Eisenhower Institute’s Constitution Day Lecture Examines Texas Abortion Law

By Vanessa Igras, Staff Writer

On Friday, Sep. 17, the Eisenhower Institute hosted a lecture analyzing the Texas Abortion Law in light of this year’s Constitution Day, which marks the 65th anniversary of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s signing of the proclamation that designates Sep. 17 through 23 as Constitution Week. Chair of the Public Policy Department and faculty leader at the Eisenhower Institute Professor Anne Douds hosted this year’s Constitution Day lecture. Gettysburg students gathered in person to hear American University Professor Karen O’Connor speak virtually about the constitutionality of the recent abortion law and its constitutional implications. 

O’Connor initiated her lecture by providing the historical context of abortion laws in the United States. She described Roe v. Wade as a trimester approach and explained that the ruling made it so that “in the first three months of a pregnancy, the state cannot do much to bar a woman from having an abortion.”

With each following trimester, the state was granted more authority to prohibit an abortion within reason. In the third trimester, the ruling permitted states to practically ban abortion, especially if it involves a viable fetus capable of living outside of the womb. O’Connor discussed that for four years after this ruling, Roe v. Wade was the “rule of the land” until pro-life advocacy groups began partnering with local and federal governments to initiate the process of prohibiting abortions. 

Once Wade was decided, the Hyde amendment made it so that federal funds could not be used to provide women access to an abortion. However, The Hyde Amendment does not limit a state’s ability to use its funds to cover abortion. This amendment was challenged all around the United States; O’Connor went on to argue alongside Margie Pitts Hames, an Atlanta civil rights lawyer, to argue Doe v. Bolton, abortion rights case, before the U.S. Supreme Court. 

O’Connor compared Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the former protecting the right to privacy while the latter went on to protect women’s right to have an abortion if it is a medical necessity.

In Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), O’Connor elaborated on the new standard, which was enunciated by the court, stating that “the state cannot enact legislation that is an undue burden on women’s rights.” This knocks down Roe completely and labels the vitality of a fetus to be much earlier than in Roe.

Similar to that of the 1992 ruling, states have continued to enact restrictions on abortion. However, the Supreme Court has prevented the state from enforcing such laws. O’Connor alluded to this when she said, “this is what has happened in Texas.” 

According to O’Connor, the Texas legislature has just passed one of the “most restrictive abortion laws since Roe v. Wade… as mentioned by the statute, if you know of someone having an abortion, you can sue that individual, while keeping your name private and the other’s public, and you can get 10,000 dollars by turning that person in”

The Texas legislature is no longer relying on the viability of a fetus; instead, it is using the six-week standard to decide whether or not there is a heartbeat. O’Connor argued this by saying that “many women, especially teenagers, do not know that they are pregnant after six weeks.” 

Given this provision, O’Connor explained that not many physicians will not do an abortion over 20 weeks. If a woman can find a physician to do so, it is possible that she will pay over 5,000 dollars. O’Connor made the connection that “similar to how Covid has disproportionately affected minority communities; we see this restriction on abortion affecting the same communities.” 

The discussion ended on the note that the new Texas abortion law sets a restrictive precedent for a woman’s bodily autonomy. O’Connor made it clear that the partisan nature of this ruling will have “compelling ramifications on the 2021 and 2022 elections.”

Author: Gettysburgian Staff

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