Clinics Forced to Turn Patients Away Under Texas's Unconstitutional Abortion Ban
On September 1st, 2021, Texas effectively banned abortion in the state. Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health and Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, sits down to talk to us about the tremendous stress that Texas’s new legislation has already had on patients, abortion providers, clinic staff, and abortion funds.
Texas’s SB8 outlaws abortion care after six weeks of pregnancy—far before many people even know they are pregnant and before many people can even receive an abortion appointment due to the pre-existing restrictive laws in Texas. Because they are so blatantly unconstitutional, six-week abortion bans have been knocked down in twelve states before Texas. The statute also empowers Texas residents to become pseudo-vigilantes, reporting anyone who “aids and abets” someone in accessing an abortion. The Supreme Court allowed the law to be enforced on September 2nd. For more detailed information on the Texas law, check out our past podcast episode here.
This new ruling will force patients to drive out-of-state to receive basic abortion care, putting a burden on the healthcare infrastructure of neighboring states like New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The law also puts an enormous emotional weight on the staff of clinics like Whole Woman’s Health, who are being forced to tell patients that they cannot receive the abortion care that they need.
Links
Whole Woman’s Health on Twitter
Whole Woman’s Health on Facebook
Whole Woman’s Health Alliance on Twitter
Whole Woman’s Health Alliance on Facebook
Why Texas’s New Abortion Law and the Upcoming SCOTUS Case are Stressing Us Out Podcast
Take Action Items
Firstly, follow Whole Woman’s Health on Twitter and Facebook and Whole Woman’s Health Alliance on Twitter and Facebook here.
Continue having open, honest, and, positive conversations about safe and legal abortion access.
If you can, donate to people doing work on the front lines in Texas, including Whole Woman’s Health and Whole Woman’s Health alliance. You can find a list of Texas abortion funds here and Keep Our Clinics here.
Support the show (https://www.reprosfightback.com/take-action#donate)