Limiting traveling for pregnant women is expanding in Texas, and an anti-abortion activist commented, “These abortion trafficking ordinances really are the next stage in an abortion-free America.”
Four counties passed laws to punish anyone thinking of an abortion
MeidasTouch Network reported that Lubbock County in West Texas passed the bill during the last week of October to stop women from traveling to New Mexico, where abortion is legal.
Lubbock County Judge said it was legally challenging
The outlet reported that Lubbock County Judge stated how this ordinance has “many legal problems.” However, he added, “This ordinance, however, does not have a problem with its intent or the intent of those who are passionate about this.”
You can report a woman for talking about abortion
Among four counties that passed the loose travel ban for pregnant women, there is also a law allowing residents to sue anyone helping pregnant women get an out-of-state abortion.
Abortion free America
“These abortion trafficking ordinances really are the next stage in an abortion-free America,” said Mark Lee Dickson, an anti-abortion activist who was one of two people who drafted the ordinances. Jonathan F. Mitchell, the former attorney general of Texas who drafted the abortion ban in 2021, helped Dickson.
Not legal
NY Times reported that Jeffrey B. Abramson, emeritus professor of government and law at the University of Texas, said, “Even Justice Kavanaugh, in his concurring opinion in the Dobbs decision overruling Roe v. Wade, noted that a state would be violating the constitutional right to interstate travel if it sought to prohibit women from traveling out of state to seek a lawful abortion.”
But for Dickson, this is not a travel ban
Dickson defended the ordinances, explaining, “We don’t see this as a travel ban,” and added, “We see this as a prohibition on abortion trafficking.”
Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas condemned these laws
A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, Autumn Keiser, called the ordinances “unnecessary, confusing and fear-inducing barriers to essential health care.”
Restrictive and dangerous
“Texans already live under some of the most restrictive and dangerous abortion bans in the country, yet anti-abortion extremists continue to push additional unnecessary, confusing, and fear-inducing barriers to essential healthcare,” added Keiser.
Three smaller counties joined
One small county is next to the New Mexico border, while two others are in the middle of the state. Idaho also placed similar laws to prevent women from having abortions in Washington State. But, one thing should be considered, and MeidasTouch Network tackled it.
The intimidation
The publication writes that this is a “fascist tactic of intimidation,” explaining, “99% of abortions occur in the early weeks of pregnancy when a woman is not visibly pregnant. So either these states just intend these ordinances to act as intimidation, or they plan on limiting the travel of ALL WOMEN on the off-chance that they may be pregnant.”
American women traveling to Mexico for abortion
American women have been traveling to Mexico for abortions and abortion medications since the overturn of Roe vs. Wade. Pro-abortion activists spent decades looking up to the US laws that provided women with health care, but now, Mexico is the haven for American women.
Returning the favor
Crystal P. Lira, founder of Bloodys Red Tijuana, a group that facilitates medication abortion, told CNN in 2022, “It’s a snowball effect.” Ten years ago, she went to the States to get an abortion and never imagined someday she’d be helping women in the US get that same medication.
Texas initially targeted highways
Anti-abortion activists are targeting highways to stop women from crossing to states where abortions are allowed and reports claim that airports are next.
The anti-abortion crowd is working on a bill
Activists are working on creating laws that would make it illegal to drive on specific roads, Jezabel and The Washington Post reported. The roads in question would be the ones with abortion clinics nearby. Even more alarming is that the law would allow anyone to sue someone they suspected wanted to end an unwanted pregnancy.
The bills are already in place on several highways
The bans have already passed in two counties and two cities. The ban creates legal risk for those traveling on major highways, including Interstate 20 and Route 84
It is not even a secret
Mark Lee Dickson, the anti-abortion activist, told the Post, “This really is building a wall to stop abortion trafficking.” Llano, a small town where Trump gained 80 percent of voters, was among the first to support this extreme measure.
The Mayor does not 100 percent believe it would work
Llano Mayor Marion Bishop told The Post, “Is it essential? No,” Bishop said. “Does it make a statement? Yes, it does.” He admitted that this ban is more symbolic than anything because implementing the law would be challenging.
Odessa and Lubbock are considering similar measures
The Post also noted that Odessa and Lubbock could be the next counties to adopt “abortion trafficking.” The only one of the four states that border Texas where abortion is still legal is New Mexico, so it comes as no surprise that anti-abortion activists are focused on roads that lead to this state.
This “abortion trafficking” is more than traveling
Activists Mark Lee Dickson and Jonathan Mitchell believe this “trafficking” includes not only a pregnant woman but also a potential second driver, logistical or monetary aid, and similar. Dickson called it a “baby murdering cartel.”
Alabama Attorney General defended a similar move
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall argued that people who organize travels for those leaving to get an abortion, for example, may be participating in a “criminal conspiracy” because abortion is illegal in Alabama.
Abortion rights group reacted
In a statement, the abortion rights group, the Yellowhammer Fund stated, “Alabama can no more regulate out-of-state abortions than another state can deem its laws legalizing abortions to apply to Alabama,” The Hill reported.
Blocking the roads could be unconstitutional
Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California at Davis, told the Washington Post that these laws appear to violate the Constitution’s right to travel. She said, “Mitchell and Dickson are not necessarily conceding that what they’re doing is unconstitutional, but they’re making it very hard for anyone to do anything about it.”
Scaring people out of abortions
Texas abortion organization The Lilith Fund stated, “The purpose of these laws is not to meaningfully enforce them.” The group added, “It’s the fear that’s the point. It’s the confusion that’s the point.”
Interesting revelations about Mitchell
Jezabel reported, ” Mitchell is representing a man suing his ex-wife’s friends for helping her get an abortion, which he only knew about because he intensely surveilled her.”
Dickson allegedly wanted to imprison women who tried to have an abortion
An X account reported, “Meet Mark Lee Dickson, the incel pastor who is trying to build a prison for pregnant people in Texas using local ordinances.”
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