The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops on Friday hailed the U.S. Supreme Court for denying the request of abortion providers to block the Heartbeat Act or S.B. 8, a legislation that Governor Greg Abbott signed in May that prevents physicians from knowingly performing an abortion if there is a "detectable fetal heartbeat."
The law took effect on midnight of September 1 and is one of the country's most restrictive abortion laws.
"For the first time since Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed a prolife law to remain while litigation proceeds in lower courts," Texas Catholic bishops wrote in a statement released on September 3. "We celebrate every life saved by this legislation."
The statement read, "Abortion is a human rights issue; the most fundamental human right is the right to life. Abortion is not healthcare. Abortion is not freedom. Abortion does not help women. Abortion is never the answer. It is always the violent taking of innocent human life."
According to Breitbart, the Texas Catholic bishops argued that "killing" a person "within the body of a woman" is no different than "when someone is killed" in another venue such as a home or public place. The group decried the disturbing "attempts to dehumanize the unborn" by refusing to call the human heartbeat what it is and rather, calling it "embryonic cardiac activity" or "electrically induced flickering of embryonic tissue."
The Texas Catholic bishops also underscored how the state has invested "hundreds of millions of dollars" in programs for pregnant women and families that serve as alternatives to abortion, such as adoption services, parenting support programs, and other "practical resources to women and families facing overwhelming circumstances."
The bishops called upon the faithful to do their part in helping pregnant mothers as well, especially those who are going through difficult times.
But for pro-abortion advocates and leaders, the fight is now over. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday vowed to uphold the FACE or Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994, Fox News reported.
Garland said in a statement that while the U.S. Justice Department "urgently explores all options to challenge Texas SB8 in order to protect the constitutional rights of women and other persons, including access to an abortion, we will continue to protect those seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services pursuant to our criminal and civil enforcement of the FACE Act."
Garland committed the Justice Department to enlist the support of federal law enforcement in the event that an abortion abortion clinic or reproductive health center is attacked.
Under the Heartbeat Act, Texas citizens can bring a civil lawsuit against an abortion provider or any person who aids and abets abortion. But under the FACE Act, citizens are prohibited from "the use or threat of force and physical obstruction that injures, intimidates, or interferes with a person seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services."
