Rallying for choice in Texas

June 8, 2011

AUSTIN, Texas--Some 150 people gathered at the State Capitol on a near-record hot day for the Texas State Walk for Choice in support of the right to safe and accessible abortion on demand.

The group consisted of activists from many different organizations, including the Lilith Fund, which provides equal access to abortion to women regardless of economic situation, the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, Students for a Democratic Society, Pro-Choice Houston and several branches of the International Socialist Organization in Texas.

After gathering at the steps outside the Capitol with signs in hand and cheers ringing throughout the crowd, the group marched down Congress Avenue chanting, "Free abortion on demand. Can we do it? Yes we can!" and "Not the church, not the state. Women must decide their fate."

Protesters were unapologetic about the demand for safe, legal abortion. "The choice of abortion is only traumatic for women when [society] says it should be," trumpeted Dana Cloud to cheers from the crowd. "The choice is necessary and desirable for almost a third of women in this country. Abortion is not a dirty word."

The demand for free abortion on demand and the insistence that abortion is not something to be shied away from stands in contrast to other recent demonstrations in the Austin area, during which the word "abortion" was scarcely mentioned. Instead, they focused on "women's health."


THOUGH THE crowd was unapologetic about a women's right to choose, the rally took place as a tsunami of anti-abortion legislation has been introduced across the U.S. Over the past three months, there have been 919 anti-abortion laws introduced into 49 state legislatures, including the recent passage of Texas HB 15, which requires women to receive a sonogram 24 hours before an abortion.

This is an especially onerous burden on working-class and poor women, as it means often having to drive a great distance, receive their assessment, then stay in a hotel for the night and return the next day for the actual abortion. For many, making this long journey and missing work is not an option. As of 2008, 92 percent of Texas counties had no abortion provider, and 33 percent of Texas women live in these counties.

The bill also requires the physician to display a sonogram image, explain the image and make the fetal heartbeat audible, despite the fact that in many cases, the heartbeat cannot be detected until after the eighth week of pregnancy, and half of all abortions occur within the first eight weeks of pregnancy.

The gathered crowd was riled up by this attack on women's rights and offended by the Texas law, as well as laws in other states that have recently been enacted. The Texas bill is especially insulting, presuming that women seeking an abortion are ignorant of their own biological functions. "This measure is an aggressive intrusion into women's right to privacy. In addition, it inflates the significance of fetal imaging in a distorted and misleading way," said Cloud.

However, it was not only the recent anti-abortion legislation that drew fire from the crowd, but also the framework of the system that spawns such laws.

Nikeeta Slade talked about the relation of race to the abortion debate. Slade addressed the crowd, saying, "[The right] says the most dangerous place for a Black baby is in the womb. Twenty-six percent of Black people live below the poverty line. The most dangerous place for Black people--and all working-class people--is in a capitalist society!" Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in cheers.

Not only was there talk about the source of the oppression of women, but also the need for solidarity between all. "This is not only a women's issue, but a civil rights issue," said Andrew Turner, who came in from Denton for the rally. "All people, men and women alike, must support these basic civil rights. One group acting alone can be defeated, but together with others, we create a snowball effect that will lead to the eradication of injustice in society

The march was truly a Texas-wide event. People came in from all across the state, including Dallas, Denton, Corpus Christi and Houston. Men and women, in solidarity, came to rally alongside others fighting in the struggle for abortion rights. Yet the demands were not just for the right to abortion, but for safe and obtainable access to this much needed service.

"Choice on paper means nothing, it is about access, and it's about dignity. It is about trusting women with their bodily autonomy and their rights and their choices," said Britt Schulte, an organizer of the Texas Walk for Choice.

The themes of solidarity, economic access to abortion services and an unapologetic demand for safe and easily accessible abortion stood as an indicator of what could be if the forces of the working class become united. The upcoming SlutWalk Austin, which is anticipating over 2,000 people, will be another gauge on the radicalization of the women's movement in Texas.

Even though women, and especially working-class and poor women, have been under attack by recent anti-choice legislation, this march in Texas demonstrates that the people will not stand idly by while legislators attempt to strip away their rights.

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