Answer: The Texas Heartbeat Act, Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), is a Texas legislative act that prohibits abortion after the detection of embryonic or fetal cardiac activity, which usually occurs around six weeks of pregnancy.
Explanation: • The Texas Heartbeat Law penalizes physicians who perform or induce abortions after detecting a heartbeat. The Texas Heartbeat Law rejects the Roe v. Wade decision by recognizing that pre-Roe state laws prohibiting abortion in Texas are still valid and enforceable. The Texas Penal Code of 1925 addressed abortion by prohibiting and criminalizing it. The Penal Code was overhauled in 1973, the same year as Roe v. Wade. Many laws were repealed or relocated, but the abortion laws were never repealed. The Texas Heartbeat Law makes mention of these states and acknowledges that