John -- I’m writing to you from my home in Texas. Folks here are extremely disheartened this week; truth be told, we’ve been disheartened for quite some time. 

GOP leadership in Texas, from the governor’s mansion down to state representatives, are waging a war on bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom at the same time they are responsible for fighting mask and vaccine mandates that could be saving actual lives. 

I’m going to say it loud and clear: abortion is healthcare. And healthcare is a human right. We would not be having this argument right now if Congress had enshrined reproductive freedom through legislation. 

And now, Texas has devised a law that is virtually impervious to lawsuits due to its not having state officials as the enforcers. This has national implications, with other GOP-controlled state legislatures eyeing how successfully the new law evades the upper courts.  

In case you’re not familiar with the details of this terrifying law, it gives private citizens of any state the power to sue anyone who ‘aids and abets’ someone receiving abortion care. That means the law could target a friend who drives a pregnant person to get an abortion, staff members of the clinic, even people who raise funds to pay for abortion care.

We are already seeing the reach of this draconian new law in action. Look at what happened to former BNC candidate Mike Siegel, a Texas attorney who represents the underprivileged in a wide variety of civil liberty suits:

This is the most extreme ban on abortion we have seen in 50 years, and the US Supreme Court gave it the green light.    

We need to start pulling every lever of power at our disposal before it’s too late. That means expanding the court. That means ending the Senate filibuster, a Jim Crow relic that is costing lives today. 

And we need to add as many progressive voices to the House and Senate as possible in 2022. Because the results of this election are going to define the direction of our country for the remainder of the decade and beyond. 

We really need your support now. It is crunch time for the future of our country. Please hit that donation button below and give what you can so we can help every candidate on our slate win.  

Adrienne Bell 
Executive Director   
Brand New Congress