FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 01, 2021
Contact: Kenny Palmer | press@indivisible.org
“The decision by the conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court to allow Texas’ barbaric abortion ban to take effect will be catastrophic for reproductive healthcare in Texas and beyond. The Texas law at issue would ban abortions after six weeks, which in effect is a near-total ban on abortion, since most people aren't even aware that they are pregnant at that stage. There’s no need to sugarcoat this--this is an outright ban on abortion and a direct attack on Roe v. Wade. What’s worse is that the law encourages fellow citizens to turn in people who they suspect have gotten an abortion after the allowed timeframe and rewards them with up to $10,000 for each successful claim. This is absolutely vile.
“This is what conservatives have been working towards since Roe was decided: to ban abortion. And it is low-income people of color who will bear the brunt of this ideological quest, because abortion bans have never stopped rich white women from receiving the abortion services they need. Historically, these type of laws do not prevent abortions from happening, they prevent safe abortions from happening and force poor BIPOC into horrible emotional, financial, and physical situations to terminate a pregnancy. The fact that the Supreme Court refused to block this dangerous law from going into effect, while an active lawsuit is pending before the Court, is signaling what we knew from the start: our hard fought and won constitutional rights are in the process of being taken away.” --Leah Greenberg, Co-Executive Director of Indivisible.
“We are in this situation now because of a 50-year campaign waged by dark money, conservative groups to stack our judiciary with extremists committed to overturning Roe by any means necessary. While it is appalling that Republican-led state legislatures would pass a law as cruel as Texas’s abortion ban, these legislatures are emboldened to do so because they know they will find a friendly audience among the justices.
“What more evidence do Democrats need to act? The damage done to the courts by Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell, and George W. Bush before them, is creating a nightmare for the public. Judges appointed by two presidents who didn’t win the popular vote should not be able to ignore decades of legal precedent to take away our constitutional rights. President Biden and Congress need to act now to expand and restore balance to the courts, or this nightmare will last for generations. It absolutely can and will get worse unless we fight back.
“Right now, people need our urgent help in Texas. Local abortion rights organizations, community action funds, and abortion services groups are driving donations to protect people’s right healthcare by helping folks navigate the implementation of the law. Donate to and uplift groups like Texas Equal Access Fund, Clinic Access Support Network, Fund Texas Choice, Lilith Fund, Stigma Relief Fund, West Fund, Frontera Fund, SYS (Support Your Sistah), The Bridge Collective, & Jane’s Due Process.
“The fight is not over. Organizations like the ACLU, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood, and more are continuing to push the Court to halt the enforcement of the Texas law; and with the Supreme Court set to hear the case on Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban next term, we must be ready to mobilize like never before to protect our basic right to decide what’s best for our bodies and health.” --Meagan Hatcher-Mays, Director of Democracy Policy of Indivisible.
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