The following statement is from Brianna Brown, Texas Organizing Project (TOP) Co-Executive Director, in reaction to a draft Supreme Court opinion being leaked Monday which would overturn the landmark case and legal precedent Roe v. Wade:
“Far-right fundamentalists are on the verge of fulfilling their ruthless, decades-long mission to destroy the practice of safe and legal abortion. Access to healthcare, including abortion, is a human right.
“For nearly 50 years, Republican extremists have plotted and enacted insidious propaganda campaigns that seek to strip us of our reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy.
“Republicans’ goal of tearing down Roe v. Wade and embrace of white supremacy are not coincidental, they’re intrinsically linked. Punitive restrictions on abortion already disproportionately impact communities of color as a result of systemic racism – most notably Black and Latino.
“In 2019, about 70% of abortions in Texas were obtained by women of color, highlighting how access to abortion is inarguably an issue of racial and economic justice.
“Texas is one of 13 states with a ‘trigger law,’ meaning that abortion procedures would be banned within 30 days of Roe v. Wade being overturned. Unfortunately, that would also be true for three of our border states – Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas. In practice, that means that the top 10 furthest drives to an abortion clinic are all from Texas counties.
“A total nationwide abortion ban would inflict an unimaginable level of harm on Black and Latino communities, especially here in Texas where Republican officials are hell-bent on implementing laws to regulate our bodies, so long as it appeases the right-wing fringe.
“The contents of this draft court opinion make crystal clear how emboldened this far-right fringe is, and how the overturning of safe and legal abortion is part of their broader push to leverage our government institutions to attack and ultimately eliminate other constitutional rights – particularly LGBTQIA+ protections.
“In response to this imminent ruling, we encourage our supporters to make a contribution of any amount to Texas Equal Access Fund (TEA Fund) to raise funds for people who are in need of emotional and financial support while seeking the reproductive care they deserve.”
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Texas Organizing Project organizes Black and Latino communities in Dallas, Harris, Bexar, and Fort Bend counties with the goal of transforming Texas into a state where working people of color have the power and representation they deserve. For more information, visit organizetexas.org.
This statement was sent out May 3, 2022.