Penna Dexter

Once in a while, a law is enacted that shocks us in the way it illuminates the difference between good and evil. This happened on September 1st when Texas’s new “Heartbeat Law” went into effect. Here’s what conservative writer and podcaster Matt Walsh said about it. “If you have ever had any doubts about which is the bad side in the culture war, this week ought to clear up your confusion. Leftists are mad — screamingly, deliriously mad — that fewer babies will die in Texas.” A lot fewer babies will die. The law bans abortions when there is “a detectable fetal heartbeat,” which typically occurs around six weeks into a pregnancy. It’s estimated that 80-85 percent of abortions performed in Texas take place after six weeks gestation. That the law will remain in force is not a given. Other states have introduced and even passed heartbeat bills only to see them blocked in court. Texas’s law is written in a way that makes this more difficult and time-consuming. The Supreme Court, in allowing the law to take effect, only delayed consideration of its constitutionality. In the interim, many, many babies will be saved. Unsurprisingly, the pro-abortion Left, fearing the demise of Roe, is apoplectic. President Biden promised “a whole-of-government” response to “insulate women and providers from the impact” of the new law. In one odd statement, he seemed to repudiate numerous prior statements and declare he does not believe life begins at conception. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she’s scheduling a vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify Roe and invalidate nearly all state-level restrictions on abortion. Heartbeat bills won’t destroy Roe, but they make an unambiguous statement that abortion snuffs out a human life. This fall, Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks will be argued before the Supreme Court. The good guys hope the decision will overturn Roe, ending any notion that the Constitution contains a right to abortion.