At midnight central time, Texas Senate Bill 8 (S.B. 8) went into effect. This anti-abortion law restricts abortion care after six weeks of pregnancy and enables people to sue abortion care providers and other people who support those who need access to abortion care.
President & CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health and ob/gyn in DC Dr. Jamila Perritt responds:
“Today is deeply difficult. S.B. 8 is one of the most dangerous and restrictive anti-abortion laws to go into effect in this country. As I think about the communities in Texas who are immediately impacted, as I think of my friends and colleagues who woke up this morning under threat of strangers being able to sue them for providing safe, essential health care, and as a provider of abortion care, myself, who knows how transformative it is for pregnant people to get the health care they need, when they need it, I am devastated.
S.B. 8 is a blatant attempt to close clinics, push health care out of reach, and punish those who help people get that care.
“Our first priority as providers of reproductive health care is to ensure that people get the timely, compassionate health care they need. This law aims to intimidate Texas abortion providers from meeting the health care needs of their communities. These legal threats impact careers, families, educations, and individual wellbeing. Politically motivated restrictions on health care with no bases in medical evidence, like this one, severely hurt people and families. The law will have most negative impact on those struggling to make ends meet, particularly Black women, Latinx women, and folks using Medicaid for insurance coverage. In short, S.B. 8 is a blatant attempt to close clinics, push health care out of reach, and punish those who help people get that care.
“While today is a concerning marker of politicians not listening to the expertise of their constituents, I know that together we can push back. We can support abortion providers, abortion funds, and communities in Texas. We can support the organizations leading the work to challenge S.B. 8 in the courts. Physicians for Reproductive Health will keep advocating for passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act which would prevent harmful state-based abortion restrictions like this one from impacting our communities.
“We are committed to supporting the needs of our community members in Texas, no matter what happens in the coming days, weeks, and months.”