Disabled community challenges Texas abortion law
Texas laws have had chilling effect on doctors who are confused about exceptions
Texas laws restricting abortion access have disproportionately harmed those with disabilities, according to a group that filed an amicus brief in a seminally important lawsuit challenging the bans.
Repro Rights Now spoke with Claudia Center and Jillian MacLeod, of the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, about their arguments listed and explained in the document filed in support of abortion access. The brief highlights how people with disabilities are more likely to experience maternal morbidities and mortality. They’re also more likely to need to access abortion care.
“Therefore, the confusion about the applicability and scope of medical exceptions leaves disabled people at higher risk for eight adverse outcomes during pregnancy,” MacLeod said.
People with disabilities are more susceptible to sexual violence and rape.
“If disabled people are more likely to be sexually assaulted or raped, then abortion care is also necessary care and ensuring that they're able to make self-determined decisions about their bodies and their futures,” MacLeod said.
Most people in the abortion rights movement want a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights. It should be permitted in all circumstances without justification or explanation. But the reality is that in the legal landscape the movement faces, many lawyers and activists fight for exceptions that would at least empower women in certain situations.
“That's not the reality we're in so we're trying to protect the rights of people with disabilities as much as we can,” Center said.
Zurawski v. State of Texas, the lawsuit in question, places three different abortion bans at the center of the challenge. The three bans have different medical exemptions that are phrased differently. So, that has resulted in confusion among doctors.
“Because of the harsh penalties related to the abortion bans, doctors are deterred from providing this care,” MacLeod said. And ultimately, there has been a chilling effect in Texas where doctors aren't providing health-preserving care.”