State Policy-Making in Texas
- Senate Bill 8: The “Heartbeat Bill”
On January 1, 2022, the Texas Heartbeat Bill was put into effect, prohibiting abortions after the detection of an unborn child’s heartbeat, establishing requirements for performing or inducing an abortion, and enforcing administrative penalties creating a criminal offense (Cain, 2021). The new law defines "fetal heartbeat" as "a cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac" and claims that a pregnant woman could use that signal to determine "the likelihood of her unborn child surviving to full-term birth” (Simmons-Duffin, 2021). The Heartbeat Bill is the most restrictive abortion law in the United States (ACP, 2021). The law includes a bounty-hunting scheme, encouraging private individuals to sue anyone in Texas who violates the law (Plannedparenthood.org, 2021). A reward of at least $10,000 will be given to anyone who successfully sues a doctor, health center worker, or any person who helps someone obtain an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy (Plannedparenthood.org, 2021).
- Constraints under federal policy
Health policymaking at the state and local levels is limited by broader federal policy. Although regulation is primarily the states’ responsibility, federal laws can preempt state legislation (Shi, 2019) On September 1, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court (5-4) declined an emergency petition to block the Texas abortion law SB 8, allowing the law to take effect (ACP, 2021). Therefore, the current judicial interpretation of the U.S. Constitution regarding abortion, following the Supreme Court of the U.S.’s 1973 landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, and subsequent companion decisions, is that abortion is legal but may be restricted by the states to varying degrees. Furthermore, the law does not 100 percent ban abortions and remains constitutional despite major pushback from pro-choice activists.
Relationship between politics and policy
Legislation is most likely to pass if the governor and most of the legislature carry the same political party affiliation (Shi, 2019). Texas has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of the governor and both chambers of the state legislature. There are 150 seats making up the Texas House of Representatives, with 85 Republicans and 65 Democrats. The Heartbeat Bill passed mostly along party lines with one Democrat and 82 Republicans voting yes on May 6, 2021 (Austin American-Statesman Staff, 2021).
Policy entrepreneurship at the grassroots level
Grassroots efforts by policy entrepreneurs involve community stakeholders and may be funded by private foundations (Shi, 2019). For example, Texas Right to Life, which bills itself as the largest anti-abortion group in the state and called the new law a “land-mark victory,’ recently made headlines after it created a website to accept anonymous tips about individuals who perform or aid abortions after the law’s six-week cutoff (Openseats.org, 2021). Tax filings show Texas Right to Life spent $8 million on public information campaigns and lobbying efforts for anti-abortion legislation in Texas from 2009 and 2019 (Openseats.org, 2021). On the other hand, thousands of demonstrators in Texas cities marched Saturday to decry Texas’ new near-total abortion ban, joining protesters across the nation calling for the protection of abortion rights (Texas Tribune Team, 2021). Furthermore, companies like GoDaddy, Lyft, Uber, Bumble, and Match have joined forces with planned parenthood to fight against regressive laws (McFarland, 2021).
References
ACP. (2021). Texas "Heartbeat" abortion law. ACP. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.acponline.org/advocacy/state-health-policy/texas-heartbeat-abortion-law (Links to an external site.)
Austin American-Statesman Staff. (2021, September 3). Here’s who voted for (and against) Texas’ new abortion law in the House and Senate. Statesman. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2021/09/03/texas-abortion-law-heres-how-lawmakers-voted-heartbeat-bill-legislature/5706081001/ (Links to an external site.)
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Cain. (2021). H.B. no. 1500. State of Texas.
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Openseats.org. (2021, September 9). Texas’ largest anti-abortion group spent millions on Public Information Campaign, lobbying in the past decade. OpenSecrets News. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/09/texas-largest-anti-abortion-group-spent-millions-on-public-campaign-lobbying-in-past-decade/ (Links to an external site.)
McFarland, M. (2021, September 5). These companies are pushing back against the Texas Abortion Law. CNN. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/04/economy/companies-against-texas-abortion-law/index.html (Links to an external site.)
PlannedParenthood.org. (2021). Supreme Court ruling ends most abortion in Texas . Planned Parenthood. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/supreme-court-ruling-ends-most-abortion-in-texas (Links to an external site.)
Shi, L. (2019). Introduction to health policy. Health Administration Press, HAP.
Simmons-Duffin, S. (2021, September 3). The Texas abortion ban hinges on ‘fetal heartbeat.’ doctors call that misleading. NPR. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/09/02/1033727679/fetal-heartbeat-isnt-a-medical-term-but-its-still-used-in-laws-on-abortion (Links to an external site.)
Texas Tribune Team. (2021, October 2). Texas demonstrations take aim at state’s near-total ban on abortion. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.texastribune.org/2021/10/02/womens-march-abortion-texas/