Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, defended his state’s law banning all abortions after fetal heartbeats could be detected, saying Tesla billionaire tech and CEO Elon Musk “likes social policies in the state of Texas “.
Musk’s companies – Tesla, SpaceX and The Boring Company – continue to be headquartered in California, but the tech mogul announced last year that it had moved to Texas.
In addition, both Tesla and SpaceX have significant operations at The Lone Star State that are growing rapidly.
Abbott said Thursday in a interview with CNBC that not only does the low-tax, relatively deregulated Texas business environment attract major companies, but also its social policies, such as the state’s anti-abortion law.
The law, which Abbott signed in May, went into effect Wednesday after the U.S. Supreme Court failed to act on an emergency request from civil liberties groups to block it. The new law, which prohibits all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, does not provide for exceptions for rape or incest survivors.
The law also includes a single authority for private citizens to sue abortion providers and anyone involved in facilitating abortions (such as driving a woman to a clinic) for at least $ 10,000, if successful.
Abbott insisted Thursday that the law is appealing to many businessmen and Americans.
“People are voting with their feet, and that’s not holding back companies coming to the state of Texas. In fact, it is accelerating the process of companies arriving in Texas, “he added, noting that they are leaving the” very liberal state of California. “
“Elon Musk, with whom I speak frequently, had to leave California because of some of the social policies in California. And Elon constantly tells me that he likes social policies in the state of Texas, ”the governor added.
Musk later responded to Twitter by saying, “Overall, I think the government should rarely impose its will on the people and in doing so should aspire to maximize their cumulative happiness.
“That said, I would rather stay out of politics,” he added.
In the past, Musk had not avoided politics. In early 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Musk called the government’s government orders “fascist” during a shocking surprise over Tesla’s first-quarter 2020 earnings call.
“It’s breaking people’s freedoms in a horrible and wrong way and not why they came to America or built that country,” Musk said at the time. “What’s going on? Excuse me. Outrage. “
Tesla then sued Alameda County, California, where the electric vehicle maker’s huge Fremont factory is located, claiming that the county’s local health orders were at odds with state policy. The company later withdrew the lawsuit.
Last year, Musk gave a total of $ 8,400 to three Republican lawmakers against abortion, according to public records. He also gave a total of $ 11,200 to four Democratic lawmakers who support abortion rights by 2020, according to records.
Texas law is the nation’s most restrictive abortion measure and could pave the way for Roe’s annulment of Wade, the 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.
In a decision of 5 to 4, the Supreme Court decided not to block the law. Chief Justice John Rober and the three Liberal members of the court disagreed, each presenting their views.
“The court order is impressive,” Judge Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent. “Filed with a petition to order a flagrantly unconstitutional law designed to ban women from exercising their constitutional rights and evade judicial scrutiny, most judges have chosen to bury their heads in the sand.”
“The court has rewarded the state’s effort to delay the federal review of a clearly unconstitutional statute, enacted without regard to the court’s precedents, through procedural entanglements of the state’s own creation,” Sotomayor wrote.
“The court should not be so happy to ignore its constitutional obligations to protect not only women’s rights, but also the sanctity of their precedents and the rule of law,” she said.
Chief Justice Roberts said in his opinion he would have blocked the law while advancing judicial challenges.
The Supreme Court’s decision has sparked concerns among civil liberties and women’s rights groups as the Supreme Court prepares this fall to take on a separate case in which they will decide whether or not to quash Roe v. Wade.
Other states under Republican control, seeing the successful challenge of Texas, may remain the same.
Florida Republican Senate President Wilton Simpson said Thursday Florida would likely join other states to pass anti-abortion legislation following the Supreme Court decision.
“When the Supreme Court comes out and makes a decision like this, it will clearly send a signal to all states that are interested in banning abortion or making abortion more restrictive in their state, we will certainly take a look at these issues Simpson said.