Here’s what makes Texas’s ‘heartbeat’ abortion bill uniquely dangerous

Judges have struck down every law state legislatures have passed limiting abortion to the first six weeks of pregnancy, declaring these restrictions, which stop just short of totally banning abortion, to be unconstitutional. Knowing this, but bent on passing one anyway, Texas leaders have devised a convoluted and dangerous workaround: a “heartbeat” bill that entirely outsources its enforcement to private citizens. It’s a call to arms for antiabortion zealots — or, really, anyone who’d like $10,000, the minimum bounty for those who successfully sue a clinic or individual for enabling an “illegal” abortion.