. These rights were guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

In Texas abortion has become more and more difficult to occur. New laws and regulations are being placed to prevent it. Texas has set of rules that you must follow in order to proceed with the abortion such as 2 trips to an abortion provider, a sonogram, and receiving state-mandated paperwork to show you the risks and alternatives you have. The law also requires you to see the same doctor during this exhausting procedure. If you have successfully completed the required laws the doctor will give you 2 options, either a pill or perform the procedure in the doctor’s office. “In 2017 Texas banned insurers from including coverage for abortion in a comprehensive health insurance plan, also requiring women to purchase separate coverage for abortion care” (aclutx). Abortion in Texas has been hard to achieve with so many laws and regulations, a woman has to complete all the requirements within a 20-week post-fertilization. New bills are being passed in the House of Representatives making it even harder for one to succeed.

“The latest bill considered by members of the Texas House of Representatives this week would have criminalized abortions and opened up the possibility for women and physicians to receive the death penalty.” If it passed it would allow women who obtained an abortion or doctors who performed one to be charged with assault or criminal homicide. In Texas, this could be punishable resulting in death penalties. Despite the failure of the bill, people speculate that the bill could be overturned and if it does it would ultimately make it near impossible for women to get abortions setting a Pro-Life standard in Texas.

The Texas Legislature meets every odd-numbered year, it lasts 140 days with special sessions that last no more than 30 days. With the current laws the state has it is a challenging task to pass bills opposing abortion. If the bill manages to pass by the committee process it would need to be passed to the governor. At the moment our current governor is Gregg Abbott a republican who is all in favor for an abortion ban. If Bill HB 896 was able to go through the whole Texas legislature process and go to the governor’s office there’s a strong chance that Governor Gregg Abbott would approve. The legislature processes require the bill to go through the house, pass through the committee and debate if it should be amended. If the house is able to complete the process it must go through the senate where it must go through senator committee and they must agree by a 3/5’s vote. Once both the house and senate pass the bill it will be sent to the governor.

Overall in conclusion Texas is known for being the “Red State” a Republican state. The Texas legislature meets every off numbered year, unlike other states that meet every year. With only 140 days of regular recession it is challenging to pass new bills, with our current republican view some bills may pass such as. Bill HB 896 a bill proposed earlier this year that protects the rights of an unborn child. Texas is a Pro-life state and will probably stay like that for many years to come. As time passes both republican and democrat parties will dispute over the issue over abortion. A non-stop controversial topic resulting in life-changing outcomes…

Bibliography

1. Abortion in Texas. (2018, July 18). Retrieved April 26, 2019, from https://www.aclutx.org/en/know-you-rights/abortion-in-texas
2. Jacobs, J. (2019, April 11). Failed Texas Bill Would Have Made Death Penalty Possible in Abortion Cases. Retrieved April 26, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/us/texas-abortion-death-penalty.html
3. Pros and Cons of Abortion. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2019, from https://www.healthguidance.org/entry/13561/1/pros-and-cons-of-abortion.html
4. RepublicanViews.org. (2014, March 14). Home. Retrieved April 26, 2019, from https://www.republicanviews.org/republican-views-on-abortion/
5. Roe v. Wade. (2009, November 13). Retrieved April 26, 2019, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/roe-v-wade
6. Texas House of Representatives. (n.d.). Texas House of Representatives. Retrieved April 26, 2019, from https://www.house.texas.gov/about-us/bill/
7. Willis, D. (2015, August 12). Bills Sponsored by Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). Retrieved April 26, 2019,
8. from https://projects.propublica.org/represent/members/C001098/bills-sponsored/115
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10. McCarthy, M. (2014). US Supreme Court delays enforcement of strict Texas abortion law. BMJ: Medical Journal, 349. Retrieved from https://0-www-jstor-org.libcat.sanjac.edu/stable/26517544