Women in Texas no longer enjoy the constitutional rights of free travel. Four Texas counties recently initiated travel bans against women in the latest attempts to strip them of their rights and humanity.
Four Counties (so far!)
The four Texas counties include Lubbock (the largest by far), Mitchell, Goliad, and Cochran. Amarillo County recently voted on a similar ban but opted against it – for now.
Why the Bans?
Even before the fall of Roe, Texas had one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country. They insidiously went around Roe’s protections by making abortion a civil issue rather than a criminal one, pitting citizen against citizen with their abortion bounty law, which the Supreme Court ultimately allowed.
But Texan politicians couldn’t stop there. Unable to stand the idea of a woman having autonomy over her own body and decisions, this new ban punished those who use county roads to seek abortions.
The Civil Loophole
Of course, they can’t outright punish women from traveling. The Constitution’s commerce clause has long been interpreted to allow free movement from state to state.
Instead, they used the civil penalty loophole again. Anyone who helps transport a woman seeking an abortion on the roads is subject to liability.
Pretending to Care for Women
The politicians pretend their radical views on abortion protect women. They don’t allow the woman herself to be named in the lawsuit, only those transporting or assisting her.
However, their faux concern comes to light when you remember that Texas has no exceptions for sexual assault or fetal abnormalities and an extremely high bar for abortions to save a mother’s life.
It also falls flat when you realize they think women are incapable of making their own decisions about their healthcare. Politicians have appointed themselves as the patronizing father figure who must make decisions for the state’s women because, of course, women are incapable of choosing for themselves.
It’s a misogynistic patriarchal view of the world that needs to end.
Just the Beginning
The fall of Roe initiated a domino effect. It’s just the beginning of efforts to strip women of their rights and autonomy.
We can see their next moves – apparent in these travel bans, discussion about contraception in general, and talks about ending no-fault divorce.
Ending abortion was never about protecting the unborn, though they make perfect scapegoats.
It’s about controlling women, thrusting them back into a life of domestic servitude, and ensuring each man gets assigned his slave so he’ll stop being a danger to society.
Time to Fight
Women around the country need to stand up and fight – now before it’s too late.
But it’s not just a woman’s issue. Many men sat on the sidelines for far too long because the issue didn’t affect them personally.
It does.
If women can lose their rights in an instant, so can men. Men will also be forced to pay child support and health care costs for kids they didn’t want. Men won’t be able to leave toxic marriages and will be thrust back into provider roles that they never wanted.
Everyone’s freedom is at risk here, and we must fight back.