Texas has always been ground zero for the abortion debate.
More than 50 years ago, a small group of women gathered in a Dallas church, hoping to make abortion legal. Those efforts set the stage for Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington to take Roe vs. Wade, a Dallas county case, to the U.S. Supreme Court, and legalize abortion nationwide.
Now, Texas is leading again, this time to outlaw abortion. In September, it passed one of the most restrictive abortion measures since Roe was decided.
Last week, the same court that heard Weddington’s arguments overturned its previous decision, ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health that there is no constitutional right to abortion. And now, Texas is moving to criminalize nearly all abortions from conception.
As our nation and state begin to grapple with this historic departure and this apparent dividing line, I spoke to Texas women who are leading on this issue to hear their opinions, asking each participant the same two questions:
- Question 1: What would you say to the other side if they had an ear to listen?
- Question 2: Is there any common ground where both sides can work together to help women?
Some of these interviews were conducted before the Dobbs decision, so references to it may be in the future tense.
Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa
Founder and president of anti-abortion group New Wave Feminists, an organization that champions a “consistent life ethic” and works to “protect all life from womb to tomb”
Q1: There are many of us that hear you. We understand why you’re upset and even terrified by abortion access being restricted. We too see the flaws in the system that make unplanned pregnancies a liability when it comes to fully participating in an equitable society. And while we don’t believe the violence of abortion is the answer, we want to fight along side you for systemic change so that you and your child won’t merely survive, but will be able to thrive.
Q2: Paid family leave, pregnant worker protections, access to housing, transportation, child care, and adequate healthcare (especially in rural areas), better sexual education which includes extensive body literacy that would help prevent unintended pregnancies in the first place. When we start looking for common ground as opposed to battlegrounds, there is so much work that can, and must, be done together if we are to truly transform society into one that works for pregnant people and not against them.
Sarah Damoff
Dallas-based social worker and writer who contributed a chapter titled “One Christian’s Perspective on Abortion” to the anthology A War on My Body
Q1: Abortion is unique, and the answers are far from black and white. It is a medical question that should not be subject to partisanship. Our current political machines say there is a false dichotomy of “life or “choice.” To me really the only people that I feel like I can’t relate to in this whole conversation are people who don’t acknowledge that it’s traumatic for the woman also.
Q2: From my position, it doesn’t have to be illegal for us to work together to decrease demand or decrease need. Even if we have the right to abortion, the next step in bringing justice to women is decreasing that need for abortion. That doesn’t mean it should be illegal. That doesn’t have to be contradictory. This does not have to be a political football. We are a developed country that doesn’t have guaranteed paid maternity leave, children are not welcome in the workplace, which reverts back to a woman’s choice, that is a sign of injustice against women in our society. It is not right nor fair.
Sylvia Johnson
Founder and executive director of Houston Pregnancy Help Center, Inc. in the fifth and third ward of Houston, Texas:
Q1: Abortion hurts women. Objectively, scientifically, in mental health, and physically. Women are strong and able, and they don’t deserve to fall victim to the harms of abortion. They deserve so much more than a society that says their only chance at success is to kill their young.
Q2: To answer truthfully, it’s hard to have common ground when an evil so grave is at stake. Our points of commonality, though, would be our desire to support women and the knowledge that to be “pro-birth” is not enough. There is much that is currently broken in the American family, and our commitment to women, children, and families cannot stop at birth.
Rep. Donna Howard (D, Austin)
Chair of Texas House Women’s Health Caucus
Q1: Roe vs Wade established a logical and biological demarcation that balances the rights of a pregnant woman with those of a viable fetus, without allowing ideological or religious biases to make the determination. Government should not be able to force a woman to relinquish control over her own body —even die — to support the life of another. Autonomy over one’s own body is essential for self determination over one’s destiny — just as has always been the case for men.
Q2: No matter one’s opinion regarding abortion, all of us should be able to come together and support healthy Texas moms and babies. Texas has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality, our women’s health programs serve a limited number of eligible women. Therefore, we should agree to fully fund women’s health programs and expand access to women’s health providers in order to ensure healthy pregnancies, moms and babies.
Rhonda Kay Moreland
Board member of Texas Alliance for Life and chairman of the board of directors of BirthChoice Dallas Pregnancy Center
Q1: I think the very first thing that I want every woman to know is that I come from a place of love and non-judgment. And that I’m here to have a conversation and I’m trying to empower women, to understand what I’ve learned about what I understand is the truth of life. And I think that there’s no judgement to anybody who’s had an abortion. We all have a story, we all have a past, but our past doesn’t define us. And so I’m in the movement as much for the women as I am for the babies.
Q2: If I could do something with somebody who thinks opposite than me on the abortion issue, it would be connecting women towards resources for help. I think that is probably a great starting point, is just connecting women with assistance in all aspects of their life.
Wendy Davis
Former state senator known for her 13-hour filibuster against an abortion bill in 2013
Q1: Women cannot control our ability to thrive unless we can fully control our reproductive destiny. And every child in this country deserves to be a wanted child who will have the support necessary for them to thrive. When women lose the ability to control our reproductive autonomy, those who already live in poverty tend to be trapped in that poverty, with the creation of generational poverty to follow.
Q2: I think there are extremists whose goal is to control women, who don’t believe in access to contraceptive care, but I think there are plenty of us who fall in that area of doing everything we can so that women don’t face unplanned pregnancies and agree that the way to do that is to provide them the tools to assure that they won’t have an unwanted pregnancy.
Kyleen Wright
Texans for Life president, an anti-abortion activist for more than 30 years
Q1: Abortion hurts women. It’s a quick in-the-moment solution, but it doesn’t address so many things like the fact that women are inextricably linked forever to their children. They carry our cells in their body, we carry their cells in our body. And so I think that, while I’m not sure that I buy into the idea that women can have it all, women can be successful, and rear children.
Q2: What we will be saying after Dobbs comes down is “look it’s the law on the land. We’re going to work and fight to keep it the law and I know you’re going to work against it, but in the meantime, this is our reality. Can we at least join hands on this and work to help women and work to make sure that we have policy and legislation that does provide the full support for women in the here and now and for their children?”
Cecile Richards
Former president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and daughter of the late Gov. Ann Richards
Q1: The vast majority of Texans support abortion — but I would tell the 15% of anti-choice Texans that the question isn’t “do you support abortion?” The question is, “do you think the government and politicians should make the most personal decisions about your body and how and when you start a family?” The overwhelming majority of Texans want the freedom to make their own choices — without government interference. Abbott’s bounty-hunter abortion ban, which outlaws women from seeking guidance from their family, teachers, or clergy members, is as anti-freedom as it gets.
Q2: We simply cannot make compromises when it comes to women’s health. Abortion care is a medical procedure, an integral part of reproductive health care and something decided between a woman and her doctor. Without a shared understanding of the concept abortion care — there is no room for collaboration. Abortion bans don’t stop abortions — they just put women in danger.
BeLynn Hollers is an editorial fellow at The Dallas Morning News. For more on this topic, check out her in-depth conversation with Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa and Sarah Damoff below, or via The Dallas Morning News podcast.
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