'I will not persecute Texas women,' Sheriff Javier Salazar on Roe's reversal
TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - "It is absolutely none of my business. I will not persecute Texas women or anyone else pursuing those same rights."
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar made his feelings known about the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade, a landmark ruling from 1973 that returns abortion access to the states.
Sheriff Salazar shared a Facebook post on June 28, praising his daughters and a woman's right to choose.
"I'm the Sheriff of Bexar County, but also a Dad of two beautiful and intelligent young women. As their Dad I will defend my daughters' ability to do what they feel is right with their own bodies and to love whomever they choose. As their Dad, I have no control over their adult bodies. As their Sheriff, it is absolutely none of my business. I will not persecute Texas women or anyone else pursuing those same rights.
Shame on the Supreme Court and the bureaucrats in Washington D.C. and Austin who are attempting to impose their own supposed morals on others. They will not use my badge or the color of my office to do so. My job is chasing predators, rapists, and human traffickers, not someone exercising a right.
If it's religion those career politicians would like to enforce, then they should remember that there are many other commandments in scripture that they themselves have very publicly chosen to ignore.
If it's truly about protecting children, how about starting with the ones in our schools?"
The June 24, 2022 ruling came in a case involving a Mississippi law that banned abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, and the court reversed the decision of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which blocked the measure.
Justice Samuel Alito delivered the opinion for the court, and was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Chief Justice John Roberts delivered a concurring opinion. The court's three liberal justices dissented.
"Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division," he wrote in his majority opinion. "It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives."
A ruling from a Texas judge on June 28 blocked officials from enforcing the ban. It allows clinics to resume services, for now, in a state where abortion was already severely restricted to only up to six weeks of pregnancy under a so-called "trigger law" that took effect in September, which the court declined to block.
The Texas legislature approved the "trigger law" called the Human Life Protection Act in the event Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Republican State Representative Giovanni Capriglione of Southlake authored the bill.
"What this legislation does is it extends the protections of the state to all lives," Rep. Capriglione said. "I think that's what's important. I think that's what those of us who have been pro-life for a long time have always said and always prayed for."
Rep. Capriglione said he wants to expand health services for prenatal and postnatal care and adoption programs during the next legislative session that begins in January.
The Texas Attorney General's Office and District Attorneys will enforce the trigger law due to the criminal and civil penalties.
Similar to Sheriff Salazar, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot also released a statement suggesting he won't prosecute cases against women who get an abortion.
"I want women across Texas and especially here in Dallas County, to rest assured that my office will not stand in the way of them seeking the health care they need," Creuzot said.
Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson sent a statement to CBS 11 as well.
"Prosecutors do not make the law – we follow it," Wilson said. "We followed Roe v. Wade when it was the law, and we will follow Texas state law now."
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra weighed in on June 28, saying "We will do everything in our power to ensure women have access to the healthcare they need. Every option is on the table."
Becerra addressed concerns about misinformation, stressing he wants women to understand they "haven't lost all their rights."
"We are intent on protecting people's rights under the law," he said.