Repro Roundup: Texas appeals court strikes down ban on very common abortion procedure

Welcome to my column, The Repro Roundup, in which I summarize abortion news happening around the country, why it matters, and what you can do about it — in 250 words or less.

What’s the issue? According to the Texas Tribune yesterday, a federal appeals court struck down a ban on the most common method of terminating a pregnancy called a D+E abortion. Specifically, the law called doctors to “stop the fetuses heart” using surgical methods far more invasive and extreme than what a routine D+E would normally call for. For doctors in the state, failure to comply with this law could have meant prison time. Luckily, the ban was so heinous it never actually went into place and has been contested in various courtrooms since it was first introduced in 2017. The ban was almost immediately taken to court by the Whole Woman’s Health Alliance.

Why does this matter? D+E is the most common abortion method and the safest way to end a pregnancy in the second trimester. The process requires only local anesthesia and is over after just a few minutes. Banning this method of abortion, like all methodological abortion bans, force doctors to go against sound medical practice and endanger patients. Like Judge James Dennis said when writing the majority opinion for this case, the ban, “ forces abortion providers to act contrary to their medical judgment and the best interest of their patient” by requiring that doctors first stop the fetus’s heart in ways that are “unfeasible,” “dangerous,” and provide “no benefit to the woman.”

Additionally, bans like this compound the disadvantages that already marginalized patients face, especially women of color, young women, and low-income women. These are populations that typically need more time to come up with funding, travel accommodations, time off work or school, childcare, and overcome legal barriers like judicial bypass. More time means delays in abortion care and the increased need for abortions in the second trimester, even though the majority of patients want and try to have their abortion earlier, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

What actions can I take?

• Read why bans on D+E are extremely harmful to women who need it, by Guttmacher
• Learn about the D+E procedure and demystify abortion methods with this resource from Our Bodies, Ourselves
• Donate to, follow, and volunteer with the multiple abortion funds in Texas: Fund Texas Choice (lodging, Spanish speaking, travel), West Fund (financial assistance, Spanish speaking), Texas Equal Access Fund (financial assistance), Stigma Relief Fund (financial assistance), Clinic Access Support Network (lodging, travel), Lilith Fund (financial assistance), Frontera Fund (financial assistance, lodging, transportation), Afiya Center (abortion doula, childcare, meals, transportation, travel), Bridge Collective (childcare, lodging, transportation), and Jane’s Due Process (judicial bypass support, practical support)
• Read about which states have method bans with this Guttmacher tool
• Discover the other kinds of abortion bans from Planned Parenthood, including TRAP Laws, “personhood” amendments, and more

• Subscribe to The Repro Queen of DC, my monthly newsletter on abortion access, activism, and writing on the frontlines of DC.
• Subscribe to Repro 101, a seven-week educational email series about all things repro. Topics include the basics of funding abortion, clinic escorting, anti-choice violence, and more.