Monday night, a draft opinion leaked by POLITICO showed the Supreme Court of the United States is set to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito writes: “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled.The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision.”
The court confirmed the leaked draft is accurate Tuesday morning but said the opinion isn’t final. But if conservative justices make true to their promise to overturn Roe, pregnant Americans will not have access to abortion in 26 states by July — more specifically, in southern states where minorities are the highest population.
In the 2021 legislative session, Texas enacted a trigger law that bans all forms of abortion which will take effect 30 days after SCOTUS strips federal protections.
The Signal spoke with Caroline Duble from Avow Texas, an abortion advocacy group, about abortion access in post-Roe Texas, how pregnant people can get access and demand Democrats pass legislation to codify Roe.
“The best thing someone can do if they find out they are pregnant in a post-Roe world is to visit needabortion.org, nationally ineedana.org,” Duble said. “That will have the most up-to-date information about what is possible within the state and the best resources to get you out of state.”
In September, when Senate Bill 8 went into effect, pregnant Texans traveled to Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, and other states to access abortions after the law put a $10,000 bounty on Texas abortion providers.
With three border states around Texas also enacting anti-abortion legislation, many Texans will have to travel even further to seek care.
According to Duble, abortion access funds like the Lilith Fund, Frontera Fund, Jane’s Due Process, and more will help pregnant people financially when seeking an abortion.
“Federal legislation is hugely important right now and any public pressure to make that happen is helpful,” Duble said. “The other thing people can do is donate to their local abortion funds. And it’s really important to follow the lead of existing organizations that have been around for decades and already have the infrastructure to get people the help they need.”
Tuesday morning, Biden released a statement condemning the SCOTUS decision while also putting the problem on voters to elect pro-choice leaders.
But with a Democratic House, Democratic Senate, and a Democratic President, it begs the question, why don’t federal lawmakers want to act now?
“We really need our progressives and our Democrats to do better as well,” Duble said. “Language like ‘the women’s right to choose’ doesn’t cut it at a time like this. Everyone has the right to create the life and family that they want, and that is not possible without access to abortion. So we need pro-abortion language and pro-abortion legislation ASAP.”
Kennedy is a recent graduate of the University of St.Thomas in Houston where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Celt Independent. Kennedy brings her experience of writing about social justice issues to the Texas Signal where she serves as our Political Reporter. She does everything from covering crime beats, Texas politics, and community activism. Kennedy is a passionate reporter, avid reader, coffee enthusiast, and loves to travel.
