Discussion of Abortion Bill: Texas
The Policy Title: Relating to abortion, including abortions after detection of an unborn child’s heartbeat; authorizing a private civil right of action.
Number: Texas Senate Bill 8
Some Sponsors: Sen. Bryan Hughes, Sen. Paul Bettencourt, Sen. Brian Birdwell, Sen. Dawn Buckingham
Analysis
Senate Bill 8 focuses on analyzing the issue of abortion-related inquiries. It highlights the authorized private civil right of action against abortion in cases when the child’s heartbeat is detected (Texas Senate Bill 8, 2021). The ethical discussion regarding abortion is a highly debatable issue. Despite the general idea that abortion after a heartbeat was identified as killing the child, the legislation limits women’s natural rights and freedoms. The problem is directly related to the health of women who should have the choice to give birth to the child or not. Varied cases when the fetus cannot be identified before the heartbeat is the argument against this bill. Moreover, based on the beneficence principle of ANA, the welfare (mental and physical) is the primary aim of nurses. However, this bill’s limitations on women can negatively affect their psychological state.
The approval of such a policy seems irrational from the perspective of social determinants needs, including the people’s biopsychological necessities. The problem is in the sphere of the community and social context. One of the main ideas in the section is that the health care system should provide support without causing stress or discrimination to the patients (Artiga & Hinton, 2018). However, in the case of the described policy, women are limited in their choice regarding childbirth. Moreover, if the legislation prosecutes by the law women whose health requires a late abortion, their social status and social integration will be significantly damaged. Fear of legal prosecution, women, will give birth to unwanted children, harming the general state of the population because of the damaged family institution. The advocacy and treating each case individually can be helpful in solving some of the issues.
References
Artiga, S. & Hinton, E. (2018). Beyond health care: The role of social determinants in promoting health and health equity. KFF: Henry j, Kaiser Family Foundation, 2–13.
Texas Senate Bill 8. (2021). Legiscan. Web.