DALLAS — It's official: Abortion is now illegal in the State of Texas.
Our state never repealed any pre-Roe anti-abortion statues, so the moment the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, those became immediately enforceable again -- at least in the eyes of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, anyway.
And in 30 days, thanks to our state’s “trigger law,” the penalties for having an abortion in Texas will become even more severe, jumping from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Of course, as you’ll hear in this emergency episode of our Y’all-itics podcast, this is only the beginning of the story in Texas.
Republican lawmakers, for instance, are already planning legislation that would punish businesses that help female employees obtain an abortion. Rep. Briscoe Cain explains in this podcast that there could even be legislation that empowers district attorneys to prosecute folks from neighboring counties if their home county DA decides not to enforce state law
Meanwhile, Democrats call the historic ruling a devastating blow to women that will severely limit access to healthcare. Rep. Nicole Collier wonders out on this episode loud why the same folks who used the argument "my body, my choice" to resist COVID-19 vaccines and masks aren’t making the same argument now.
Finally, the Jasons and special guest host Teresa Woodard turn to one of the nation’s premiere constitutional law experts -- Steve Vladeck with University of Texas School of Law -- to find out if the Supreme Court’s ruling will put any other rights at risk.
It's a lot to process, but Y'all-itics is here to break it all down for you.