Out of all of the issues Texans are currently facing, one that is constant is the right to basic health care, and autonomy over health care decisions. People should be empowered to be their own experts when it comes to decisions about their own bodies. Unfortunately, the state of Texas feels differently, and we remain in a continuous cycle of fighting for the very basic needs, like the right to have abortion access and life-saving reproductive health.  

Governor Greg Abbott has been vocal about his anti-abortion stance, and it has worrying consequences. He has fostered an environment where dangerous disinformation about abortion care spreads rapidly in the state, and leads people to miss out on care or fear repercussions for seeking out a basic right. For more on this, check out our most recent webinar, They Want To Ban Travel for Abortion-Seekers. 

Time and time again, although Abbott describes himself as ‘pro-life’, he proves this is a false label. He has rejected the expansion of Medicaid during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic, he has not tackled the critical issue of firearm-related violence, [1] and to top it off, Texas is on the list for the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States, which his administration has done nothing to meaningfully combat. [2]  

Recently, Texas mother of two Kate Cox was denied an abortion for a pregnancy that was deemed non-viable and threatened her own health and future fertility. [3] She had to leave the state to get the abortion she desperately needed after Abbott’s Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the state Supreme Court to intervene on a lower court ruling that would have allowed her to get her care. Paxton also threatened any Texas providers who would dare help this poor woman.

Doctors in the state of Texas have been fearful of losing their licenses, being fined, or even jailed for providing necessary medical care. According to a mid-2022 study, out of 28 Texas patients who were delayed care “nearly half of these patients developed a serious condition, including 10 who developed infections, five who needed blood transfusions, and one who required a hysterectomy.” [4] And this was before the most harrowing impacts of the Dobbs decision that banned abortion throughout the country, including in Texas. Now, some Texas physicians are fleeing the state because of the fear that doing their job could face criminal punishment, [5] and because as some describe, watching patients get sick from pregnancy complications and not being able to treat them correctly with needed abortion care is, for them, an abdication of their duty as physicians. [6] 

The state of the state is dire. But despite all the setbacks and malicious attempts to suppress reproductive health and justice here in Texas, people are still out advocating, championing for themselves, and engaging their communities without the state’s help. We know the best options for ourselves when it comes to our fundamental rights for bodily autonomy. Abortion is unstoppable and we must ensure it is accessible and supported regardless of where someone lives. 

Sources: 

1. https://progresstexas.org/blog/5-reasons-why-greg-abbott-isn%E2%80%99t-pro-life-just-anti-abortion 
2. https://www.texastribune.org/2019/06/10/Texas-governor-Greg-Abbott-maternal-mortality-rate/ 
3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/11/kate-cox-texas-abortion  
4. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/08/22/1195115865/texas-abortion-bans-softened-quietly 
5. https://19thnews.org/2023/06/abortion-gender-affirming-care-bans-doctors-leaving-texas/ 
6. htps://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/06/24/1107316711/doctors-ethical-bind-abortion