Ohio & Texas Just Made Getting an Abortion Even Harder
We’ve been worried that President-Elect Donald Trump and Vice President-Elect Mike Pence are going to take away abortion rights.
But it looks like pro-life lawmakers are pushing their agenda without even needing our new president’s help.
Texas just passed a law that will require the burial of all unborn babies (a.k.a fetal tissue), and Ohio just revoked the operating license of one of the last abortion clinic in their state. Things are looking pretty fucking grim.
The Texas law actually has nothing to do with Mike Pence. I know you want to blame him, but you can’t, sorry. Texas first published the changes this summer, and they’ll go into effect on December 19th. The rule doesn’t apply to abortions or miscarriages that happen at home, according to USA Today.
The law states that medical providers will pay for these burials or cremations, but Trisha Trigilio, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, explained to USA Today that these costs will likely be passed on to the patient.
This is clearly just another attempt from Texas lawmakers to make it insanely difficult for a woman to have an abortion, with complete disregard to the constitution or the fact that medical laws are generally supposed to help people.
As for Ohio, their latest blockade to women’s rights isn’t in the form of a law, but in the form of forcing an abortion clinic – one of the last few standing in Ohio – to close.
Ohio has revoked the operating license of the clinic because it has allegedly “failed to obtain a required transfer agreement with a nearby hospital for emergencies,” according to CBS. The clinic has 15 days to appeal the order, which they said that they will be doing.
It’s unclear if this is actually a legit complaint, or if its simply an excuse to make it nearly impossible for women in Ohio to have abortions.
Rick Hodges, the director of the Department of Health who signed the order, claimed that it’s because “the facility failed to name an adequate number of physicians to provide the backup care necessary to qualify for an exception to the hospital rule,” which sounds a bit sus. Especially when Hodges’ decision is receiving praise from Katie Franklin, spokeswoman for the state’s largest anti-abortion group, Ohio Right To Life, according to CBS. Pretty sure pro-lifers don’t care about paperwork as much as they do about shutting down clinics.
This is bad news. Sure, Texas’ law could eventually be struck down by the supreme court, even if a conservative judge is appointed by Trump, but even that would take some time and fuck up a lot of people’s lives in the process.
As for Ohio’s situation, if the abortion clinic is shut down, women’s health will likely take a turn for the worst. And in Texas, there’s already a staggering increase in women Googling at-home abortions, which can be insanely dangerous.
We wish we had better news, but all we can say is that you should keep contacting your senators and other representatives to make sure that this doesn’t happen in your state. If you’re a resident of Ohio or Texas, keep having safe sex and keep letting your voice be heard.
