Women’s Health Care in Texas
In 1973, the Roe V. Wade case originated in Texas (Oyez, n.d.). The years that followed featured powerhouse women like Governor Ann Richards (Richards and Knobler, 1989) and State Senator Wendy Davis (Webber, 2015) championing women’s concerns. The 1977 National Women’s Conference was, in fact, held in Houston, Texas drawing women’s rights advocates from around the world including Texans Lady Bird Johnson and Barbara Jordan (Women on the Move, 2019).
In light of these great women of Texas, it may be surprising that in recent years, the Texas legislature has repeatedly attacked women’s rights to access health care for female organs and reproductive health care, including abortion. Several bills that ultimately meddle in access to affordable women’s health care have been proposed by the Texas legislature. Some have passed and some have not. Often, they are marketed as protecting women however, they all reflect the underlying effort to rob women of bodily autonomy.
Now that the DOBBS (Oyez, n.d.) decision has removed federal protections for every women’s right to bodily autonomy and unfettered healthcare to the states, women’s rights have moved backwards. The finding stated that the constitution does not grant the right. (I am inclined to point out here that only men were included in the creation and negotiation of the constitution. Also known as patriarchy.)
The patriarchy has doubled down its focus to oppress women and subjugate the female sex into a forced pregnancy paradigm. An evidence of this is found in the public musings of influential people like Elon Musk. He recently stated that the population is dangerously in decline.
Alarmingly, Texas is at the forefront of the current political drive toward full dystopian subjugation of women. The state of Texas has newly codified a punitive measure that disallows the pondering or communication about abortive health care. The rules of S.B. 8 create a discussion vacuum in the midst of losing women’s rights of bodily autonomy. Those who discuss abortion or have intent to do so can be sued and have the burden of proof of innocence specially worded into the measure.
The state of Texas seeks to control the populace in its removal of women’s freedom to access healthcare and exercise the bodily autonomy of pregnancy and birth. This is especially cruel as women will continue to suffer in medically complicated pregnancy and birth, realistically in greater numbers after S.B. 8, because medical intervention via anything that could disrupt gestation is disallowed under the law. Disallowing health care but mandating gestation is simply, a human rights violation (United Nations, n.d.).
REFERENCES
Oyez. n.d. “Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.” https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/19-1392
Oyez. n.d. “Roe v. Wade.” https://www.oyez.org/cases/1971/70-18.
Richards, Ann, and Peter Knobler. 1989. Straight from the Heart: My Life in Politics and Other Places. New York: Simon and Schuster.
United Nations. n.d. “Crimes Against Humanity.” https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/crimes-against-humanity.shtml
Webber Peter. 2015. “Wendy Davis’ Stunning Filibuster of A Texas Abortion Bill.” The Week. https://theweek.com/articles/462815/wendy-davis-stunning-filibuster-texas-abortion-bill
Women on the Move. 2019. https://www.womenonthemovetx.com/
NOTE
I am not an attorney and this piece is not intended to be legal advice.
KEYWORDS
Texas, Women’s Rights, Reproductive Rights, Patriarchy, Fascism, Equality