AUSTIN, TX — In a horror story right out of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Texas’ ‘trigger law’ went into effect right after the Dobbs decision, making abortion illegal except for proven life-threatening circumstances, shutting down nearly all abortions in the state. The politicians crafted a purposely broad and vague law that is spreading chaos, confusion and fear. They said abortions could be performed if necessary to prevent serious harm or death, but the wording of the law didn’t make that clear. And now, it is coming to light that more and more women face death without the health care they desperately need.
Doctors feel they cannot even tell women that their pregnancy complications necessitate an abortion, thinking that could lead to conviction. Doctors in Texas and other states cannot provide health care without fearing disbarment, huge fines and decades if not life in prison. In essence, medical doctors and professionals can no longer provide healthcare.
The awful stories are just beginning. One Texas woman needed the removal of one of her twin fetuses which had an abnormality likely leading to its death, to help ensure her health and the survival of the other twin. She had to leave the state. Another woman was refused an abortion until her life was in imminent danger. She went into sepsis, and then the procedure was performed. Many women seeking abortions already have children, so the law threatens a family with the loss of the mother. Abortions are part of routine medical care that everyone has a right to.
Texas is a state with the lowest percentage of people with health insurance and a high level of poverty. Access to all forms of medical care is precarious for a lot of people, especially the poor, the undocumented and people of color. With the abortion ban in place, and financial assistance in short supply, poor people cannot afford the expenses involved in travel and absence from work.
The cruel new laws are not stopping women from organizing and agitating on the right to control their own bodies, and of publicizing the double burden and increased death of poor women, especially Black women, seeking reproductive health care. Those with the means to get out-of-state health care return to their home state to face the fear of prosecution and/or denial of care if they develop an abortion-related health issue.
Challenging Texas’ Inhumane Law
In a groundbreaking case, Texas law is now being challenged by five women who claim an abortion ban put them at risk of death.
They are suing officials including Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton and state medical board Executive Director Stephen Brint Carlton. And they are calling on a state court in Travis County to confirm that the state’s abortion ban allows medical professionals to provide abortion care in cases where the pregnant person has a “physical emergent medical condition” or “where the pregnancy is unlikely to result in the birth of a living child with sustained life.”
These women, represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, say they were denied care despite being pregnant with fetuses that had significant abnormalities, and in some cases developing life-threatening medical conditions.
“I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like this in the nation, having people with pregnancy complications having to sue the state,” Nancy Northup, President of Center for Reproductive Rights, told The New York Times. “It puts a face on the reality of what it means when you criminalize abortion care. It shows that abortion care is healthcare.”
“The people in the building behind me have the power to fix this, yet they have done nothing,” said a plaintiff. “In fact, they’re currently trying to pass even more restrictive measures. So it’s not just for me and for our Willow that I stand here before you today. It’s for every pregnant person and for everyone who knows and loves a pregnant person. It is with and for all Texans who like me are scared and outraged at the thought of being pregnant in this state that I stand and fight.”
A powerful movement of women is being unleashed everywhere. And there’s no going back. Women are fighting in a myriad of ways for autonomy over their own bodies, for their lives, for their babies’ lives, for all women’s lives. This battle cannot be won without health care as a basic human right. It is in the interest of each of us to stand up and join this fight.
Please view the video of the press conference at https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=732537305074113
I met a woman on the bus yesterday as we were going home from a senior center. We had a conversation about pharmacies, particularly Walgreens who will not distribute mifepristone in 20 states. She said she had two children, had her tubes tied, and she didn’t have to worry about pregnancy anymore. I said I was worried about our children and the problems an unwanted pregnancy causes. She agreed it was a problem but was unmoved to act. It’s because of inaction like this that the assault on our bodilly autonomy exists and continues. Let no sister be unmoved!