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Everything You Need to Know About SB 8, Texas' Latest Extreme Abortion Restriction
Effective September 1, 2021, SB 8 bans abortion in Texas at around 6 weeks — before many people even know they’re pregnant. Planned Parenthood is fighting back.
Statement from CEO's of PP South Texas, PP Gulf Coast, and PP Greater Texas in Response to Federal Court Granting Preliminary Injuction
Following Wednesday's announcement that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of TX granted a preliminary injunction (PI) requested by the U.S. Department of Justice to block enforcement of TX' 6-week abortion ban, S.B. 8., PP affiliates in TX released the following statement.
Joint Statement from Jeffrey Hons, President & CEO, Planned Parenthood South Texas; Melaney A. Linton, President & CEO, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast and Ken Lambrecht, President & CEO, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas:
“This legal victory is an important first step toward restoring abortion access in Texas, but the fight is not over. The state has already appealed this ruling and we don’t know if or when this injunction could be lifted, and the law could be back in effect.
“People seeking an abortion should call our health centers so we can discuss their options. Even before S.B. 8, Texas made it as hard as possible to get an abortion, including forcing patients to undergo state-mandated “informed consent” visits and 24-hour waiting periods for most patients before their actual abortion appointments. We are regularly assessing what’s possible during this period of uncertainty but, given the state's appeal, our health centers may not have the days or even weeks it could take to navigate new patients through Texas’s onerous abortion restrictions.
“Abortion rights for people in Texas will not be fully restored until S.B. 8 is completely struck down, and we are doing everything we can to make sure that happens. We will continue fighting this ban in court until we are certain patients’ ability to access care is protected.”
Statement from Melaney A. Linton, President & CEO, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast and Planned Parenthood Center for Choice:
“At Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, we believe that all individuals must be free to control their own bodies and make their own private medical decisions without interference from anyone — least of all politicians and, should SB 8 take effect, virtual strangers deputized by the state to enforce a blatantly unconstitutional law.
“It is unthinkable that anti-abortion extremists could be allowed to stand in the way of people accessing essential health care. And SB 8 goes even further by incentivizing those extremists to pursue frivolous lawsuits against anyone who helps a person access the health care they need, which has dangerous implications for our patients, our health centers, our communities, and our entire legal system.
“While the legal strategy may be new, the intent is not: Planned Parenthood has been on the frontlines for more than a decade of concerted attacks on abortion, and SB 8 could decimate what little access remains in Texas. Our patients deserve so much better.”
Planned Parenthood and SB 8 in the news
Texas Tribune: Twenty abortion providers sue Texas officials over law that bans abortions as early as six weeks
The Guardian: Planned Parenthood files lawsuit against Texas’s extreme abortion ban
Rolling Stone: An Abortion Provider Discusses His Biggest Fears Over Texas’ Abortion ‘Bounty’ Law
Insider: Why getting an abortion before 6 weeks of pregnancy is almost ‘impossible’
Insider: The Texas ‘heartbeat ban’ isn’t medically accurate because there’s no heart that early in pregnancy, providers say
Insider: A 13-year-old who was raped by her grandfather traveled hours across Texas to get an abortion. She wouldn't have been able to under the state's new 6-week ban.
Autumn's Story
“When I was 18, I found myself trapped in an abusive relationship, and I unexpectedly became pregnant as a freshman in college. The pregnancy caused my partner to become even more abusive, and my family believed he might seriously injure or even kill me. One night, he drove me out to the middle of nowhere and put a gun to my head.
I knew I couldn’t stay pregnant, and I chose to get an abortion. I knew then that it was the right choice for me, and I’ve never regretted it. I traveled over an hour to Houston to access abortion at Planned Parenthood. It was simple, safe, and life-changing in only the best ways. I felt in control of my life for the first time since I began the relationship with my abuser, and I finally found the courage to end it. Continuing the pregnancy would have meant that my abuser would be a constant fixture in my life, and, because the escalating abuse could have been fatal, I truly believe that my abortion is the reason I am alive today.
My abortion allowed me to finally escape my abusive relationship, finish university in four years, begin a now 15-year career, and find a new, healthy relationship with a loving partner.
I was past 6 weeks pregnant when I had my abortion, so if SB 8 had been law at that time, I might not be here today to tell this story. And accessing abortion has become even more difficult today than it was then. Everyone deserves the same basic respect of being trusted to make their own private medical decisions, in the simplest possible way, just like I did.”
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Everyone loves someone who’s had an abortion, and your voice matters in the fight to protect reproductive rights and access to essential health care. What does safe and legal abortion mean to you? How has abortion care impacted your life?
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Statement from Dr. Bhavik Kumar, abortion care provider at Planned Parenthood Center for Choice
“This cruel and dangerous law is among the most extreme in the entire nation — and tragically par for the course here in Texas, where it’s already prohibitively difficult for people to access sexual and reproductive health care. SB 8 bans abortion at approximately six weeks, before most people even know they’re pregnant and before they’ve had the opportunity to consider their options. Considering the time it takes to confirm a pregnancy, make a decision, schedule an appointment, and comply with the existing web of medically unnecessary restrictions in Texas, a six-week ban essentially amounts to an outright ban on access to abortion care.
We already know that bans like SB 8 don’t stop people from needing — and getting — abortions. Just as they did last spring when Gov. Abbott exploited the pandemic to temporarily ban abortion care in Texas, people with the resources to travel out of state will do so, and those without the resources may take measures into their own hands. Last spring, I saw first-hand the devastating impact this had on my patients when they were cruelly denied the care they desperately needed.
SB 8 will cause many people to suffer unnecessarily in pursuit of care they are unable to access safely within their own communities. We know that the people who are navigating the many layers of systemic marginalization will suffer the most: Black and brown people and people with low incomes. My patients deserve better. They deserve to make their own health care decisions in consultation with their provider, without political interference, and without the threat of frivolous lawsuits. Instead, the people of Texas are being robbed of their bodily autonomy and politicians are jeopardizing the health and safety of pregnant people.”
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