Strike three
Lawmakers should learn a lesson about unfair abortion laws.
The greatest fear of many opposing Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court is that he would help overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion.
But this assumes that Republican strategists actually want to overturn Roe. Why would the farright really want to toss out a ruling that’s been so fruitful to the GOP?
If abortion foes really wanted to reduce abortion rates even further past the all-time lows we’re seeing today, there are sure ways to do it. Start by providing low-income women access to birth control that can help them prevent unwanted pregnancies and, thus, the need for abortion.
Instead, lawmakers pass up smart, effective solutions in favor of legislation that threatens to harm women, has no hope of passing constitutional muster and, yes, keeps primary voters interested, special interests happy and campaign donors motivated to give.
Just look at our own Texas Legislature. In May 2017, state Rep. Sarah Davis, a moderate Republican from West University Place, stood on the House floor and asked her GOP colleagues not to pass another unconstitutional abortion bill that would only waste time and resources on litigation.
She had issued a similar warning years earlier over legislation that imposed such onerous requirements on doctors and clinics that the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down. But not before forcing the closure of dozens of women’s health clinics across the state.
In 2017, Davis proposed an amendment to Senate Bill 8 that scrapped language already deemed unconstitutional in federal court. It required the cremation or burial of fetal and embryonic remains from most abortions, miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies — regardless of the pregnant woman’s wishes or religious beliefs.
“You have an opportunity to take a bipartisan, pro-life vote that will ban partial-birth abortions but will strike the rest of the bill,” Davis said. Her amendment failed with 49 ayes and 93 nays.
The bill became law, the state was sued, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton enthusiastically defended the law at taxpayer expense.
Sure enough, last week a federal judge struck down the law, saying it created “substantial obstacles” for women, doctors and clinics while offering “absolutely no health benefit in return.”
It’s the third Texas law restricting abortion to be overturned in recent years. Texas should learn its lesson, but there is no sign of that.
In a grotesque show of political gamesmanship, Texas lawyers are expected to quickly appeal. The football — a woman’s right to her own reproductive destiny — remains in play.