Last night at 11:56 p.m., Whole Woman’s Health, an abortion provider that has four clinics in Texas, performed its last abortion in Fort Worth in compliance with Texas’ restrictive abortion law SB 8, which went into effect today.
SB 8, also known as the “Heartbeat Act,” allows citizens to sue providers who perform abortions after approximately six weeks, or when cardiac activity is detected in a fetus. The law is one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. As pro-life groups celebrated its enactment and vowed to bring lawsuits against anyone who violated the new law, abortion providers said it will a hindrance to women seeking abortions but they will comply.
Amy Hagstrom Miller, CEO of Whole Woman’s Health said in a press conference today that the final hours of legal abortion care after SB 8 in Texas were met with overflowing clinics and staff in tears.
“Our waiting room was filled with patients and their loved ones in all four of our clinics yesterday.”
She said anti-abortion protestors stood outside its Fort Worth clinic from open to midnight, calling the police and fire departments in attempts to see if Whole Woman’s Health was violating any laws.
“Anti-abortion protesters were outside this entire time from the moment we opened at 8 until we closed at midnight. Once it got dark they got giant shining lights and shined the light on the parking lot. We were under surveillance — this is not abstract, this is real for our team,” Hagstrom Miller said.
Today, Whole Woman’s Health is open, working in compliance with the Texas Heartbeat Act.
“We were able to see all those patients, and I want to make it clear that today Whole Woman’s Health and Whole Woman’s Alliance clinics are providing care in accordance with the law and are fully compliant with SB 8, and we are unwavering in believing that Texans deserve abortion care,” Hagstrom Miller said.
Whole Woman’s Health is the lead plaintiff in the case against the restrictive abortion law. Whole Woman’s Health and other abortion providers sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as well as judges and clerks who might be called upon to uphold the law. On Monday, they appealed to the Supreme Court in an emergency request to block the law from taking effect.
As of Wednesday, the Supreme Court has not ruled on their emergency request.
Texas Alliance For Life celebrated the enactment of S.B. 8 in a statement today.
“We celebrate the lives of unborn children who will be protected from abortion as a result. Hundreds of pregnancy centers and maternity homes throughout Texas are expanding their capacity and resources to meet the needs of women facing unplanned pregnancies who may seek their support,” the statement said.
John Seago, the legislative director for Texas Right to Life, said that the organization will bring lawsuits to anyone who violates S.B. 8, but that is “dependent entirely upon the industry and how these abortion businesses respond and how these other non-profits or individuals that are aiding and abetting abortion responds to this.”
President Joe Biden put out a statement Wednesday that said his administration is committed to the constitutional right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade.
“The Texas law will significantly impair women’s access to the health care they need, particularly for communities of color and individuals with low incomes. And, outrageously, it deputizes private citizens to bring lawsuits against anyone who they believe has helped another person get an abortion, which might even include family members, health care workers, front desk staff at a health care clinic, or strangers with no connection to the individual,” the statement said.
Vice President Kamala Harris echoed Biden’s comments in a statement on Wednesday saying the law violates precedent established in Roe v Wade.
“The Biden-Harris Administration will always fight to protect access to healthcare and defend a woman’s right to make decisions about her body and determine her future,” the statement said.
The law’s enforcement mechanism is through private lawsuits leveled against those who “aid and abet” abortion after fetal cardiac activity is present. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, any person can “sue,” even if they are not a Texas resident. Though, patients themselves cannot be sued.
