April is Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month, giving us the intentional space to join together as a community to go beyond believing survivors and turn awareness into action. We all have a part to play in supporting survivors, uplifting their voices, believing them, and de-stigmatizing the way we talk about sexual assault in our everyday lives. But one of the most powerful ways we can shift the cultural response to sexual assault and the treatment of survivors is to support and champion legislation and community initiatives that provide tangible resources and unburden the path to justice and healing for all survivors. […]
Reproductive Rights
Texas has become a laboratory for bad ideas when it comes to reproductive rights. In recent years state lawmakers have passed some of the toughest anti-abortion measures in the country, essentially making the procedure almost inaccessible for many Texas women.
The Texas Freedom Network supports efforts to ensure women have access to abortion and other reproductive health care services. That access requires adequate state funding and broad availability of birth control, especially for low-income women.
Resources
- Just Texas: Faith Voices for Reproductive Justice
- Just Say Don’t Know: Sex Education in Texas Public Schools (2009 report)
- Sex Education in Public Schools: Progress in the Lone Star State (2011 report)
- Texans Stand Up for Access to Birth Control: Results from a Statewide Survey of Texas Voters (2013 report)
Abortion Bans Harm Pregnant People Who Deserve Healthcare–Not Jail
The fear and stigma created by abortion bans like SB8 harm ALL pregnant people–people like Lizelle Herrera, a 26-year-old in Rio Grande City who was arrested and jailed for “the death of an individual by self-induced abortion.” The charges, which have now been dismissed, had no legal merit. While we’re relieved by this outcome, Herrera’s life is forever changed and the harm to her and her family cannot be undone. She deserved healthcare, not jail. […]
“Shouting Down Midnight”: How Wendy Davis, Carole Wall, & Sadie Hernandez Found Hope, Built Movements, and Inspired Generations of Activists
At face value, Shouting Down Midnight was about Davis’ historic 2013 filibuster to prevent a vote on SB 5, which would’ve wiped out access to abortion for most Texans. The 13-hour speech, which required Wendy to have a catheter inserted the morning of, is more than worthy of the praise and space of a documentary–but this day was about so much more, and so is Shouting Down Midnight. June 25, 2013, was about the collective power we hold as a community. The movements we can power with our rage. The change that can be harnessed through hope. […]
As Texas Previews a ‘Post-Roe World,’ Abortion Providers Deserve More Than Our Gratitude.
March 10th is National Abortion Provider Appreciation Day—and as we celebrate the vital work of the medical professionals who continually show up with compassion for patients in need of health care, it’s impossible to ignore that Texans are effectively living in a post-Roe world. Abortion providers deserve more than our gratitude. They need our support. […]
Texas Freedom Network Statement on the 49th Anniversary of Roe Ruling
As Saturday nears, marking the 49th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which correctly found that access to abortion is a constitutional right, the future of abortion care is uncertain. […]
