What Reproductive Rights Advocates Can Learn From Texas (Yes, Texas)
March 23, 2017
How folks in conservative states are responding—and have been responding for years—to infringements on their civil rights.
On March 20, a group of women dressed in red capes and white bonnets protested a collection of anti-abortion bills in the Texas Senate. The outfits were in tribute to characters from Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale, which portrays a near-future when some women are forced to bear children and abortion is outlawed. Grassroots activists in Texas spearheaded the colorful direct action, which was also organized and supported by the advocacy organization NARAL Pro-Choice Texas and the abortion fundraising group Texas Equal Access Fund. “The idea behind it was … to show that these restrictions are walking us back,” said Alexa Garcia-Ditta, the communications and policy initiatives director at NARAL Pro-Choice Texas.
Two of the measures ultimately passed the state Senate and are headed to the House. If passed, one of the bills would outlaw a common procedure used for second-trimester abortions. The other would prohibit parents from suing doctors if their baby is born with defects, which critics say would allow anti-abortion doctors to withhold information from pregnant woman about fetal abnormalities or severe disabilities.
This is nothing new. Texas has long been a battleground state for reproductive rights. Even Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that legalized abortion, began with a case in Texas. Previously, the state banned abortions except in extreme circumstances to save the life of the woman. The U.S. Supreme Court changed that by deeming abortions a constitutional right for all.
