We Heart: A Second Chance for a Texas Abortion Clinic

A U.S. district court judge’s decision last week striking down a Texas anti-abortion law is already having a positive impact for women in the Lone Star state.

Judge Lee Yeakel  struck down a provision of Texas’ omnibus anti-abortion bill, HB 2, that would have required abortion clinics to meet the building standards of ambulatory surgical centers—a near-impossible feat. If the law had gone into effect, most of the state’s remaining clinics would have been forced to shut their doors. Instead, Whole Woman’s Health—a women-owned health organization that provides a wide range of reproductive care services, including abortions—has been able to reopen their McAllen clinic thanks to Judge Yeakel’s decision.

Said Amy Hagstrom Miller, CEO of Whole Woman’s Health:

It feels surreal. Last Friday we were hours away from closing our fifth clinic due to restrictions by Texas politicians. Instead, today it’s back to business as usual in San Antonio, Fort Worth and again in McAllen, providing abortion care in the Whole Woman’s Health model without stigma or shame … We are more than resilient in the face of these threats. We are stronger and more determined than ever. We won’t sit back and witness the continued political interference in reproductive decision making by politicians, especially when low-income women, women of color and rural women bear the brunt of it.

Whole Woman’s Health is also set to open a new clinic in New Mexico on Sept. 15, serving both local women and those from neighboring Juarez, Mexico.

The women’s health center challenged HB2 in court and has been successful in holding back the legislation thus far, but Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has already appealed Judge Yeakel’s decision. The issue is expected to be decided ultimately by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Congratulations, Whole Woman’s Health! You’ve made it this far. Keep up the great work advocating for women’s reproductive rights.

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Photo courtesy of Texas State Library and Archives Commission licensed under Creative Commons 2.0

 

About

Stephanie hails from Toronto, Canada. She is a Ms. writer, a master of journalism candidate and a hip hop dancer/instructor/choreographer. She got her start in feminist journalism at the age of 16 when she was a member of the first editorial collective at Shameless magazine—and she has never looked back.