you on the politics. after the trauma women and some couples are experiencing, and i think it s worth pointing out how vast texas is. it s not like living in the tri-state area where you can get in your car and be in texas and new jersey in one day. it s also not bordered by a lot of places it s that much easier to get an abortion. what do like minded people who feel this trauma, want to support women or couples experiencing this trauma do? well, i wish there was a simple answer to that, nicolle, that we could wave a wand. this is going to be a long haul to turn things around in texas. there are political things they can do, vote, call their
into bounty hunters is where the legal battles against the law could be fought. that s according to lawrence tribe, professor of constitutional law emeritus at harvard law school. here he is last night with our colleague, rachel maddow. since this texas law operates by chilling abortion helpers and abortion providers, frightening them out of business, what they can do is say you sue us for $10,000 or $10 million because there is no limit put on the statute and we ll sue you for double that. you want to try? even a justice who doesn t believe in roe v. wade, who doesn t think there is a basic right to abortion, would have to confront all of these precedents that say even if what you re doing is not something that s specially protected by the constitution, like serving liquor with the meal that you are serving people, even then your livelihood cannot be put at
states are beginning to act and to try to take action, assuming this supreme court is not going to intervene. is that where we re heading, that this will happen anywhere and everywhere? i mean, i think it will. we have many this is a supreme court, as we know, by a 5-4 note basically refused to take action on a law that is so clearly unconstitutional that even judge roberts said a law crafted to insulate the state from responsibility for enforcement. and yet they took no action. there s, of course, another case coming before the supreme court from mississippi in just a couple of months, and there are many laws on the books that if this supreme court, in fact, refuses to recognize the precedent of the right to seek legal abortion, we ll have many states where abortion is no longer available. one thing, nicolle, i think is important to remember it s not that abortion is not going to
what worries me, nicolle, when i see so many schools that are still not implementing these measures, in part because some of them are being blocked by their states and local elected officials, we cannot allow anything to get in the way of us taking measures required to keep our kids safe. let me ask you about the state of texas near complete ban on any abortion after the six-week mark, which is essentially 85% of all abortions performed in the state of texas. what are the risks to maternal and infant mortality with a law like that in place in a state the size of texas? nicolle, it was disappointing to see this from a public health standpoint because we know these types of near total bans actually increase risk and reduce safety for women who are seeking reproductive health care services. my belief as a doctor who has cared for many patients over the years and worked with patients through really difficult decisions is these are some of the hardest decision when is it
performing or aiding and abetting an abortion and reward them $10,000 if they re successful. 23 house democrats led by house judiciary committee chairman jerry nadler penned a letter to attorney general merrick garland requesting he use the full power of the justice department to protect a woman s right to choose and to combat that pernicious provision. they write this, quote. we urge you to take legal action up to and including the criminal prosecution of would be vigilantes attempting to use the private right of action established by that blatantly unconstitutional law. what we ve heard from the attorney general so far was a statement released the day before that letter was sent from house democrats. it reads in part, quote, the department will provide support from federal law enforcement when an abortion clinic or reproductive health center is under attack. we will not tolerate violence against those seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services. this turning of texas re