This is what an abortion ban looks like in Texas

this Mexican street it's dozens of pharmacies busier than ever American women coming desperate for help now that abortion is banned in Texas so we're in huevo Progreso Mexico it's right across the border from Texas and this is a place where women can come to get a pill called misoprostol that helps induce miscarriages this is what cutting off abortion access does pushing people to cross state even International borders there's like 90 pharmacies on this street just to decide their own futures Post Road the anti-abortion movement wants to crack down even harder [Music] I hadn't passed by the clinic in a in a while because it was painful so this was kind of hard to see not gonna lie Kathy Torres is outraged at what's already been lost the only abortion clinic in south Texas now abandoned its sign scraped away it just feels like such a metaphor for what's happened in Texas overall these past few months yeah I have to juggle like resilience and anger like all the time and that's sort of what I feel when I see this building resilience for another fight between abortion Advocates like Kathy and anti-abortion lawmakers trying to block even criminalize the few ways Texans are still managing to access abortion what do you fear is going to happen next I think they're going to come for travel because there are people that there's people that have the means to travel to travel out of state right Kathy used to help pay for people to do just that not anymore there's just a lot of risk criminal risk actually and so we've had to get creative to figure out how people can get to where they need to go for their care [Music] Texas has always been a stronghold of the anti-abortion movement it's only allowed here now when a mother's life is at risk there's no exception for rape or incest that reality has spurred a new generation of leaders it's fueled my anger no one should be shamed for making the right decision for themselves I'm Rochelle Rochelle Garza ran for State Attorney General last year losing to the Republican incumbent all of our civil rights all of it is built on this law this body of Law and if you take away Reproductive Rights you put all of these other laws in Peril it is very dangerous territory we're moving into her biggest fear of federal abortion ban and more if Republicans win in 2024 I am concerned about these battles that we're going to see moving forward on you know medication abortion Plan B access to basic birth control how does what happens in Texas when it comes to abortion rights influence what happens in other states Texas has always been an example for the conservative movement and for pushing forward these very radical laws you know what happens in Texas never stays in Texas [Music] the first post-row session of the Texas state legislature is now underway Republicans trying to stop abortion pills from getting in and targeting companies willing to help pregnant employees get out I think we'll debate different Avenues with respect to abortion my focus representative Matt Shaheen is a member of the Texas Freedom caucus a right-wing group of Republicans a lot of the focus I really believe is going to be more around health care and supporting the mom and supporting the baby thousands and thousands and thousands of people who would have chosen to have an abortion now don't have that choice that's right what do you say to those people those are thousands and thousands of little babies that are now alive we are a very safe place for little babies what about women we are a very safe space for little for women as well I think a lot of people would disagree with that point on a lot of levels when it comes to maternal Health when it comes to Poverty rates and when now when it comes to access to abortion well we're going to continue to work on legislation to expand access to Mom and those little babies but we have a lot to celebrate in the state of Texas I wonder what's to what's when women have to lee tree for do you sell a lot of these is like 10 a week 10 a week to American women um gracias misoprostol can be combined with another pill mythopristone for a medication abortion taken by itself miso is still around 75 to 90 percent effective at ending a pregnancy in the first trimester it's everywhere here and this is all legal but the process isn't as easy as it looks in that Pharmacy it was double the price and the first one we paid 30 bucks and that one we paid almost 80. and we got two different sets of directions of how to take them and of course there is a risk when you come to buy them are you going to get fake ones are you going to know exactly what to do when you get home when they do get back to Texas there's still fear possible side effects like excessive bleeding and going to a doctor can be risky a Texas woman has been charged with murder after State office Liesel herrera's medical team reported her to police over what authorities called a self-induced abortion the murder charge was later dropped the realities of abortion law across the country is impacting so many types of people including women experiencing pregnancy loss like Amanda zyroski her water broke at 18 weeks I was shaking my teeth were chattering Amanda's pregnancy was non-viable still doctors feared that removing the fetus would be breaking the law Amanda nearly died of sepsis nothing about it feels pro-life abortion is only allowed when a mother faces a danger of death or serious risk of substantial impairment so must have been a really difficult last few months for you here the law can be hard to interpret says Houston Emergency Physician Dr Allison haddock I'm worried that when the laws are protecting the life of the pregnant mother but not the health of the pregnant mother that that's going to lead to very bad outcomes for patients how sick do they need to be before their life is at risk you could get to the point where yes their life is at risk and the disease has progressed too far and you can't treat it safely anymore are pregnant people going to die in this state because of the way the laws are now I worry that could be an unintended consequence [Music] there's such anxiety here especially in poorer areas like the Rio Grande Valley poverty means getting out for care can be impossible when people try to file the anti-abortion order that's where Kathy's fight rages on she's part of a lawsuit trying to stop prosecutions for helping people access abortion in other states especially since there's also laws over that too like for all the unknowns Kathy is sure of one thing people always have had abortions and they're going to keep having them it's just a matter of how and where and how many hurdles they'll have to overcome

Channel: CBC News: The National

Views: 30,782

Keywords: abortion ban united states, roe v. wade, roe v. wade overturned, texas abortion ban, where is abortion legal united states, womens health, texas abortion laws, texas, united states, texas government, us supreme court, planned parenthood, Ellen Mauro, CBC, The National, Abortion care

Id: P_NGDBhW35k

Length: 8min 27sec (507 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 16 2023