Heartbeat Bill | The Texan

AudioWeekly Roundup Podcast: New Redistricting Maps, Lawsuits Under the Heartbeat Bill, Dispatch from Del Rio

Michelle ArledgeSeptember 24, 2021

Catch up on the week's hottest stories in Texas politics with the reporting team at The Texan.

Michelle ArledgeSeptember 10, 2021

Catch up on the week's hottest stories in Texas politics with the reporting team at The Texan.

Isaiah MitchellSeptember 9, 2021

The U.S. Department of Justice asked the court to halt private lawsuits against violators of the Texas Heartbeat Act.

Catch up on the week's hottest stories in Texas politics with the reporting team at The Texan.

Defendants argued that abortion providers couldn't sue the government for injuries incurred by private lawsuits. Judge Pitman disagreed.

Speaker Dade Phelan found himself in the crosshairs of his counterpart across the rotunda after priority legislation faltered at the last minute.

“Plaintiffs admit that this Court cannot force the city to revoke or amend its ordinance," Judge Hendrix wrote.

Though Texas follows several other states in passing a law to ban abortions after a pulse is detected, the "Texas Heartbeat Act" is unique.

Catch up on the week's hottest stories in Texas politics with the reporting team at The Texan.

Heartbeat legislation bans abortions after a heartbeat can be detected, typically occurring around 6 to 12 gestational weeks.

If passed into law, the bill would ban abortions when a heartbeat can be heard in the womb. Lawmakers diverge on how to enforce it.

One omnibus bill combines a current abortion ban of unborn children with detectable heartbeats and a future ban if Roe v. Wade is overturned.