4 June 15 - 21, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Risky Business Lack of clarity in Texas abortion bans puts ‘women’s lives at risk,’ advocates warn. BY SIMONE CARTER D allas attorney Michelle Simp- son Tuegel has heard from pregnant women forced to carry nonviable fetuses that won’t survive for long, if at all, after birth. Because of the state’s strict anti- abortion laws, though, some Texans must wait until they’re at “death’s door” to get the care they need, she said. More than a dozen women and doctors sued Texas earlier this year over the state’s anti-abortion statutes, which outlaw the pro- cedure while still carving out exceptions for life-threatening medical crises. The plaintiffs argue that the uncertainty surrounding what constitutes such an emergency has endan- gered pregnant Texans’ lives. They’re now asking a judge to clarify the meaning of the abortion bans’ medical ex- ceptions. Simpson Tuegel said she’s consulted with women who’ve been faced with that life-threatening scenario. “Providers are afraid to even tell them or say the word, and so, they have to go out of state if they’re going to access that care,” she said. “What a scary thing when … you’re al- ready at a high risk, and it’s a situation where then you have sepsis or other compli- cations, and there’s an emergency — but we have to wait until that point.” In 2021, Simpson Tuegel filed a lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 8, which critics have blasted as one of the country’s most restric- tive abortion bans. It prohibits most abor- tions in Texas — as early as six weeks — and lets just about anyone in the U.S. sue provid- ers in the state. The lawyer credited as being the archi- tect of SB 8, Jonathan Mitchell, told NPR that the ban was designed to “draw a clear distinction between abortions that are medi- cally necessary” and those that are “purely elective.” He said that only the latter were intended to be unlawful. Meanwhile, under Texas’ so-called trigger law, doctors who perform abortions risk get- ting slapped with felony charges that could lead to a sentence of up to life in prison. So, Simpson Tuegel said, it’s no surprise that doctors have to “interpret a medical emer- gency as severely as it can be to protect them- selves from some really harsh penalties. “That’s the reality, that women’s lives and health are in that balance,” she added. “And that’s going to continue to put women’s lives at risk in Texas.” But Kimberlyn Schwartz, the director of media and communication for Texas Right to Life, doesn’t think that the state’s medical emergency definition needs to be amended or clarified. She told the Observer via email that it’s been the law long before the trigger ban took effect and SB 8 was enacted. “The definition does not require immi- nence of death or major bodily injury be- fore a physician can act in these cases to save the mother’s life,” she said. “What could be further clarified is the implemen- tation — making clear to doctors that immi- nence is not required and assuaging their fear of penalty for acting to save a mother’s life. The executive branch or medical lobby could provide guidelines to explain this to Texas physicians.” Some Texans seeking abortion services have traveled elsewhere to access care. Planned Parenthood reported that in the first several months after SB 8 took effect, health centers in surrounding states witnessed a nearly 800% spike in Texas abortion patients compared with the previous year. Simpson Tuegel represents survivors of sexual violence and said it’s her job to con- nect them with resources. She thinks that no one should be forced to face an unwanted pregnancy, especially if they didn’t have a choice in the matter. The climate surrounding reproductive rights has become increasingly stormy in re- cent years. Simpson Tuegel cited the May killing of a Dallas woman police believe was murdered by her boyfriend after she’d re- ceived an abortion in Colorado. “I think a lot of the surrounding messag- ing and the environment that these laws cre- ate is not one of well-being or freedom for the woman,” Simpson Tuegel said. “It’s going back decades, where women don’t have a choice and men believe that it’s really what- ever they want, rather than the health and well-being of the person who is carrying.” Simpson Tuegel also noted that not ev- eryone in need of an abortion actually wants to terminate their pregnancy. She said she’s never spoken with anyone who takes that choice lightly. The fact that these people may not re- ceive care until their lives are in imminent danger “really flies in the face” of what anti- abortion advocates are arguing, she said. And the confusion surrounding medical ex- ceptions may mean that providers have to consult a hospital committee to determine whether they can act, she added. “That doesn’t seem to put the health and well-being of the woman at the center at all,” she said. “It seems that [anti-abortion advocates] care more about a fetus than they do about the health and well-being of the person carrying it, and women’s lives will continue to be at risk.” ▼ CRIME SHOTS IN THE DARK DALLAS IS WORKING TO REDUCE RANDOM GUNFIRE AS RESIDENTS COMPLAIN.. BY JACOB VAUGHN S everal City Council members said at last week’s Public Safety Committee meeting that residents have been re- porting random gunfire in their communi- ties and they believe the police aren’t doing enough about it. Jaime Resendez, District 5 council mem- ber, asked that the issue be put on the Public Safety Committee’s agenda. He said it’s one of the top public safety concerns in his district, but police said it’s also happening throughout Dallas. “It’s hard to go anywhere and talk to folks and not hear about this issue,” Resendez said. If it’s not fixed, he said, “It will continue to be a problem in our city. It will continue to be a part of the culture of this city.” He and others on the committee said res- idents often call the police to report random gunfire, but much isn’t done beyond taking the report. Adam McGough, District 10 council member and chair of the Public Safety Com- mittee, admitted at this week’s meeting that he, too, often hears gunfire while at home and doesn’t report it to the police because he knows they are so strapped for resources. Dallas Police Department Assistant Chief Michael Igo told the committee what the department is doing about the gunfire. “There are several different strategies we employ,” Igo said. When DPD gets a call about random gunfire, Igo said an officer will investigate potential gun crimes in the area it was reported in. The department is also trying to do more patrols in areas where random gunfire is known to occur. The department also tries to find people wanted for gun crimes and gang activity that might be associated with random gun- fire. Every patrol division now has a desig- nated gun detective, something that was first piloted in Dallas’ Southwest Patrol Di- vision. DPD is working on making those gun detectives task force officers with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) so they have access to more resources and can pursue federal prosecution of gun cases. DPD tries to use neighborhood patrol offi- cers for community outreach in areas where gunfire occurs. In these areas, officers distrib- ute flyers and door hangers and try to miti- gate factors that might lead to random gunfire, including poor lighting and blight. On the tech side of things, DPD has been using cameras, license plate readers, drones and shot detection systems to try to reduce random gunfire in the city. The shot detec- tion systems use sound to try to determine the source of a shot. The jury is still out on the effectiveness of these devices, Igo said. But Dallas City Council members on the Public Safety Committee said they and their constituents still believe that not enough is being done. Resendez asked Igo how the department determines that random gunfire is becom- ing a regular occurrence in different parts of the city. According to Igo, it’s primarily based on 911 call data and resident com- plaints. “People say ‘Well, I hear it, I call it in. … Nothing happens,’” Resendez said. Igo said an officer will usually respond to the report by phone or in person and talk to whoever reported gunfire to get more infor- mation. “We have to build a case, just like any other case, based on the merits and probable cause to be able to get a warrant and/or make an arrest,” Igo explained. But Resendez said that he wanted DPD to understand the frustration his residents are expressing to him. “I think, though, that we have to have a willingness to be more ag- gressive in terms of at least, like you said, go- ing and knocking on these even though it might not lead to a conviction, it might not lead to an arrest,” he said. “But if DPD is making its presence known and saying ‘Hey, someone’s reporting this house. Cut the crap’ or something, so that the people that are reporting these things feel like some- thing is happening because a lot of | UNFAIR PARK | Illustration by Pablo Iglesias Some want to see greater clarity regarding the meaning of “medical exceptions” in Texas’ abortion bans. >> p6
