This week on Reveal: The Misinformation that Fueled Texas' Abortion Law

Want to see the possible future of abortion access in the United States? Look to Texas, where the most restrictive anti-abortion law in the country is currently in effect. For years, foes of abortion rights have pushed “heartbeat bills” that would ban abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, when an embryo's cardiac activity can be detected. This week, we investigate how this idea went from being dismissed as a fringe tactic, even by traditional right-to-life groups, to the law of the land in Texas. Nationwide, the success of “heartbeat bills” relies on skewed science and a marketing campaign that involved sending red balloons, roses and teddy bears to lawmakers.  

Listen to the episode: A Strike at the Heart of Roe

By the Numbers: The Cost of Traveling to Get an Abortion 

Thousands of people seeking abortions in Texas have been forced to travel outside the state after the procedure was banned at six weeks after conception. But the time and money it takes to travel means the option is out of reach for many people. On this week’s episode, Frontera Fund Executive Director Zaena Zamora, who helps people in the Rio Grande Valley access abortions, broke down the costs. 

800 – Distance in miles from the Rio Grande Valley, at the southernmost tip of Texas, to Wichita, Kansas, where the Trust Women Foundation clinic provides abortions

$1,000 – Cost of a flight from the Rio Grande Valley and a hotel in Wichita 

$700 – Cost of a medication abortion at the Trust Women clinic 

1 or 2 – Number of Texas patients the clinic typically used to treat in an average month before the new law went into effect

26 – Number of Texas patients the clinic treated per month in fall 2021 

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Texas Deputy Who Tased Unarmed Refugee Child Won’t Be Disciplined

Last year, Reveal reporters Aura Bogado and Laura C. Morel obtained body camera footage that showed a Texas sheriff’s deputy tasing an unarmed 16-year-old boy for 35 seconds at a government-sponsored shelter for migrant children. After we published the footage, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office immediately placed the deputy, Patrick Divers, on administrative leave pending an investigation. 

Bogado and Morel wanted to know what happened to that investigation. They’ve learned that the Sheriff’s Office will not be disciplining the deputy. In fact, the sheriff’s internal investigation concluded that the deputy followed protocol when he tased the unarmed child for half a minute. What’s more, the Sheriff's Office provided so many contradictory and confusing statements about the investigation that it was difficult to understand what was going on at the department.

The internal affairs report says Divers “utilized reasonable force based on the circumstances that (the deputy) had at the time the force was used.” One of the reasons it gave: The child tied the drawstring of his pants. 

Ananda Tomas, executive director of ACT 4 SA, a grassroots advocacy organization focused on police reform initiatives, told us that she disagrees with the sheriff’s decision to not hold Divers accountable. 

“A 16-year-old boy was tased for 35 seconds. That’s serious damage to a young boy physically. Adults who are much larger have been killed by Tasers. What we have here is excessive force,” she said. “It clearly should have been a criminal conduct investigation.”

• Read the new story: Texas Deputy Who Tased Unarmed Refugee Child Won’t Be Disciplined

• Read the original report: ‘I’m Going to Tase This Kid’: Government Shelters Are Turning Refugee Children Over to Police

• Listen to the podcast about the case: Minor Violations