World News for Students of English

07-09-2021 07:00

Protesters gathered in Texas after the most extreme abortion law in the US began.

Texas started the strictest anti-abortion law in the country, banning all abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, which is before most women know they’re pregnant. The most extreme part of the law gives private citizens the power to sue abortion providers and anyone who helps or abets an abortion after six weeks. Citizens who win such lawsuits would get at least 10,000 dollars.

There is concern that the law will incentivize bad behavior and encourage abortion ’bounty hunters’ or people that report women who are trying to access health care in Texas. There have been cases of people outside of clinics recording license plates and taking pictures of people going into clinics.

Despite legal efforts to stop the law, the US Supreme Court failed to act on an emergency request by abortion rights groups. The Biden government said that it would fight to protect the right to abortion.

Difficult words: abet (to encourage or assist someone to do something which people may think is wrong), incentivize (to motivate someone to do something, especially by offering rewards), bounty (money or another reward).

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