The Right to Heal: BARCC Responds to the Texas Abortion Ban

Efforts to chip away at Roe vs. Wade were successful in Texas last week where the state legislature passed the strictest anti-abortion legislation in the United States. Under the new law, people who are six weeks pregnant are barred from seeking abortion services, and there are no permitted exceptions–including for reasons of rape and incest. Furthermore, those responsible for enforcing the law are not limited to the government. Anyone who claims to have information about a person seeking an abortion can now sue that person, as well as anyone else who holds a connection to their abortion. That may include family members or friends, a social worker providing support to a survivor, doctors performing the abortion, or even an Uber driver who drove that person to the clinic. If proven guilty, the plaintiff may receive $10,000. On a judicial level, the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to block the bill allowed it to take effect on September 1. 

We know that this legislation was not passed to protect people. Rather, the law serves to build and reinforce a system that will punish and oppress people who are at the greatest risk of experiencing violence. For survivors of sexual abuse, assault, and harassment, eliminating the right to choose to abort a pregnancy is an automatic refusal of justice on their own terms. Forcing a survivor to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term only serves to retraumatize them. Survivors need trauma-informed care and resources that will allow them to make the decisions that they need in order to heal. 

A few more things to remember about this law; 

• This law does not protect life or guarantee safety. It is about exerting power and control over others. Power and control are the root of sexual violence. 
• The law perpetuates and worsens current conditions of social inequity and inequality. Communities that already lack access to comprehensive health care services, including communities of color, LBGTQ+ communities, people living in poverty, and others battling systemic oppression, will be disproportionately affected.
• The law serves to enforce the cycle of poverty rather than breaking it. With little preexisting support for families with children, many struggle with basic needs, such as childcare, food, and shelter. 
• The law does not stop abortions. However, it has severely reduced acccess to safe abortions. 

Most importantly, this legislation is cruel–and dangerous–for everyone. Revoking the right to bodily autonomy, or someone’s ability to make decisions about their own body in the way that works best for them, is a form of violence. Threatening legal action against people who made a private decision about their pregnancy is a form of a violence. And eliminating abortion as health care is a form of violence. 

Though the bill has understandably prompted frustration and anger, there are also reasons to hope. Over the past week, social reactions have been swift, with other government officials committing to support abortion rights. In response to the Supreme Court’s inaction, Massachusetts Congresswomen Ayanna Pressely announced that “we must proactively legislate reproductive justice and meaningfully advance policies that affirm that abortion care is a fundamental human right.” And this week, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated: “We will not tolerate violence against those seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services, physical obstruction or property damage.” Furthermore, companies such as Uber and Lyft have announced that they will cover one hundred percent of legal fees if their drivers in Texas are sued. 

BARCC will continue to support and serve survivors of sexual violence who require access to safe abortions. We also support any policy that actively that expands health care to all survivors, including the right to abortion as health care. Social change is the mission of our work, and we will be advocating for every survivor to ensure that they are able to find healing in the way that works best for them. 

On an individual level, we invite you to get involved. Here’s how you can offer support to survivors. 

• Reach out. Check in on loved ones who may be affected by the law. We encourage you to listen, validate their feelings and reactions, and offer support if they ask for it. 
• Get informed. Learn more about the law and how you can be part of the advocacy efforts to enact free, safe, abortion health care for communities in the future. 
• Take action. Call your legislators. Tell them why you support protecting people’s rights to abortion.