Mike Brooks Unfair Park from p8 ▼ ABORTION RIGHTS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH DALLAS FARMERS MARKET VIP area with full beer options along with liquor sampling VIP 1 hour early access at 2pm Exclusive Catered Food & More 500+ BEERS DOBREWFEST.COM 21+ | RAIN OR SHINE 10 NO ROE O NOW THAT THE SUPREME COURT HAS OVERTURNED ROE V. WADE, EXPERTS CONSIDER WHAT’S NEXT FOR ABORTION RIGHTS IN TEXAS. BY SIMONE CARTER livia Julianna had steeled herself for this moment, but the Texas repro- ductive rights activist still felt sick to her stomach. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the land- mark ruling that guaranteed abortion as a constitutional right. “It took everything in me not to vomit,” Ju- lianna, the political strategist for an organiza- tion called Gen-Z for Change, said by email. Advocates on both sides of the debate an- ticipated the reversal after Politico reported on a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion in May. But what little hope Texas pro-choice activists had held out for Roe’s future all but evaporated with Friday’s 5-4 decision. Last year, Texas Republican lawmakers virtually outlawed the procedure in one of the strictest pieces of anti-abortion legisla- tion in the country, Senate Bill 8. The so- called “Heartbeat Act,” which doesn’t provide exceptions for rape or incest, bans abortion after around six weeks, before many realize they’re pregnant. In a statement, Republican Gov. Greg Ab- bott celebrated Roe’s reversal, something he believes will “allow states to protect the lives of all unborn babies in America.” Julianna, meanwhile, is hell-bent on get- ting voters to the polls to elect local and state leadership who will fight to protect abortion rights. She said certain Republican lawmakers have already begun to target abortion funds and clinic workers. “I am so angry,” Julianna said. “I will make sure that Greg Abbott is never elected in this state again or I will die trying, and that goes for every Republican legislator who has sided with him.” Even in conservative Texas, one recent survey found that 78% of respondents think that abortion should be permitted in some form, according to The Texas Tribune. Still, recent polling also shows that Ab- bott, who’s up for reelection in November, is 5 points ahead of his Democratic opponent, Beto O’Rourke. Abbott has campaigned heavily on the is- Activists protest the Supreme Court’s decision in Dallas on June 24, 2022. sue of abortion. He’s claimed that Texas has made women’s health care a priority and has allocated resources so that people will “choose life for their child.” The governor also pointed to his past pushes to provide funding for a program called “Alter- natives to Abortion,” which purports to give re- sources to moms in need. (Critics, meanwhile, have called the program “secretive” and “pre- dominantly a waste of taxpayer dollars,” ac- cording to The Texas Tribune.) “Texas will always fight for the innocent unborn,” Abbott wrote, “and I will continue working with the Texas Legislature and all Texans to save every child from the ravages of abortion and help our expectant mothers in need.” But Brianna Brown, the Texas Organiz- ing Project’s co-executive director, said the Supreme Court’s decision will harm the country’s marginalized communities, par- ticularly those who are Latino and Black. The fight for abortion access is also a battle for racial justice, she said in a statement. “Our presence will be felt in the streets, and our rage will be channeled at the ballot box as we will stop at nothing to win,” Brown continued, “because future genera- tions deserve so much more than regressive policies holding us back from living the full, happy lives we all have a right to live.” On its website, the anti-abortion organi- zation Texas Right to Life argued that abor- tion is immediately outlawed because of the state’s “pre-Roe laws” and a newer “trigger ban,” which will impose criminal penalties on providers 30 days after Roe’s reversal. Texas Right to Life President John Seago praised Friday’s decision, calling it a “phe- nomenal moment for the pro-life movement.” He said his organization will aim to clear up confusion about abortion’s legal status so that providers don’t break the law while waiting for the trigger ban to take effect. Seago also noted that some district attor- neys, such as Dallas County’s John Creuzot, have vowed to not seek criminal charges re- lated to abortion. Legislators must work to ensure that such laws are enforced across the board, he said. But the state has more work to do to re- move hurdles for Texans facing unexpected and difficult pregnancies, Seago added. “We want Texas to be pro-life and not just abor- tion-free.” JUNE 30-JULY 6, 2022 DALLAS OBSERVER CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS dallasobserver.com
