Judge Rules Against Further Abortion Clinic Closures in Texas
A statement from StopPatriarchy.org and the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride
August 29, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
It is very important that Judge Yeakel has blocked – at least for now – the closure of abortion clinics that was scheduled to take place on September 1st, 2014 and laid the basis for the possible reopening of clinics in El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley.*
However, this is only a temporary reprieve. It is far from a complete or final victory.
Already this correct ruling is being appealed by the Attorney General to the Fifth Circuit Court in New Orleans. Further, even with this positive ruling, Texas has only about half the number of abortion clinics it had just three years ago and this is indicative of a nationwide pattern of clinic closures and mounting restrictions, stigma and obstacles placed on women.
As Merle Hoffman, Advisory Board member of the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride, put it, “While we celebrate this victory, it is critical to remember that this is one battle in an ongoing war and we must remain vigilant.”
Sunsara Taylor, initiator of StopPatriarchy.org and Abortion Rights Freedom Rider among those arrested this month protesting HB2, added, “The anti-abortion movement will not stop until they have criminalized all abortions for all women in all circumstances. The emergency facing women is not over. Now is the time to redouble our efforts.”
Abortion must be available on demand and without apology! Forced motherhood is female enslavement. Without the ability to decide for themselves when and whether to have a child, women cannot be free. If women are not free then no one is free.
*This means that abortion will not become any more inaccessible to women throughout the state of Texas in the very short term. It may even mean that abortion becomes more available in the Rio Grande Valley and in Western Texas than it has been in a year, depending on whether those clinics have the ability to reopen.
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