{"id":252900,"date":"2021-09-08T18:36:29","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T23:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=252900"},"modified":"2021-09-08T17:19:28","modified_gmt":"2021-09-08T22:19:28","slug":"texas-heartbeat-doesnt-allow-rapists-sue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/texas-heartbeat-doesnt-allow-rapists-sue\/","title":{"rendered":"FACT: The Texas Heartbeat Act bars rapists from suing survivors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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You’ve likely seen abortion advocates’ viral claims that the Texas Heartbeat Act<\/a>\u00a0will allow rapists to sue their pregnant victims along with anyone who helps those women to procure an abortion. But as with much of the rhetoric that surrounds abortion, this is false \u2014 the law in Texas actually specifically prohibits<\/em> this.<\/p>\n

SB 8, known as the Texas Heartbeat Act, prohibits abortion once an embryonic heartbeat can be detected, typically around six weeks of pregnancy. The human heart first begins beating<\/a> 16 to 22 days after fertilization, making the circulatory system the\u00a0first<\/a>\u00a0system to begin working, pumping blood to the brain and sustaining the preborn child’s life.<\/p>\n

\"Texas

Facebook meme makes false claims about Texas Heartbeat Act<\/p><\/div>\n

The law allows private citizens to file a civil lawsuit against the abortionist or anyone who abetted in procuring an abortion after the child has a beating heart \u2014\u00a0except for the mother. Abortion advocates are spreading misinformation claiming that this means a rapist could sue \u2014 and be rewarded with $10,000 \u2014 if his victim undergoes an abortion after the six-week mark.<\/p>\n

This is FALSE.<\/p>\n

The Texas Heartbeat Act clearly states<\/a>\u00a0(emphasis added):<\/p>\n

Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action under this section may not be brought by a person who impregnated the abortion patient through an act of rape, sexual assault, incest, or any other act prohibited<\/strong> by Sections 22.011, 22.021, or 25.02, Penal Code.<\/em><\/p>\n

A rapist or sexual abuser can not<\/em> take civil action against anyone involved in the abortion, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott said<\/a> he is committed to arresting every rapist. Even babies conceived in sexual assault deserve to be protected from a violent death by abortion, and rape survivors who become pregnant and carry to term report<\/a> better emotional and mental health than those who underwent abortions<\/a>. Abbott noted,\u00a0“Rape is a crime and Texas will work tirelessly that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets.”<\/p>\n

Abortion advocates frequently use rape as a justification for legalized abortion for any reason through all nine months of pregnancy, though according to statistics, rape is given as the reason<\/a> for 1% of all abortions. Women who become pregnant from rape and choose life for their babies are often shamed, with their babies referred to in the most hateful of terms. So where is the pro-abortion care and concern for rape victims who choose life?<\/p>\n

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