[[link removed]] Ms. Memo: This Week in Women's Rights
November 29, 2023
From the ongoing fight for abortion rights and access, to elections, to the drive for the Equal Rights Amendment, there are a multitude of battles to keep up with. In this weekly roundup, find the absolute need-to-know news for feminists.
What Happens Next in the Case Seeking to Block Texas’ Abortion Bans? [[link removed]]
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One of the plaintiffs, Dr. Austin Dennard (L), hugs her patient and fellow plaintiff Lauren Miller, outside the Texas Supreme Court in Austin on Nov. 28, 2023. (Suzanne Cordeiro / AFP via Getty Images)
BY ROXY SZAL | The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday in a case which seeks to clarify the scope of Texas’ “medical emergency” exception under its state abortion bans. Represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), the plaintiffs—20 Texas women denied abortions, joined by two doctors—allege they were denied abortion care in Texas for their medically complex pregnancies, including cases where the fetus was not expected to survive after birth.
The high-stakes and emotional case, filed in March, paints a picture of fear and confusion among pregnant people and doctors throughout the state. During an initial two–day hearing in July, women denied abortions shared harrowing stories of the severe physical harms and trauma they experienced during their pregnancies, which they say were directly caused by Texas’ anti-abortion laws.
In response, Judge Jessica Mangrum, presiding judge of the 200th District Court in Austin, issued a temporary ruling on Aug. 4, only meant to stand until Zurawski v. Texas goes to trial on March 25, 2024. This August ruling made two important points:
*
Senate
Bill
8—the
six-week
abortion
ban
with
the
“bounty
hunter”
provision
that
allows
citizens
to
sue
anyone
who
aids
and
abets
abortion—is
unconstitutional.
Her
ruling
means
the
law
is
no
longer
in
effect—but
the
ruling
is
moot,
since
the
state’s
pre-Roe
trigger
ban
(a
total
ban
on
abortion)
is.
*
Mangrum
clarified
the
“medical
emergencies”
exception
in
the
state’s
abortion
bans,
granting
a
temporary
injunction
against
the
law.
This
meant
that
the
attorney
general
and
other
state
actors
were
temporarily
forbidden
from
enforcing
the
law
against
abortion
providers—who
Mangrum
encouraged
to
use
their
“good
faith
judgment,”
in
consultation
with
their
pregnant
patients,
to
determine
when
they
need
an
abortion
to
preserve
their
health
or
their
life.
(This
point
in
particular
is
what
the
Texas
Supreme
Court
was
tasked
on
Tuesday
to
weigh
in
on.)
If it had been allowed to take effect, Mangrum’s latter ruling would have protected abortion providers from steep state penalties (like exorbitant fines, felony charges, life in prison and the loss of their medical license) in a wider range of cases—including pregnancies that present a risk of infection; a fetal condition in which the fetus will not survive after birth; or when the pregnant person has a condition that requires regular, invasive treatment.
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Read more
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Women Feed Their Families and the World. Why Are They Most Likely to Go Hungry, Even in the U.S.? [[link removed]] Winter 2024 Sneak Peek: Inside a Violent Clinic Invasion [[link removed]]
What we're reading
Because it's hard to keep up with everything going on in the world right now. Here's what we're reading this week:
*
“Federal
funding
bill
on
hold
after
GOP
conflict
on
D.C.
abortion
rider”
—
The
Washington
Post
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Apple Podcasts [[link removed]] + Spotify [[link removed]] .
In Episode 1: “Terror," Roberts argues that the family policing system is designed to terrorize Black families. Child protective services equate poverty with neglect, using it as a justification to invade homes and threaten to take children away from majority low-income, Black families.
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
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