By Sahar Chmais
Jane, 22 years old at the time, thought she was six weeks pregnant when she went to have her abortion; to her surprise, she was eight weeks along. Under the newly passed Heartbeat Bill, Jane would not have had a chance to even consider that option.
(Jane is not her real name, as she wants to remain anonymous.)
“Had I gone through with the pregnancy, the kid would be loved, but I would be so miserable,” Jane, a Buda resident, said. “I would be working endlessly and not have enough time for them and could not provide them the sort of life I want to give them. Which is not fair. So I never think back and regret the decision I made.”
The Heartbeat Bill, or Senate Bill 8, severely reduces the cases in which a woman can terminate a pregnancy. The bill was recently signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and goes into effect Sept. 1, 2021. Per the bill, an abortion cannot be performed if a heartbeat is heard, which is usually between five and a half and six weeks. Cases of rape and incest are no longer grounds for a woman to get an abortion under this law. If a woman finds out there is something wrong with the fetus, as long as there is a heartbeat, a woman cannot terminate the pregnancy.
Jane said SB 8 is absurd, especially considering that victims of rape and incest get no choice in the matter. Timing pregnancy is another reason this bill does not work, Jane said. Jane got her period during her pregnancy, which is what made her believe she was six weeks pregnant, not eight. With SB 8, every day counts.
This bill neglects the plethora of situations in which a woman chooses not to carry her pregnancy.
“Everyone’s abortion story is different,” State Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) said, addressing the state House of Representatives. “Every one of us in this room has a different standard for what we believe constitutes a moral and ethical abortion. Instead of trusting women to know their own circumstances, their families and values, the bill makes the government the final arbiter of individual and intimate morality.”
Zwiener told her story and how she suffered from hyperemesis during her pregnancy, a case of 24 hour morning sickness. The condition was so severe, Zwiener said she would throw up a dozen times a day, lost 20 pounds, and even though she wanted her baby, she began reconsidering if she could continue this way.
Then Zwiener spoke of another woman who had a toddler and experienced hyperemesis during her second pregnancy. She had to make the choice between being able to get out of bed and caring for her toddler or continue the pregnancy.
“She made the choice to take care of her already born child and terminated her pregnancy,” Zwiener said.
Jane, who chose to remain anonymous for privacy, was also faced with a choice – she wanted children, but she was not prepared financially, mentally or familially.
She got pregnant during her first relationship, and a week prior to finding out, she had ended the relationship. Jane could not even get the father’s financial support for an abortion, let alone depend on him later for child support. From finding out about the pregnancy to terminating it, Jane knew what she wanted.
“I never wavered in my decision,” Jane told the Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch. “There was not a single time period, from when I thought I was pregnant to confirming it, where I thought maybe I do want this kid.”
While Jane could not count on her then-partner for any support and had no experience in this area, she turned to a coworker. After speaking to multiple women at her job who were older, she found comfort in knowing she is not alone in having an abortion.
Several coworkers had abortions before, and eventually went on to have children when they were ready. What was a taboo topic became digestible once it was laid out on the table.
In 2019, nearly 57,000 abortions were performed in Texas, according to the Texas Health and Human Services (HHS). Almost 58% of these terminations happened with women ages 20-29. Additionally, 91% of abortions occurred at 10 weeks or fewer since conception.
Blocking abortions at heartbeat detection will not stop abortions, but it will only create unsafe abortions, Zwiener said.
Botched abortions cause 8% to 11% of maternal deaths in countries where abortion is illegal, according to a report by The Atlantic.
Even with legal abortions, women face many obstacles. Jane’s abortion cost her more than $800 and she had to use her rent money to pay for it. At a time in her life, Jane had no health insurance. Not everyone is able to scrape this amount together on short notice, Jane said.
Prior to finding the right clinic, Jane went to Planned Parenthood, where they told her she needed to go in for multiple visits before they could preform the abortion. The first appointment was two weeks after her walk-in consultation. Walking into that clinic, Jane was faced with five protestors holding signs condemning abortions.
“It didn’t phase me because I was going in with my mindset,” Jane recalled.
Up to her abortion, Jane felt nauseous from the simplest task, such as brushing her teeth. She was ready to move on with her decision. As soon as she finished her procedure, she felt like her old self.
“I don’t know what it was, maybe knowing I no longer had to deal with it or that it was gone from my body, I was immediately fine,” Jane said. “I felt like I could have ran a marathon.”
Although it has been three years and Jane feels no regrets, knowing she made the right decision given her situation, the experience still crosses her mind. If someone struggling to have children mentions it, Jane said it feels a little weird. Sometimes Jane just lets her mind wander.
“I think about it often,” Jane said. “Around this time I would have a three-year-old with me in everything that I do. Any job I would have to consider my child and childcare. When I go to the grocery store I would have to make sure I get enough food and diapers for them. I would have to consider where I live – so many factors go into being a parent.”
