5 Reasons You Need To Care About The Texas Abortion Law

[PeaceNikki]

http://www.elle.com/news/lifestyle/five-reasons-to-care-about-texas-abortion-law

1. Because doctors shouldn’t have to pay to play.

Requiring doctors to have permission to transfer patients into a hospital in case of emergency—to have admitting privileges—sounds like a good idea, right? Actually, Ferrero says, “Getting admitting privileges can be a very political process and a very commercial process. It’s a transaction. It doesn’t have anything to do with medicine.” The example of a Catholic hospital that refuses to give privileges to a doctor that provides abortions is obvious. But the more insidious example presents itself at commercial hospitals. “A lot of hospitals give you admitting privileges based on how many patients you end up transferring to the hospital," says Ferrero: basically, based on whether or not you’re bringing them business. "Because abortion providers don’t usually need to bring someone to a hospital, because there are not frequent complications, they don’t end up bringing in a lot of patients,” Ferrero explains. So because your abortion won’t earn your hospital money (especially not compared to, say, the conservative donor who’s considering building a new wing) your doctor could be denied the right to give abortions entirely.


2. Because even conservatives feel marginalized.

With Americans split relatively evenly on the issue of abortion, there are people on both sides of the aisle who feel underrepresented in the debate. “Even Republicans in Texas are increasingly coming forward and saying ‘This is not our party; these are not our values,’” says Ferrero. “Look at Ross Perot’s family, which gave us a large contribution to help maintain our services in Texas. And they aren’t the only ones. We hear more and more from Republican voters. They don’t agree with this Tea Party fringe stuff that we’re seeing.”


3. Because the leadership that made this happen won’t stop at here—they're coming for your birth control, too.

While Republicans haven’t made many inroads attacking other pillars of women’s health, like birth control, don’t think it isn’t on their agenda. And if you’re ready to take them out of power, the place to do it is in the voting booth. “It’s a very tough political climate in Texas and ultimately that’s something that we hope changes,” says Ferrero. “Wendy Davis is an incredible leader and really has given voice to millions of women across Texas and across the country who do not want politics to interfere with their personal medical decisions. We have different arms and legal entities [at Planned Parenthood] and I can certainly tell you that Planned Parenthood Votes will move heaven and earth to help Wendy Davis become governor of Texas.”


4. Because this is a real problem, for real women, right now.

“What happens next is in January, we’ll have oral arguments in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, so we could have a decision in the spring. Whoever loses can decide whether or not to appeal to the Supreme Court,” says Ferrero. “Planned Parenthood is currently working to be able to provide more abortions in Texas, opening additional centers to comply with some of these restrictions. It can take 120 days, on average, to get admitting privileges at a hospital—it used to be 90 days until this law went into effect, so there literally wasn’t time to go through the machinations to get these privileges. About 1/3 of the licensed abortion providers in the State of Texas can’t provide services.” In real terms? A woman who got pregnant today would be six weeks along by the time this issue is even being addressed—already halfway through the safest time period to have an abortion. Which is why the Supreme Court's latest decision is everyone’s problem…


5. Because the ultimate cost will be paid in women’s health.

Every day that law is enforced, women are being denied access to safe and, more importantly, legal abortion in Texas. “These restrictions endanger women’s health and safety,” says Ferrero. “When you take away access to a safe medical procedure, what ends up happening is that they will have abortions later in pregnancy, and abortion is safer the earlier you have it. We know from history and from experience that when you take away safe and legal abortion, women will still try to end their pregnancies. They will go to desperate and dangerous measures, and when you look at the pre- Roe stuff, that’s a real concern.”


And the one reason you don’t?

Because the real fight is federal. The Women’s Health Protection Act, introduced in Congress last week, would prohibit these kinds of restrictions by the states, similar to the Voting Rights Act. So if you're feeling terrible about Texas and are wondering what you can do in your state, get to writing your representatives. “People in all 50 states are outraged by what they’re seeing and they want to know what they can do. The number one thing is to help get a federal law on the book with teeth that stops states from doing this,” says Ferrero. While he feels the WHPA hasn’t gotten as much attention as it will as time goes on and attention turns from the specific events in Texas, it’s the remedy that really moves the issue forward. “A lot of women don’t realize that there are women who are being denied a safe, legal medical procedure that is their right in this country,” says Ferrero. “That you can show up for your doctor’s appointment and be told, “Sorry, the State of Texas thinks otherwise.”

[Gothmog]

1. TRAP laws are just bad policy

The GOP has decided that TRAP laws are the best way to gut Roe v. Wade and have been using these laws across the country. Unless you are in a very very blue state, you can expect the GOP to try to use these laws in your state