Friend,
Twelve years ago, I filibustered a sweeping abortion ban in the Texas Senate because I knew the bill would push access to abortion care out of reach for many people in my state. Texas anti-abortion politicians tried everything to end my filibuster, but they did not win that night.
I could not have stood on the floor of the Texas Senate for 13 hours in order to beat the midnight deadline and block that bill without the raised voices of the thousands who gathered in the Senate gallery, up and down the halls of the Capitol complex, and even outside on the Capitol lawn. Together, we kept each other safe, and we showed the nation what we can accomplish when we stand in unity against oppression.
In the decade since, and after the fall of Roe, anti-abortion politicians in Texas have been determined to eliminate access to abortion by every means possible. They banned abortion from the moment of conception, paved the way for vigilante lawsuits against those helping someone access the care that they need, and made it a felony to provide an abortion, punishable by imprisonment for life.
Ken Paxton has even stretched the bounds of his office and targeted a Houston-area midwife who provided care for immigrant communities because Paxton falsely alleged that she provided abortions, all so he could make an example of her, put her in jail, and strike fear in the hearts of those trying to help women access care elsewhere. Worse than that, the midwife’s bail was set at an astronomical $1.4 million dollars, even though the average bail for the same level of charges in the same county was $36,000.
If it weren’t for a bail fund paying her bail of $1.4 million dollars, Maria Rojas would still be sitting in jail before she even had the chance to defend herself.
Just as I stood on the floor with so many Texans alongside me in 2013, we need to stand together now to keep people safe. We can stop people like Ken Paxton from using bail as a weapon against those trying to help people access the care they need. And we can do it by making sure adequate bail funds exist to free someone who’s been unjustly held.
That’s why it’s so important to step up and contribute to bail funds for others who will most certainly find themselves facing a similar situation.
Can you split a donation between Accountability Project, the Repro Legal Defense Fund, and Community Justice Exchange’s National Bail Fund Network?