Dear John,
On Tuesday, the Texas state Supreme Court heard arguments in a case seeking to clarify the scope of Texas’ “medical emergency” exception under its state abortion bans. Zurawski v. Texas challenges both of the state’s bans: a pre-Roe trigger ban and S.B. 8, the notorious six-week “bounty hunter” law that allows citizens to sue anyone who aids and abets an abortion. The case was initially brought by five women—a number that has since swelled to 20, plus two doctors—all of whom were denied abortions and suffered severe medical complications as a result, some life-threatening.
As we reported earlier this week, in oral arguments, attorney Molly Duane of the Center for Reproductive Rights argued that laws like the trigger ban and S.B. 8 use vague, non-medical language that gives doctors no assurance as to what cases qualify as medical emergencies, or how dire the emergency must be.
Overall, the case seeks to alleviate the fear and confusion among pregnant patients and doctors in Texas. The issue before the Texas Supreme Court is whether or not a temporary injunction, issued Aug. 4 by Judge Jessica Mangrum, should be allowed to take effect. Mangrum’s decision determined S.B. 8 was unconstitutional and clarified that doctors should 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. A ruling from the state Supreme Court is expected in the coming weeks or months.
A full trial on the merits of the case challenging the bans is scheduled for March 25, 2024—you can count on Ms. to keep you informed as it continues to make its way through the lower courts. In the meantime, the Center for Reproductive Rights’ Duane had a message for Texas women: “My phone number and my email address are readily available online. Patients should call me—because the Center for Reproductive Rights stands ready to help anyone in a situation where their life is on the line and they’re not getting the care they need.”
On the national stage this week, Republicans continue to block urgently needed childcare funding in the ongoing budget negotiations. In the wake of the expiration of federal childcare funding in late September, centers and programs across the country have seen staffing shortages, fee hikes and closures.
As the crisis continues, Democratic lawmakers have been speaking out. “Failing to shore up our childcare industry that holds up nearly every sector of our economy, in the midst of a workforce shortage that is hitting small businesses and big firms alike, will cost us a lot more than the investment in child care we’re asking for,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), speaking on the Senate floor this week. “We are talking a serious meltdown that costs our economy big, if we fail to value our families and invest in the people parents need to watch over their kids. There is no reason for this—not if we take action, and take it soon.”
Childcare funding isn’t the only space in which our country’s social safety net continues to fail children. As Prof. Dorothy Roberts outlines in this week's episode of the Ms. podcast Torn Apart, the child welfare system too often traumatizes and penalizes families—Black families in particular. The latest episode delves into how the foster care system not only mimics the prison system, but in fact funnels children into the prison system. Be sure to head to msmagazine.com/series/torn-apart/ to listen to the latest episode—or find it wherever you get your podcasts.
Finally, we were saddened to learn yesterday of the death of Sandra Day O'Connor—the first woman justice on the Supreme Court. O'Connor was a key advocate for women on the Court—during her tenure she authored several key decisions including one reaffirming Roe v. Wade.
Onward,
