The new abortion bill, Senate Bill 8, has brought changes for nurses and doctors throughout the state. The law, which states abortions are prohibited past 6 weeks, has stirred up conflict. Thursday, the Texas Nurses Association released a press release saying they fully support the opposition of the bill.
This bill creates civil penalties for providers acting within their ethical guidelines and standards of practice. Worse, it “deputizes” Texans who are expected to be the enforcement mechanism under this bill, said the statement.
Nurses are threatened with a $10,000 fine for violating the bill. With a shortage of nurses rising throughout the state of Texas, the Texas Nurses Association said politics seem to be more important than the actual practice of medicine.
“Texas is facing one of the most severe nursing shortages in history. The state has responded by putting a bounty on their head. We proudly echo the sentiment of our physician colleagues: enough is enough,” said the statement.
Another group to push back against the bill is the Satanic Temple. According to a report by Fortune the non-religious group is planning to get approval from the FDA to have the capability to use pills for abortions due to their religious beliefs and the constituted freedom of religion.
The Satanic Temple finds its home in Salem, Massachusetts but has a sector in Dallas. Their Facebook page for the Dallas-Fort Worth area says, “Our goal is to promote compassion and justice in all facets of life for all human beings.”
Last week, the Supreme Court denied a change in the abortion law after several requests from abortion clinics and supporters to ban the law made it to the court.