Texas’ Department of State Health Services relied on cherry-picked facts and unsubstantiated rumors when it explained its reasoning behind the codification of the state’s new omnibus anti-abortion law.
The proposed ban on abortion after 20 weeks’ gestation in Albuquerque may have been soundly defeated at the ballot box, but the reverberations from that vote are being felt across the state.
Though 2013 might have brought an array of new abortion restrictions and other setbacks for reproductive rights, there were also a number of reasons for pro-choice allies around the country to be proud this year. The staff of RH Reality Check notes some of the top pro-choice successes of 2013.
Was it true belief, absolute ignorance, or ruthless political opportunism that caused Texas legislators to decimate the state’s family planning safety net and, as the numbers now show, wrest reproductive autonomy out of the hands of tens of thousands of Texans?
Reproductive rights activists behind the campaign against the proposed Albuquerque 20-week abortion ban credit a grassroots effort to educate and turn out voters for the decisive victory.
Turning out in droves, voters in Albuquerque voted down a proposed ordinance Tuesday that would have banned abortion after 20 weeks’ gestation in the city and would have had a significant impact on later abortion access in the region.
The defeat of the 20-week abortion ban in Albuquerque underscores a critical but often overlooked point in abortion politics: When given the chance, voters have consistently rejected the anti-choice agenda.
After what feels like years on the defensive, reproductive rights advocates pushed ahead with proposed federal protections for reproductive rights.
If approved, the ordinance would have a significant impact not just on reproductive rights in Albuquerque but throughout New Mexico and the Southwest.
With 20-week abortion bans, far more than abortion is at stake. These measures establish legal principles that will be—and, indeed, already have been—used to justify arrests of and forced medical interventions on pregnant women.