Hello #ChangeMakers!
I awoke this morning in Austin, Texas to what has become a sadly familiar news headline: “Abortion debate tearful”. This time, the tearful conversation surrounded Texas’ proposed rule that would require the burial or cremation of fetal remains in cases of miscarriage or abortion, part of the the Governor’s “Life Initiative.” This move, of course, comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. Once again, Texas argues some interest in protecting the “sanctity of life,” when in reality it seeks to throw another impediment in the path of women seeking safe, legal abortion.
As the ACLU argued, requiring women or abortion providers to fund burial or cremation services for their fetus would drive up the cost of abortion and discourage women from seeking a safe procedure. The Funeral Consumers Alliance of Texas testified that the basic charge for funeral services in our state is around $2,000. And this is as much about adding shame as it is adding cost, of course. As one woman who had an abortion after she had been raped testified, “[being forced to bury the fetus] would have essentially been the state of Texas rubbing my face in my own rape.”
In the face of this, I find myself refocused on the resolve necessary to assure the dignity and safety of women in Texas and elsewhere. I hope you do, too, #ChangeMakers. We need you.
xo,
- Wendy
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