Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Denounces Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for Signing Extreme Bill Attacking Reproductive Freedom (SB 8)
SB 8 would ban abortion before many people know they’re pregnant and allow almost any person to file a civil suit against anyone who “aids and abets” a pregnant person seeking abortion care
Texas — Today, anti-choice Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed an extreme bill (SB 8) attacking reproductive freedom and access to abortion. Not only would SB 8 ban abortion as early as six weeks—before many people even know they’re pregnant—it would also grant almost any person the power to file a civil suit, suing a person for up to $10,000 for “aiding and abetting” a pregnant person seeking abortion care if they are believed to have violated state abortion laws.
Emboldened by the anti-choice supermajority on the U.S. Supreme Court solidified by Trump, anti-choice extremists in state legislatures across the country are pushing blatantly unconstitutional bans and restrictions on abortion in hopes of rolling back or overturning Roe v. Wade. Just this week, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case involving Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban that directly challenges Roe v. Wade and violates nearly 50 years of Supreme Court precedent.
In response to Gov. Abbott signing SB 8, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue released the following statement:
“Mere days after the Supreme Court announced it would hear a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, Governor Abbott shamefully signed into law an extreme attack on abortion access in Texas. Anti-choice lawmakers across the country are ramping up their assaults on reproductive freedom at the state level in a desperate bid to retain power and control.
Even during an unprecedented pandemic, Republican politicians in Texas are laser-focused on ending access to abortion care. These elected officials’ goal is to use the anti-choice supermajority Trump solidified on the Court to end Roe and push abortion care as far out of reach as possible—regardless of the damage inflicted on the lives, health, and well-being of Texans and all people in the United States.”
So far in 2021, anti-choice lawmakers have already introduced, moved, or passed more than 300 bills attacking reproductive freedom. The anti-choice movement’s push to ban abortion is unpopular in every single state in the country, including Texas. These bills are out of touch with the vast majority (77%) of Americans who do not want to see Roe overturned.
Texas already has some of the most severe restrictions on abortion in the United States, including forcing delays before a person can receive abortion care and subjecting patients to mandatory biased counseling. These restrictions disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and people of color; low-income; and rural communities, and are part of a coordinated effort by the Right to maintain white patriarchal control at all costs.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates and chapters have fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom—including access to abortion, contraception, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its more than 2.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 7 in 10 Americans who believe every person should have the freedom to make the best decision for themselves about if, when, and how to raise a family.