Abortion is key issue heading into 2024 election, politicians say
AUSTIN, Texas - Both sides of the aisle are saying abortion is a key issue heading into the November 2024 election. This comes after the Texas Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the state’s restrictive abortion ban.
Since the 2022 overturning of Roe v Wade, which imposed a near-total ban on abortions, there have been complaints and praise.
"We are real people harmed by these policies," Lauren Miller, who received an abortion out of state, said.
Miller was part of a lawsuit with a group of women who all had serious pregnancy complications. They said the Texas abortion ban puts their lives in danger. The women claimed the law was confusing for doctors on when an abortion was allowed.
"There are no exceptions for women in Texas," U.S. Representative from Texas Veronica Escobar said.
"There are clear exceptions for women in Texas," Texas Alliance for Life Amy O’Donnell said.
The supreme court opinion reads, "Texas law permits a life-saving abortion."
"That's rather vague, really, and it's so vague that, doctors, physicians, abortion providers are still going to be very reticent and very reluctant, for fear of violating the law," Constitutional law professor at Prairie View A&M University Eddy Carder said.
The court said the law’s exceptions are broad enough that doctors would be misinterpreting the law if they declined to perform an abortion when the mother’s health is at risk.
"We want people in our state to have the freedom to choose what health care is best for them without the threat of capital punishment," Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said.
"Abortion is not health care. Abortion hurts women and abortion takes lives. The goal of abortion 100% of the time is to take a human life, and there is nothing about taking lives that qualifies as health care," O’Donnell said.
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Both sides said it’s important to head to the polls and vote in November.
"There’s only one way to reverse what they are doing and to restore our freedoms," Escobar said.
"They're not putting accurate information out there, and they'll spin things any number of ways to get what they want with the clear goal of overturning our laws so that unborn babies are no longer protected," O’Donnell said.
Under the law in Texas, doctors who perform abortions risk life in prison, fines of up to $100,000, and revocation of their state medical licenses.