Brief an Texas‘ Gouverneur wegen Abtreibungsrecht
7. September 2021
The Honorable Gregg Abbott
Office of the Governor of Texas
State Insurance Building
1100 San Jacinto
Austin, Texas 78701
Copy: Chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Mission to the European Union Kelly Adams-Smith
Dear Governor Abbott,
Reproductive choice — a woman’s right to make a private decision about her body and to decide whether to carry or terminate an pregnancy without political interference — is fundamental to a woman’s autonomy.
It is therefore with deep concern that we have taken note of the passing of a new law restricting abortion in your State of Texas. The law makes it illegal to terminate a pregnancy by the time a heartbeat is detectable. However, fetal cardiac activity can only be detected as early as six weeks from the last menstrual period. This law undermines women’s autonomy especially since the vast majority of women are unaware of their pregnancy by that mark. The ban makes abortion de facto illegal and only available to those who can afford to travel out of Texas, meaning that people on a low income and people of color will be harmed most.
The law also contains an unprecedented provision that encourages private individuals — including anti-abortion protestors and likeminded people with no connection to the patient — to file lawsuits against healthcare providers and anyone aiding in the procedure. Offering monetary rewards to any citizen who successfully sues an abortion provider will result in harassment of providers and isolates women from anyone who would help them during their pregnancy.
Women in the United States have a constitutional right to the liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction, as set out in Roe v. Wade. Attacking safe and legal health care and putting women’s lives at risk, even incentivizing individuals to interfere with someone’s private choices, is a blatant violation of those rights. The protection of women’s rights is imperative to the values both the United States and the European Union stand for.
We, Members of the European Parliament, therefore urge you to respect women’s rights and repeal this law.
Sincerely,
Samira Rafaela, Member of the European Parliament
Co-signed by 112 Members of the European Parliament:
Clara Aguilera
Francois Alfonsi
Abir Al-Sahlani
Rasmus Andresen
Manon Aubry
Petras Austrevicius
Malik Azmani
Tiziana Beghin
Brando Benifei
Robert Biedroń
Benoit Biteau
Izaskun Bilbao Barandica
Vilija Blinkevičiūtė
Michael Bloss
Manuel Bompard
Milan Brglez
Saskia Bricmont
Sylvie Brunet
Delare Burkhardt
Leila Chaibi
Olivier Chastel
Ilana Cicurel
Dacian Cioloș
Ignazio Corrao
Ciarán Cuffe
Clare Daly
Rosa D´Amato
Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield
Pascal Durand
Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová
Bas Eickhout
Cornelia Ernst
Eleonora Evi
Tanja Fajon
Laurence Farreng
Heléne Fritzon
Raphaël Glucksmann
Marketa Gregorova
Bart Groothuis
José Gusmão
Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana
Martin Hojsík
Jan Huitema
Yannick Jadot
Agnes Jongerius
Irena Joveva
Eugen Jurzyca
Assita Kanko
Billy Kelleher
Dietmar Köster
Stelios Kouloglou
Alice Kuhnke
Miapetra Kumpula-Natri
Stelios Kympouropoulos
Aurore Lalucq
Maria Manuel Leitão Marques
Nathalie Loiseau
Toine Manders
Marisa Matias
Fred Matic
Radka Maxová
Karen Melchior
Tilly Metz
Martina Michels
Silvia Modig
Ulrike Müller
Caroline Nagtegaal
Maria Noichl
Jan-Christoph Oetjen
Grace O’Sullivan
Dimitrios Papadimoulis
Maite Pagazaurtundua
Anne-Sophie Pelletier
Kira Peter-Hansen
Tonino Picula
Manu Pineda
Evelyn Regner
Sira Rego
Terry Reintke
Thijs Reuten
Frédérique Ries
Soraya Rodríguez
Maria Eugenia Rodríguez Palop
Diana Riba
Andreas Schieder
Helmut Scholz
Liesje Schreinemacher
Michal Simecka
Massimiliano Smeriglio
Linea Søgaard-Lidell
Susana Solís Pérez
Kim van Sparrentak
Sylwia Spurek
Nicolae Stefanuta
Tineke Strik
Vera Tax
Irène Tolleret
Marie Toussaint
Véronique Trillet-Lenoir
Dragos Tudorache
Miguel Urban
Ernest Urtasun
Monika Vana
Hilde Vautmans
Marie-Pierre Vedrenne
Sophie in ’t Veld
Idoia Villanueva
Nikolaj Villumsen
Marianne Vind
Thomas Waitz
Salima Yenbou
Stephanie Yon-Courtin