Page 60 - Tracy Anderson Magazine - Fall 2021

Y OUR BOD Y
Y OUR CHOICE
A personal journey of the current state of affairs relating to abortions
and human rights, as told by Gay Snow.
The Misconception of Conception: Texas Heartbeat Act cisions that concern their own body. And just like that, with
Welcome to the good ’ole US of A. Home of the free and
the brave. And Texas, the proud owner and divine creator
of the Heartbeat Act. Those Texans, so damn creative to
come up with legislation that prohibits and criminalizes
abortion. chattel means “thing” or “property.”
Suppression of Women’s Rights Indeed. Texas women, consider yourselves owned by Texas
It’s true, Texas has stripped women of the right to make de- men.
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I’m serious. How did these politicians come up with this law?
the stroke of a pen, the Heartbeat Act has become the law of
the land in Texas. Thank you to the Texas State Legislature
and Governor Greg Abbott. Y’all give yourselves a high five
for reducing women to chattel. For all you non-lawyer folks,
“viable” as early as four weeks into a pregnancy. Did you
know that the viability of a fetus is defined as when a fetus
The last time I checked, politicians, lawyers, and judges are
can survive outside of the womb? The landmark 1973 U.S.
not physicians. Hmmm. Who are these people to determine
the where and when of abortion? Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade recognized fetal viability
at 24 to 28 weeks.
Check your calendars. Is this not the 21st century?
In fact, this legislation determined a fetus is viable at four
I ask y’all: Why is there an overwhelming want in this coun- weeks, when, the State of Texas claims, a fetal heartbeat
try to suppress the rights of women? For that matter, why can be detected via ultrasound. However, many physicians
do our fellow sisters, our brethren, want to suppress our will assert that at four weeks, the “fetus” is an embryo, and
collective rights? Why? a human heart is not developed yet. Thus, it can be argued
that the alleged heartbeat is really an electronic flicker that
The Heartbeat Act the ultrasound recorded rather than a human heartbeat.
The legislative intent of the Heartbeat Act is to block Texas
women from obtaining an abortion. Plain and simple. For purposes of this statute, the “fetal” viability clock starts
ticking from the first day of a woman’s last menstrual period.
The state legislators seemingly picked out of “thin air” a
cut-off date as early as six weeks for Texans to legally obtain Once again, I ask all women who menstruate: Do you know
abortions. In law, we call that “arbitrary and capricious,” be- the last day of your menstrual period? I, for one, when I had
cause this statute was not rooted in medical science. Again, menstrual cycles, never knew the last day.
the intent was to ban abortions because they wanted to.
I ask women who have ever been pregnant: Did you know
Definitions of Statute as early as four weeks, which was calculated from the first
Let us together review the statute, to understand the day from your last period, that you were pregnant? When I
far-reaching implications of this legislative abomination. In was trying to get pregnant, I didn’t have any idea that I was
order to understand the meaning of the statute, we first pregnant at four, five, six, or seven weeks. Really.
must read the “Definitions” section.
It’s not surprising that many women don’t know they’re
When you read statutes, you must first look at the defini- pregnant. As a matter of fact, the only way you can tell
tions section of the statute, which is the road map to deci- if you’re pregnant is when you “skip” or “miss” a period,
pher the actual law. Sometimes, statutes are written with which typically occurs two weeks after conception. And by
lots of fancy-schmancy legalese to confuse the average per- the way, many women’s menstrual cycles, or periods, are
son. Yes, it’s written to confuse you. not timely and punctual. They’re erratic. Thus, if a woman’s
period is “late” by a few weeks, not all women would suspect
It’s important to note that the Texas legislators determined a pregnancy. Under this common scenario, a woman may
the definitions of these words. Not you. Not me. learn she’s seven or eight weeks pregnant by taking a home
pregnancy test.
The Detection of a Fetal Heartbeat
According to the statute, “…The Heartbeat Act was enacted The problem with real life and this statute is that when a
to amend The Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter H.”
woman is finally examined by a doctor to confirm a preg-
nancy, she could be nine weeks pregnant. In Texas, a wom-
This statute allegedly protects the health of Texans. Wow.
Does it really? an no longer has the right to choose what is right for herself
and her family.
The statute defines words, such as “Fetal Heartbeat, Gesta-
tional Age, Gestational Sac, Pregnancy, Unborn Child, and Compelling State Interest to Protect
Cardiac Activity.” That’s a lot of medical terminology. To Now, the statute cites that Texas has a compelling inter-
reiterate, I had no idea that politicians, lawyers, and Greg est from the outset of a woman’s pregnancy to protect the
Abbott knew so much about medicine. Fascinating, right? health of the woman and the life of the unborn child. Ask
yourself: Do they really have a compelling interest to protect
When you put all these definitional words together, the the health of the woman and the life of the unborn child?
Texas legislature banned abortions as early as six weeks.
According to the statute, Texas wants the woman to “make
A question to every woman who has ever been pregnant: Did an informed choice about whether to continue her preg-
you know as early as six weeks that you were pregnant? I, for nancy,” specifically, that “the pregnant woman has a com-
one, did not. pelling interest in knowing the likelihood of her unborn
child surviving to full-term birth based on the presence of
Viability of a Fetus cardiac activity.” This is ludicrous for the reasons previously
The Heartbeat Act has determined that a “fetus” is now set forth. Most women don’t know they’re pregnant at six
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