What is the actual problem with abortion in Texas? The Texas Heartbeat Act's problematization of women's right to abortion
Author
Thiele, Mathilde Aslesha Vinther
Term
4. term
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-06-01
Pages
50
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan Texas’ Heartbeat Act (SB8), vedtaget i maj 2021, problematiserer kvinders ret til abort i en politisk situation, hvor Roe v. Wade fremstod truet efter et lækket højesteretsudkast i maj 2022. Loven forbyder abort, når føtal hjerteaktivitet er påvist, uden undtagelser for voldtægt eller incest og med eneste undtagelse ved medicinske nødsituationer. Den omgår Roe gennem privat håndhævelse, hvor tredjeparter kan sagsøge dem, der hjælper eller tilskynder til en abort efter påvist hjerteaktivitet, med mindst 10.000 dollars i erstatning per overtrædelse og omkostningsregler, der favoriserer sagsøgeren. Specialets forskningsspørgsmål er: Hvad er problemet ved kvinders ret til abort, som det repræsenteres i Texas Heartbeat Act? Med en kvalitativ casestudieansats anvender specialet Carol Bacchis policyanalyse ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’ (WPR) i samspil med normteori, teorien om ambivalent sexisme (Ambivalent Sexism Inventory) og intersektionalitet for at afdække lovens rammesætning af den gravide og fostret samt de sociale implikationer. Analysen konkluderer, at loven konstruerer kvinders ret til abort som moralsk forkert ved at sidestille hjerteaktivitet med menneskeligt liv med stærkere juridisk krav end den gravides rettigheder og dermed fremstiller abort som drab. Loven bruger sammenkoblede rammer, der favoriserer fostrets rettigheder over den gravides autonomi, og denne prioritering forstærkes gennem borgerdreven håndhævelse. Specialet diskuterer desuden underbelyste aspekter såsom lovens begrænsede anerkendelse af den gravides eksistens og potentielle marginaliserede, økonomiske og kropslige konsekvenser, samt hvordan moralsk republikanisme kan præge problematiseringen.
This thesis examines how the Texas Heartbeat Act (SB8), passed in May 2021, problematizes women’s right to abortion amid a political moment in which Roe v. Wade appeared at risk following a leaked Supreme Court draft in May 2022. The law bans abortion once fetal cardiac activity is detected, makes no exceptions for rape or incest, and allows only medical emergencies as an exception. It circumvents Roe through private enforcement by enabling third parties to sue those who perform, aid, or abet abortions after cardiac activity is detected, with a minimum of $10,000 in statutory damages per violation and fee rules that favor plaintiffs. The research question is: What is the problem of women’s right to abortion represented to be in the Texas Heartbeat Act? Using a qualitative case study, the thesis applies Carol Bacchi’s ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’ (WPR) policy analysis, informed by norm theory, the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, and intersectionality, to unpack how the law frames the pregnant woman and the fetus and the law’s broader social implications. The analysis concludes that the Act constructs women’s right to abortion as morally wrong by equating fetal cardiac activity with human life that has a stronger legal claim than the pregnant woman’s rights, thereby casting abortion as murder. It deploys interconnected frames that privilege the fetus over the woman, a prioritization amplified through public (private) enforcement. The thesis further discusses taken‑for‑granted elements such as the law’s limited recognition of the pregnant woman’s existence, potential marginalized, economic, and bodily effects, and the influence of moral republicanism on this problematization.
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