The Latest from Texas

[Content Note: Rape, Reproductive Coercion]

The majority of Texans oppose the abortion ban that Wendy Davis is attempting to filibuster today.

A minority do not.

A minority do not care that the ban will require, among other things, people with uteri to bear their rapist's child. A minority do not care that many states in the US allow rapists to sue for visitation and custody rights in an attempt to further harass and control their victim. A minority do not care that by preventing abortions in the case of rape, they are guaranteeing that many wanted babies will never be born because some will decide never to get off their birth control if it means risking forced impregnation or death.

This minority view wrecks all my shit.

We should not, in the year of our fjord 2013, have to justify our decision if we choose not to bear our rapist's child. That is a monstrous bullshit position, and one which seeks to completely remove the agency of Texans. And yet I have had long twitter conversations (including one yesterday) with self-identified pro-life activists who (a) neither understand nor care that this legislation with stop many from conceiving wanted pregnancies because they are adamantly unwilling to carry to term any pregnancy that is the result of rape, and who (b) neither understand nor care that this legislation will result in forced pregnancies and mandatory deaths of people who were denied access to birth control prior to rape or whose wanted pregnancy resulted in unforeseen dangerous complications.

That's not a pro-life position, this position which seeks to minimize the number of wanted births and which counts as acceptable "casualties" the unnecessary deaths of people with uteri.

This legislation seeks to shut down 37 of 42 clinics in the state, not only to prevent access to abortions, but also to prevent access to birth control of any kind. In the place of these closed clinics will spring up more and more "crisis pregnancy centers", designed to disseminate false information to people seeking abortions and/or genuine information on family planning. This legislation seeks to make it increasingly more difficult for poor people to access birth control and abortion, by forcing them to travel farther and in a narrower time frame to access these services. This legislation seeks to make it harder for all people with uteri to exercise agency over their reproduction and to protect their health and their lives from government interference.

If you have the ability to share, Wendy Davis is accepting personal stories (with a 500-word max limit) for her filibuster here. You can also find valuable information in Jess Luther's What You Can Do Today To Help Stop #SB5 In #TXlege No Matter Where You Live  post.