Some people say recent legislative trends in Texas particularly target communities of color. Greisa Martinez Rosas, executive director of United We Dream, says, “What is happening in Texas is a deliberate attack by far-right politicians who will do anything to quell Black, brown, immigrant, and LGBTQ communities both in Texas and other Republican-controlled states across the country.” She adds, “Republicans see us as threats to their white supremacist agenda.”
Pro-Life Activists Push Back
People who oppose abortion and support the Texas law aren’t staying quiet. Some point to apparent media bias. National Review writer Alexandra DeSanctis Marr tweets: “Phrases that actual news outlets have used to avoid the phrase fetal heartbeat: –cardiac rhythm –a group of cells with electrical activity –a cluster of pulsing cells –fetal pole cardiac activity –the pulsing of what will later become the fetus’s heart.”
Lila Rose, founder of the pro-life advocacy group Live Action, takes issue with people who are now “wringing their hands over a world where more Down syndrome kids may get a chance to live.” She was responding to this recent tweet from Richard Hanania: “You can’t screen for Down syndrome before about 10 weeks, and something like 80% of Down syndrome fetuses are aborted. If red states ban abortion, we could see a world where they have five times as many children with Down syndrome, and similar numbers for other disabilities.”
Rose also accuses President Biden of “weaponizing the federal government against our most vulnerable Americans.” And in response to Psaki, she tweets: “Being a woman or being pregnant does not give you license to kill.”
Legal experts predict ongoing discord and court battles over abortion. Today Planned Parenthood filed a restraining order against Texas Right to Life, claiming that workers at abortion clinics face harassment and danger.
