By: Nick Harper
A U.S. study released last month estimates that 64,000 women and girls became pregnant from rape in states that have implemented abortion bans. The research has reignited the debate about a women’s right to choose. But anti-abortion groups in one of the most restrictive states say the data presented in the study is flawed.
By: Olivia Goldhill
“We think that timing is overdue for the Texas Medical Board to act,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, an anti-abortion group.
By: Jef Rouner
Texas Alliance for Life has been oddly silent since the release of the study, sending out a single tweet saying, “A child conceived in rape does not deserve to be killed for the crime of his father.” Though the rally promises to promote the “vast resources” available for pregnant Texans, speakers include representatives of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, a radical anti-abortion think tank that promotes misinformation, such as that fetuses can experience pain at 15 week (the current scientific consensus is 23-24 weeks)
By: J. David Goodman
Amy O’Donnell, the communications director for Texas Alliance for Life, said that while it is “heartbreaking to hear of any family facing a tragic diagnosis for their unborn child” the group “does not support taking the life of an unborn child because of a life-limiting or fatal diagnosis.”
By: Taylor GoldensteiN
“Every child is uniquely precious and should continue to be protected in law no matter how long or short the baby’s life may be,” Texas Right to Life said in a statement.
Deirdre Cooper, a policy analyst with another anti-abortion group, Texas Alliance for Life, said terminating a pregnancy because of fatal abnormalities amounts to “discrimination.”
“Once given a fatal diagnosis, parents are now on a unique journey of preparing for the death of a beloved child,” said Cooper, who chose to birth a child with the same condition as Cox’s. “But abortion robs that child of the chance at life, no matter how short.”
By: Selena Simmons-Duffin
Texas Alliance for Life, a group that lobbied in the state legislature for the current abortion laws, published a statement about Cox’s case Wednesday. “We believe that the exception language in Texas laws is clear,” wrote the group’s communication director Amy O’Donnell, and accused the Center for Reproductive Rights of pretending to seek clarity while really attempting to “chisel away” at Texas’s abortion laws.
The timeline of this case was very quick. “I have to be honest, I’ve never done this before, and that’s because no one’s ever done this before,” Duane says. “But usually when you ask for a temporary restraining order, the court will act very, very quickly in acknowledgement of the emergency circumstances.”
The hearing was held via Zoom on Thursday morning.
The State of Texas cannot appeal the decision directly, says Duane. “They would have to file what’s called a writ of mandamus, saying that the district court acted so far out of its jurisdiction and that there needs to be a reversal,” Duane explains. “But filing a petition like that is not does not automatically stay the injunction the way that an appeal of a temporary injunction does.”