DALLAS — Now that the heartbeat bill is reality in Texas, the state has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. The measure bans abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. And it allows private citizens to enforce the law by suing abortion providers and anyone else who might have helped.
And since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the law to take effect, Congressman Joaquin Castro says there’s no question Roe v. Wade is in jeopardy.
“This is, as President Biden said, a bizarre law. I believe that it’s fundamentally unconstitutional, that it is an overreach, that the very conservative republican Texas legislature is trying to take away women’s healthcare rights,” the Congressman said on Inside Texas Politics.
The Democrat from San Antonio says he expects an aggressive legal battle from here on out.
Congressman Castro also says there’s still good support in the U.S. House for the infrastructure measure, which is scheduled to be voted on later this month. And he’s hoping President Biden can persuade a couple of skeptical Senate Democrats to back the John Lewis Voting Rights Act in the Senate, so it can become law.
Back here in his home state, the Democrat says it’s no surprise Texas is experiencing big problems with a COVID-19 surge because of weak policy and leadership.
“I think now, it’s over a dozen districts in Texas, school districts, that have been forced to close their doors and students are falling further and further behind because of bad policy.”