AUSTIN, Texas – Hannah Roe Beck and Jamarr Brown, co-executive directors of the Texas Democratic Party, released the following statement on the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade:

“For the past 49 years, the right to access abortion has been protected by Roe v. Wade. Today is a day to remember the long and hard struggle for reproductive rights in the United States and the vulnerability of our constitutional right to abortion access. Here in Texas, this Roe’s 49th birthday is grim, our access to abortion has been dismantled by the dystopian abortion ban of Greg Abbott and Texas Republicans, SB 1. This intrusive law interferes with intimate decisions between patients and healthcare providers. Right now, most Texans seeking abortions have no choice but to travel hundreds or even thousands of miles out of state to exercise their entrenched reproductive rights. And adding insult to injury — Republicans in Texas have also passed a “trigger” law, which will ban abortions outright if Roe v. Wade is canceled.

“The fight that began more than half a century ago continues today; A young Texas lawyer, Sara Weddington, argued and won one of the most groundbreaking cases in American history. This case, Roe vs. Wade leads to the reproductive liberation of millions of Americans, free to make the best decisions for themselves and their future. Today, all of this progress is threatened by a Supreme Court with a far-right majority. This week, SCOTUS again denied Texas health care providers a day of court appearance by refusing to allow Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson be heard by the district court after months of delay. Every day SCOTUS fails to guarantee Texans our reproductive rights is a day our freedoms are lost and racial and economic justice denied.

“We continue to applaud and support abortion rights activists and reproductive justice advocates who bravely fought against Abbott’s abortion ban amid personal threats to their own freedom. Personal health care decisions should remain between a person and their doctor, and never between a politician and their political power.

“We applaud House Democrats for passing Congresswoman Judy Chu’s Women’s Health Protection Act and the President’s efforts to resist further intrusions on reproductive freedom. But much work remains. and Texas Democrats are calling on Congress to urgently pass legislation codifying the right to abortion, so that Americans’ access to this basic right to health care is fully protected, once and for all. call to protect access to abortion by codifying Roe vs. Wade has never been so urgent. We cannot let abortion bans and restrictions, which exacerbate existing inequities in health care for communities of color, go unchallenged. The only way to win the war Republicans have waged on our bodies and our rights is to run in November and elect leaders who truly believe in human freedom and respect the right to access abortion. .

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