Don’t be fooled: the new Texas ban is cruel, but it won’t end abortions
The new abortion ban in Texas limits abortions to around six weeks – when most people don’t even know they’re pregnant – and includes a clause that offers ‘prizes’ of up to $10,000 for catching doctors who break the law (or anyone who helps someone end a pregnancy after this point). But it won’t end abortions.
Look at Poland. A whole country of nearly 38 million people, compared to 29 mllion in Texas, is under an almost-total ban on abortion after a constitutional court ruling last October (in which Trump-linked US lawyers intervened to support restrictions). This ruling made abortion illegal even in cases of fatal foetal anomalies. Within six months, Abortion Without Borders – a network of rights activists across Europe – said it had already helped more than 17,000 Polish women with information and, in some cases, support to travel for abortions abroad. This is hard work that shouldn’t have to happen. Restrictions on legal abortions are cruel because they make accessing healthcare a much harder task – particularly for people who are already disadvantaged by class, race or other issues.