Blog de Dunlap: Last night’s decision

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Last night’s decision

Danielle,

Last night, the Texas Supreme Court held that a woman couldn't end a pregnancy when the fetus has a fatal condition — even if it would endanger her life or her chance to get pregnant again.

The group of judges — which is made up entirely of Republicans — reversed a previous decision from a state judge that ruled she could receive an abortion under the state's "medical emergency" exception.

This woman went to another state where she could get a legal abortion.

I'm relieved she was able to access the abortion care that she needed. But understand this: This ruling sets the precedent for future cases to come. And the Republicans' next move is for the Texas law to be the law everywhere. That means no safe havens anywhere.

Their current Republican frontrunner for president — Donald Trump — has made that intention clear. He's boasted about being the president who "got rid of Roe v. Wade." He supports a national ban. He even said there has to be "some form of punishment" for women who get abortions.

It's not just a campaign motto: Abortion will be on the ballot in 2024.

So I'm going to pull on every lever to fight for the right to an abortion nationwide. That means campaigning against MAGA Republicans' out-of-touch extremism in order to prevent their plans for a national ban. That means electing pro-abortion Democrats and ending the filibuster so we can codify Roe v. Wade into federal law. That means reversing the right-wing takeover of our Supreme Court by working to expand and rebalance it. And that means supporting local candidates and ballot measures that will defend abortion rights at the state level.

We can't let up on our fight or let the stakes scare us, Danielle. Because we've seen it in Kansas, in Michigan, in Ohio, and in Virginia: When abortion rights are on the ballot, abortion rights win.

We are not powerless, Danielle. There is a path out of this. We can still make sure this extremist court doesn't get the final word on abortion rights. And we must. I'm in this fight all the way. If you're with me, please pitch in $100 so we can keep growing our pro-abortion movement ahead of the 2024 election.

Thanks for being a part of this,

Elizabeth