Texas has repeatedly proven that it leads the Republican Party in its war on women. If the ‘do nothing’ Republicans in the Senate refuse to conduct hearings which would heal the Supreme Court, poor women in Texas could suffer additional damage.

A 2013 law passed by the Texas State Legislature placed new regulations on clinics which perform legal abortions in the state. Under the pretense of ‘patient safety,’ it is obvious that this was an attempt to restrict poor women, primarily minorities, from obtaining an abortion. Among these new regulations was a requirement that the doctors involved had admitting privileges to a nearby hospital. In rural areas, this became impossible. The result has been the closing of many clinics throughout the state. It might be noted that wealthy Texas women can have an abortion whenever and wherever they choose.

“Clinic closures really compounded the burdens women were already experiencing and this study brings that to bear in a very detailed way,” said study author Liza Fuentes, of Ibis Reproductive Health in Oakland, California.

The Supreme Court may perpetuate this unfair situation for poor women in Texas and other red states who have passed similar laws. If only eight justices hear proceedings before the Court, it is highly probable that there will be no decisions regarding the issues before them. The situation in Texas is one of those issues. A 4-4 tie may result in no decision, and the case may never be brought before the Court again; the Texas law will endure.

Logic says that this law places an undue burden on low-income women in Texas, but the court is politically divided, and logic may not enter into its decision.

Congress is already broken, thanks to right wing extremists. Now Republicans in the Senate have decided to make the third branch of our government dysfunctional for the next year.

The American people deserve better representation.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

Source

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