I don’t know when it will ever get through peoples heads- just because you make something illegal doesn’t mean that people will stop doing it, nor does it even begin to solve the problem. Texas, the reality is that abortions happen with or without legality and when you pass a bill that closes all but 5 abortion clinics, the reality of the situation doesn’t change.
The result is more women endangering their lives and psychological stability by finding ways to induce abortion without a clinic. There have been more reports saying that “flea market” abortions have become the norm is Texas. Sales of a stomach ulcer medicine known as Cytotec have highly increased. Cytotec is also known to induce a miscarriage, but there is no 100% guarantee. Many women who take this drug are still pregnant, or cannot stop bleeding. One user bled for a month.
The scary part is that most women will still take this risk. Texas has made it nearly impossible for women to get abortions, in particular women from low-income households. As of now, there is a 24-hour wait period for an abortion, which means a missed day of work, and then the visit itself costs around $550. The cost and travel time itself price most women out of this option, AKA the only legal option. Instead they opt for going to a flea market in McAllen, Texas to illegally purchase Cytotec for $40.
If the Texas abortion bill passes there will only be 5 clinics left in the state, hugely decreasing availability of legal abortions and increasing the illegal consumptions of dangerous drugs. Making something illegal does not change a woman’s needs, and it definitely does not take away her right to choose. This bill actually endangers more lives by making almost any abortion close to illegal in Texas.
Source via The Atlantic Wire
Photographs via The Atlantic Wire, CNN and Naples News
