TEXAS GIVES A GLIMPSE OF GOP’S WORLD WITHOUT ABORTION ACCESS
For Immediate Release: Dec. 10, 2015
Center for Reproductive Rights Petitions Supreme Court to Protect Access to Abortion in Texas
Washington, DC — Today the Center for Reproductive Rights asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review an appellate court ruling from June which if allowed to take effect, would decimate women’s access to safe, legal abortion in the state of Texas. The restrictions at issue in the lawsuit would leave the 5.4 million women of reproductive age in Texas with 10 health centers that provide safe, legal abortion in the entire state — down from approximately 40 health centers before passage of this dangerous law. Planned Parenthood health centers in Texas witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of these restrictions when they temporarily went into effect last October.
Statement from Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund:
“What does America look like without access to safe, legal abortion? Just look at Texas, if these laws are allowed to go into effect. It’s a world where, even though it’s legal, and even if the pregnancy puts her life at risk, or is the result of rape or incest, a woman has to drive hundreds of miles to access an abortion — very often taking time off of work and paying hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars out of her own pocket. These laws de-facto eliminate abortion in most of the state, making it unobtainable for too many women, and quite literally putting women’s lives at risk. If the Supreme Court allows these sham laws to stand, that wouldn’t just be the fate of women in Texas — it could be the fate of women across America.
“As members of Congress and GOP candidates for president try to score cheap political points by calling for extreme measures and restrictions on abortion that the majority of Americans strongly oppose, this case is a reminder that the effects of these restrictions are very real. Scott Walker has even suggested he would rather let a woman die than access an abortion, while Mike Huckabee said he wouldn't rule out using federal troops to stop women from having abortions.”