“Access to almost all abortion has just been cut off for millions of people. The impact will be immediate and devastating.” American Civil Liberties Union
The limits on rights are now real. And with bounty hunters…
This morning the Supreme Court decided to let Texas’s new law, S.B. 8, go into effect. This law allows anyone to sue another person for assisting in any way with an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy and rewards them with $10,000 and attorney fees if they succeed—creating a “bounty hunting scheme that encourages the general public to bring costly and harassing lawsuits against anyone who they believe has violated the ban,” according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
It authorizes lawsuits against health center staff, people providing financial assistance, anyone who drives a friend to a clinic, or even a member of the clergy who counsels an abortion patient. And the law allows anyone to file a lawsuit: an abusive partner, a nosy neighbor or even a stranger. Anti-abortion groups in Texas have already set up online forms encouraging people to sue and asking for “anonymous tips” on doctors, clinics and others. With this law, providers, clinic staff and supporters of reproductive justice face ceaseless lawsuits and harassment.
Due to existing barriers to abortion care in the state, approximately 85–90 percent of people who obtain abortions in Texas are at least six weeks into pregnancy, meaning this law would prohibit nearly all abortions in the state. The Guttmacher Institute estimates that the law would increase average distance travelled to obtain abortion care twenty times, from 12 miles to 248 miles. Rural women, women of color, young women – all will be disproportionately affected by this law.
There is no more protection from the Supreme Court. In 2022, it is absolutely essential that we have legislators and statewide office holders that hold strong and protect reproductive rights.
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Click HERE to become a member today and join the fight for reproductive rights. Your membership helps elect strong pro-choice Democratic women at all levels in Arizona.