In response to the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v Wade, a coalition of Texas Democrats have written to the White House, proposing strategies to ensure medication-enabled abortions are still available. This ruling has caused abortion restrictions to come into effect in Texas and other states, resulting in abortion being illegal in Texas and individuals needing to travel to other states to receive abortion care. The letter from the Texas Democrats and abortion rights organizations highlighted the financial and transportation difficulties this would cause for many, and asked the Biden administration for their support.
The White House has been urged to take immediate action to guarantee access to medication abortions within the state, despite efforts from right-wing extremists and state officials to block their efforts. The letter urges the White House to declare a public health emergency in order to support private providers offering abortion care via telehealth. This would involve allowing out-of-state prescribing and delivery of abortion medication to Texas residents, as well as overruling any state laws that impede access to federally-approved medication. The letter proposes assembling a team of philanthropists, health leaders, lawyers, and communications experts to raise awareness and back entities that offer telehealth abortions. Furthermore, it suggests creating a federal program that supplies abortion medication and using the federal government’s “supremacy” to fight against state regulations that obstruct FDA-approved medications. Lastly, it suggests shielding third-party organizations inside and outside of Texas from civil and criminal proceedings when they provide abortion medication to patients. Overall, the letter stresses the importance of taking care of communities who have lost freedom over their own bodies and health care decisions.
It is clear that the fight for abortion access will be ongoing, and these strategies proposed by the Texas Democrats and abortion rights organizations are a crucial step in ensuring individuals are able to access the abortion care they need, regardless of their location. The ultimate goal is for individuals to have access to safe and legal abortion care, and for the government to ensure that individuals are able to make their own decisions about their health care.