What is the Texas Heartbeat Act?
Senate Bill 8 (SB8), Texas HeartBeat Act, prohibits a physician from performing or inducing an abortion after a “fetal heartbeat” has been detected. Unlike other abortion bills focusing on the viability of a fetus outside the uterus and utilizing a specific stage of pregnancy, the bill relies on the presence of a fetal heartbeat as a basis to prevent an abortion. Section 171.201 of the Act defines a “fetal heartbeat” as “cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac.” This heartbeat tends to be detected around 6 weeks into a pregnancy. The following sections of the Act (Sections 171.203 & 171.204) detail the necessary action of detecting and testing of a “fetal heartbeat” before performing or inducing an abortion. If the physician detects a heartbeat or fails to administer a test, they cannot perform or induce the abortion. If the physician believes that there is a medical emergency, then the physician may continue with performing or inducing an abortion. According to Section 171.205, the physician must thoroughly document the emergency in both patient and physician’s medical record.
It is vital to note that this law does not intend to make performing or inducing an abortion a crime. Rather, this Act allows civil lawsuits to be filed against a physician who provides or induces an abortion. Section 171.208 of the Texas Health and Safety Code permits private citizens to sue anyone who performs or induces an abortion. Additionally, it allows civil lawsuits against anyone who “aids and abets” an abortion in violation of the law. Although this law does not make abortion a crime, Chapter 170A of the Texas Health and Safety Code does state that providing an abortion outside of medical emergencies is a crime.
Under the Texas Heartbeat Act, you cannot sue someone who received an abortion. Section 171.208 details that anyone (except government employees) can file a civil lawsuit against someone who
Performs or induces an abortion in violation of this law;
Knowingly “aids or abets” performing or inducing an abortion in violation of the law; or
Intends to do either of the above actions
What is difficult with this bill is the lack of definition for understanding the term “aiding and abetting.” The law does detail an example “paying for or reimbursing the costs of an abortion through insurance or otherwise.”
Upon the enactment of this bill, there were a plethora of lawsuits filed in attempt to block it. However, these challenges were unsuccessful. Some notable lawsuits:
Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson, 595 U.S. ___ (2021). Summary from SCOTUSblog.
United States v. State of Texas, 1:21-cv-00796, (W.D. Tex.). Summary from the Austin-American Statesman.
Davis v. Sharp, 1 :22-cv-00373-RP, (W.D. Tex.). Summary from the Texas Tribune.
Texas SB8, “Texas HeartBeat Act” - https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/billtext/pdf/SB00008F.pdf
Disclaimer: PrivyTrack cannot tell you what the law means for your situation. Please contact an attorney for help understanding this law.
