Texas has always been a conservative state but one thing I never thought they’d do was try, and succeed, at taking away one of my fundamental rights. As a woman I should be allowed to decide what I want to do with my body and Texas is trying to take that decision away from me.
Greg Abbott signed a bill that bans most abortions in the state of Texas. It essentially denies anyone the right to abort after six weeks, before most women would even know they were pregnant. A lot of states have been throwing up abortion laws but Texas is different. This law allows anyone to sue someone who provided an abortion after six weeks. It also allows random people to report someone who received an abortion after 6 weeks and if it all follows through they would be rewarded with $10,000.
Texas is, in a way, overturning Roe v. Wade. Roe v wade was a supreme court case back in 1972, it was ruled that the US Constitution protects a pregnant woman’s right to an abortion if she chooses without any excessive government restrictions. This was back in the 70s and in 2021 Texas has decided to take that away in the form of the Heartbeat Act.
The Biden administration and the DOJ, Department of Justice, are turning to the supreme court in an attempt to stop the abortion ban after a blow on Thursday. On Thursday night a decision was made by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the Texas abortion law. Many people are forced to travel to other states to get an abortion, sometimes driving at least 12 hours to get to the nearest clinic in Louisiana.
Texas is trying to take away a woman’s fundamental right to choose what she can do with her body and we can not allow this to happen. The election for a new Texas governor will take place on November 8, 2022, and if we want anything to change we have to start with voting Greg Abbott out of office. For now, we can continue to protest this ridiculous law and just hope that the Supreme Court decides to overrule it.
https://fundtexaschoice.org/ftc-need-help/additional-resources-for-accessing-abortion/ has amazing resources for anyone needing information or help on accessing abortions.