What pro-choice and reproductive rights advocates have been worried about for years has finally come to pass, with Texas becoming the first state in the nation to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy—the most extreme abortion restriction in the country. This six-week marker is considered essentially a ban on abortion because six weeks is before most women even realize they have missed a period and are even able to think about taking a pregnancy test.
BREAKING: SCOTUS just allowed Texas’ 6-week abortion ban to take effect — the 1st time a state has successfully banned abortion early in pregnancy since Roe v. Wade. The court could still block the law in the coming hours/days but clinics will have to turn people away for now.
— Alice Miranda Ollstein (@AliceOllstein) September 1, 2021
The U.S. Supreme Court, which now has a 6-3 conservative lean, and a federal appeals court failed to rule on emergency requests brought by abortion providers, says CNN. By doing nothing, the courts have allowed this law to be in action as I am typing right now.
Texas is the second-largest U.S. state by both area and population, which means millions of cis women and queer people are now living in a place where their reproductive rights have been slashed significantly.
It is a horrifying reality to wake up to, and left Twitter has been working to keep us informed and is also rightfully livid as hell about this development.
IN CASE YOU MISSED THE QUIET DEATH OF #ROEVSWADE LAST NIGHT 👇🏾 https://t.co/pK0cLHpzNY
— Imani Gandy (@AngryBlackLady) September 1, 2021
What lawmakers are doing in Texas is the real war against #Freedom. Women controlling their bodies AND the right to vote are the most central of freedoms.
— Maya Wiley (@mayawiley) September 1, 2021
The war on women is not over. Last night Texas’ radical anti-choice law went into effect. Florida could be next. Your right to choose can be taken away in an instant. Women must be able to make their own health care decisions. This fight is just beginning.
— Rep. Val Demings (@RepValDemings) September 1, 2021
Right now, a six week old embryo in Texas has more protection than an unvaccinated child who has to go to school surrounded by people not wearing masks. https://t.co/BYO461jY0M
— Faith Salie (@Faith_Salie) September 1, 2021
At this moment, it is imperative to remember all of the millions of people in Texas who will be impacted by this choice. Leaving Texas will not be an option for poor people, who already had limited access to abortion in the first place. What is important is to channel that rage into something productive if you have the means to do so. Give money if you can, spread information, and be a proactive participant in protecting reproductive rights.
Even while I’m writing this, I’m filled with anger. Not just at Donald Trump and his supporters for the current makeup of the court, but at the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg for not retiring from the Supreme Court with Obama in office, and the Democrats for not fighting harder for Obama’s last Supreme Court pick—and allowing the Republicans to continue the reign of terror by not pushing back hard enough during the Trump Presidency. There are a lot of people to be angry about, but while that is happening, I’m sad for those who are impacted by this right now.
(image: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)
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