There is "nothing in the Constitution" that takes away the states' rights to regulate abortion, so states should be able to make their own rules and regulations on the procedure, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued Saturday on Newsmax.
"In 1972, the left was able to create a new constitutional right," Paxton told "Saturday Report," referring to the Roe v. Wade decision. "They were very bold in doing that and there was no precedent. We've been in chaos ever since."
The Supreme Court has ruled the Texas "heartbeat" law, which prohibits abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and allows private citizens to file legal claims for up to $10,000 against anyone providing abortions or helping women obtain one, is a step toward restoring control to the states and can stand while the measure is litigated, drawing outcry nationwide on both sides of the issue.
"This should be a state decision," Paxton said. "I don't know why this is controversial, but that's the way it was set up. That's the way it's been in 1972. And if Massachusetts wants to, uh, allow abortions, they can do it. Texas wants to ban abortions; they should be able to do it. That's where this should stay, and then the states can know with certainly how to regulate their own abortion."
Paxton noted pro-choice people want the decision to be made by the courts, as opposed to coming through debate by elected officials.
"I think there is a real problem if our democracy cannot sustain being able to debate these issues, as opposed to having a court tell us," Paxton said.
Florida is looking at a similar law, and Paxton said he would encourage the state and fight for it.
He also said he does not believe the arguments concerning rape or incest should come into the decisions on abortion law.
"I think constitutionally the unborn have a right to life," Paxton said. "They are protected by the Constitution, just like anybody else is living. There is definitely a collision here between what a mother wants to do, and the life on board. I just think the life of the unborn takes precedence over other issues that the mother might have, and there are certainly options after that. There's adoption, or obviously, you can keep the child."
Paxton also spoke about the new constitutional carry law that began in Texas this past week, which allows people to openly carry firearms without a permit, noting the controversy the decision has stirred.
Critics and liberal media outlets have said the new law will cause crime to grow and make the jobs of police officers more difficult, and Paxton disagreed.
"Look in these other states that what they said the exact same thing, and it hasn't turned out to be true," he said. "We have, what, 22, 21 other states that have done this and they, they said the exact same thing, that there would be more gun violence that more bad things would happen, they said. The same thing with concealed carry in Texas. It wasn't true. And of course, they quote some unnamed law enforcement. I don't believe that in general law enforcement are against people with concealed carry, or open, period."
Further, gun owners and people who carry weapons "tend to be very law-abiding, statistically," Paxton said.
"They just make up this narrative because they don't want people like us being able to protect ourselves from the government, which was exactly why the Second Amendment was created," Paxton said. "It was created for the people to protect themselves against the tyrannical government."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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