The Lawmakers Behind ‘Fetal Heartbeat’ Abortion Bans Are Lying To You
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is the latest to sign one of these laws, which doctors say are arbitrary and medically misleading.
It’s been two years since conservative lawmakers began widely using “fetal heartbeat” rhetoric to pass bans on abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy. But despite the medical community speaking out against the inaccurate language and dozens of lawsuits stopping those laws from going into effect, those bills haven’t slowed down. The latest comes from Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill Wednesday effectively banning abortions as soon as a doctor can detect cardiac activity in an embryo, which typically happens at around six weeks into a pregnancy. But doctors say that not only is that cutoff completely arbitrary, it’s also based on the false premise that a “fetal heartbeat” — a phrase often included in the bills’ titles — even exists at that stage of pregnancy.More Related News