FR OM T H E FI R S T L ADY
The right of a woman to choose abortion or choose life for her unborn child By Cathelean Steele, Founder, Justice for Girls
The Supreme Court allows a new Texas law that bans most abortions. The law prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, usually around six weeks – before some women know they are pregnant. This law goes further and allows private citizens to sue Texas abortion providers who violate the law. There are no exceptions in this law even in the case of rape or incest. I am old enough to remember when pregnant women used clothes hangers and put their lives in the hands of unlicensed doctors. Therefore, I decided to interview a few women to get their perspective on this Texas law. Interview #1 – “I cannot believe that in our progressive society the Supreme Court would allow the rights of women to be taken away. Row V. Wade was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive restrictions.” Interview #2 – “The Republicans in Texas do not realize that women will find a way to abort an unwanted child even if it means going to another state or resorting to tactics of the pass. Where there is a will there is a way. I also believe that the Due Process of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which provides a fundamental “right to privacy” that protects a woman’s liberty to choose whether or not to have an abortion will stand.” Interview#3 – “I have a question to the Republicans that passed this restrictive law. Who is going to provide for all of the unwanted babies? I don’t think that they thought about the financial burden that will be placed on the welfare system.” The question asked during my third interview caused me to pause and think - who is going to provide for all of the unwanted babies. This question led me to research the number of abortions in Texas in 2020. I found that Texas facilities performed about 54,000 abortions
SCLC National Magazine/ Fall 2021 Issue
Fall 2021.indd 12
9/22/21 9:42 AM
