Texas Is Trying To Make It Basically Impossible For Minors To Get An Abortion
Following several hours of heated debate, the Texas legislature advanced a package of abortion restrictions on Thursday designed to make it extremely difficult for minors to obtain an abortion in a state that’s already severely restricted reproductive rights. One of the provisions in the omnibus bill would require all women seeking abortion services to present a government-issued ID.
A teenager in Texas who wants to have an abortion needs permission from one of their parents. If they want to get around that requirement, they can go through what’s called a judicial bypass procedure, which currently requires them to prove to a judge that they’re either mature enough to make the decision on their own or that notifying their parents about the procedure would not be in their best interest.
Most U.S. states have parental involvement requirements restricting minors’ abortion access, and some type of complicated judicial bypass process that requires pregnant teens to get permission from the court system if they don’t want to tell their parents. Teens in difficult family situations, like minors in the foster system and minors who have been the victims of abuse and assault, are typically the ones who rely on judicial bypass when they seek to end a pregnancy.
However, abortion opponents in the state claim that Texas’ law is filled with “loopholes” that make it too easy for teenagers to access abortion services. One of the most prominent anti-choice groups in the state, Texas Right To Life, made changing the judicial bypass process one of its top priority issues this year — spurring GOP lawmakers to introduce several different measures on the subject.
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http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/05/15/3659315/texas-judicial-bypass-abortion/
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Self righteous voices upon....
