| For Immediate Release: November 5, 2018 Contact: [email protected] |
After the 5th Circuit Court heard oral arguments for SB 8, Texas’ unconstitutional ban on D&E abortion procedures, NARAL Pro-Choice America Vice President Adrienne Kimmell issued the following statement in response:
“For decades, the anti-choice movement has laid the groundwork to gut Roe v. Wade, criminalize abortion, and punish women. Donald Trump and out-of-touch Republicans in Congress have stacked the courts with biased judges willing to push their anti-choice ideology, such as extremist Kyle Duncan who may rule on this very case. The law being challenged bans standard medical practice for abortion and upholding this law will advance the far right’s strategy to end access to safe and legal abortion in this country and endanger women. The 5th Circuit Court should recognize this ban for what it is—an unconstitutional attempt to deprive women from receiving the care they need.”
Banning this procedure would essentially eliminate abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy, outlawing critical care for many women. In a different case, the 11th Circuit ruled that Alabama’s D&E ban is unconstitutional. If the 5th Circuit lets the Texas law go into effect, a circuit court split would give the Supreme Court reason to take up the case–paving the way to rollback abortion rights nationally and chip away at the standard enshrined in Roe v. Wade.
NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates are dedicated to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom for all Americans. NARAL works to guarantee that every woman has the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion. In recognition of its work defending our constitutional right to choose, Fortune Magazine described NARAL as “one of the top 10 advocacy groups in America.”