MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US state of Texas criminalizes every abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy

“Millions of children lose their right to live each year due to abortion,” said Governor Abbot

Texas' Republican Governor Greg Abbot Wednesday signed into law a new bill criminalizing terminations of pregnancies of six weeks or more.

With this measure, Texas joins Ohio and Tennessee, which prohibit abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be felt, which is usually at six weeks of pregnancy, and do not allow for any exceptions even in cases of rape or incest.

Pro-abortion movements claim this is a particularly restrictive stance since during the first six weeks many women do not even realize that they are pregnant.

“Our creator gave us the right to life and yet millions of children lose their right to live each year due to abortion,” said Abbot upon signing the documents.

Effective in September, the new law comes at a time when the Supreme Court has reached the first dispute over abortion that could call into question the historic Roe v. Wade ruling of 1973. The Supreme Court of the United States, made up of a majority of conservative judges (6 to 3), will have to evaluate the constitutionality of the Mississippi law that bans practically all abortions after the 15th week.

Currently, abortion is illegal in Texas after 20 weeks, except when there is a danger to the mother or if the fetus has serious abnormalities. According to federal health authorities, 90% of abortions in the United States occur during the first 13 weeks of pregnancy.