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AUSTIN, TX – Austin City Council passed a letter of consent that would allow City Manager Spencer Cronk to provide legal resources to support ongoing lawsuits against Texas’ most restrictive abortion ban.
The general item, approved Thursday, encourages companies to join the city to oppose the implementation of Senate Act 8, also known as the Texas Heartbeat Bill.
The law, which was passed in May and went into effect September 1, prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity – usually about six weeks before some women know they are pregnant.
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It also allows individuals to sue health care providers who perform abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. The law does not currently provide any exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
Since entering into force, the bill has become the most restrictive abortion law in the United States
“Access to abortion is once again under severe attack in our state and many of us are frustrated and angry, but it is our responsibility to stand up and struggle with whatever we have,” said Councilor Paige Ellis, who is the sponsor of the abortion access resolution. “We cannot leave this aggressive invasion of such a private and personal matter unchecked.”
Ellis, along with other elected officials, hosted a press conference Wednesday morning in response to the implementation of SB8. She was accompanied by Mayor Adler, Travis County Judges Andy Brown, Harper-Madison, Casar, and attorneys from Planned Parenthood, Avow Texas, Women’s March, and the Austin Justice Coalition.
“I am proud to support this resolution to defend the right to abortion,” said Adler. “I represent nearly a million Austinites, the majority of whom are against the state’s extreme abortion ban. It offers no solutions, no reasonable exceptions, no medical precautions, and certainly no compassion.”
A month after the bill went into effect, the Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas said it was seeing patients.trekking hundreds of miles looking for abortion care across state lines. “
Two years ago, Austin became the first city in the country to provide funds to assist residents seeking abortion assistance through assistance with resources such as transportation and housing.
“That’s unfair. It’s unjust and frankly cruel. That’s why we have to be here. We have to be here to speak for them and let them know that they are not alone and that we will all together do what it takes to protect their rights, “said Harper-Madison.
The city of Austin isn’t the only government agency fighting SB8. Eight days after the law went into effect, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Texas, stating that the law was enacted “in open defiance of the constitution.”
Days later, the department asked a federal court in Texas to stop enforcing the state’s new abortion law while it was settling the case.
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