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By Nicole Cardoza (she/her)
After the Supreme Court failed to block the legislation, Texas passed a law that essentially bans abortions after six weeks, which is in clear violation of Roe v. Wade. Known as Abortion providers in the state emphasized that the law, known as Senate Bill 8, will cause “at least 85%” of abortion patients to be unable to seek care. As a result, it’s likely that most abortion clinics will be forced to close (NYTimes). There has not been such a coordinated attack on abortion rights since the Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide in 1973 (Pew Trust).
These abortion laws affect everyone who seeks to get an abortion in Texas, and the precedent this law sets threatens the rights of people in other states, too. But in Texas and across the country, people of color are less likely to have access to abortions already. Burdened by the lack of abortion clinics, costs, and lack of representation of doctors, abortion access has already been inequitably distributed. Much of this is intentional, the result of laws limiting access to reproductive care since enslavement.
Before the Civil War, abortion and contraceptives were legal in the U.S. These were administered by midwives, which, at the time, were majority Black and Indigenous women. Their work was increasingly considered a threat to white male doctors who dominated many other fields of care. They found the notion of white babies being delivered by non-white midwives both threatening to their careers and distasteful in the lens of white supremacy (ACLU).
What followed was an intentional smear campaign that devalued the work of midwives, referring to their practice as “barbaric” and “uncivilized.” In addition, the white, male-led field started to lobby the government to place restrictions on the services they offered – including abortions – so they could monopolize what’s left. These rules, of course, limited abortions to those deemed Medical organizations, like the American Medical Association (AMA), barred women and Black people from membership from ensuring that they weren’t seen as qualified practitioners (ACLU). (this is despite the fact that the reproductive science we know today was often the result of inhumane scientific research carried out on their bodies). The disparities of perception on who deserves to carry and birth children also contributed to harmful legislation passed against non-white women during this time, particularly related to immigration.
The most damning part of the bill is that it places individuals, not the government, responsible for enforcing the rules. If you, an everyday citizen, think someone in Texas is trying to obtain an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, you can sue the prospective provider. If you win, you might even be compensated.
This is dangerous for a couple of reasons. From a legal perspective, it makes it very difficult to challenge this law in the courts. According to the NYTimes, “when a state passes an unconstitutional law, the typical way to challenge it is to seek an injunction against the state officer in charge of enforcing the law” (NYTimes). But because in this case, the people are the “state officers,” there’s no legal precedent for filing an injunction against them. Even if you could, it’s difficult to file an injunction against people that “could” sue an abortion provider before they already had. For example, I live in Texas, and although I’m technically granted this power, there’s no way I’d ever exercise it. It’s not easy to drag people like me into court, lumped in with all other citizens.
From a moral perspective, this draconian law places individuals as the prosecutors against people that can carry children. It’s absurd that individuals should have that much entitlement to any child-carrying person’s body – period. But it’s somehow more sinister than that. Private party enforcement has been used throughout history in various legislation but has a persistent presence in laws that disproportionately impact communities of color. Our policing system, for example, is rooted in the capture and torture of enslaved Black and Indigenous people and was supported by everyday white volunteers granted autonomy to enforce slavery laws (The Conversation). Redlining and other real estate tactics used to keep Black people out of adequate housing were enforced by private contracts for decades until deemed unconstitutional in Shelley v. Kraemer in 1948 (Anti-Racism Daily).
We already know that the abortion restriction laws disproportionately impact communities of color. According to the CDC, Black people in America are over three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white people (Refinery 29). The rise in anti-abortion sentiment is part of a broader culture war accelerated during the Trump administration. Laws like this one in Texas are being passed alongside laws that limit the rights of transgender youth, ban curriculum related to the racial inequities of our society, and make voting more difficult for marginalized communities (Pew Trust). This is a coordinated effort against the freedoms that everyone in our nation deserves. Take a moment today to support abortion rights groups in your area.
Key Takeaways
After the Supreme Court failed to block the legislation, Texas passed a law that essentially bans abortions after six weeks, which is in clear violation of Roe v. Wade.
The law is designed to be enforced by private citizens, who makes them responsible for reporting abortions and adds to a history of citizens acting as vigilantes.
Abortion access is influenced by racism and white supremacy.
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