Late last night, a Federal Appeals Court reversed the Monday decision by a Texas Court that stayed the implementation of draconian anti-abortion state laws that would have shuttered almost half the abortion clinics in Texas. These were the laws that Wendy Davis filibustered. So, today, up to 13 clinics in Texas had to immediately stop performing abortions. These clinics serve women in mostly outlying rural areas of Texas and will cause women untold time, money and anxiety to travel to Houston, Dallas or Austin to obtain care. Many will give up and have babies. Others will jump through the hoops and persevere at great cost to mental, physical, and financial health.
This has previously been diaried HERE, HERE and HERE.
Today, my friend and longtime colleague, Charlotte Taft, of the Abortion Care Network penned a soulful piece that she has requested I reprint in full here. Charlotte used to run a clinic in Dallas and has a long history of working with women in Texas.
As I write this I am so full of fury and fear that I can hardly breathe. I have spent my life working for abortion rights--making sure that women can make safe decisions about when and whether to bring new life into the world through their bodies. There is no choice that is more responsible, moral, or respectful of life. And today the movement to make abortion illegal has dealt that choice a powerful blow.