Abortion rights activists reflect on anniversary of SCOTUS' Dobbs decision, overturn of Roe v. Wade
According to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, in the first half of 2022 more than 17,000 abortions were performed in the state. That has since plummeted to just 85 between July and December the months immediately after the ruling.
SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — Activists around Central Texas used the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson decision, which overturned the court's previous Roe v. Wade and led to restrictions in abortion access, to raise money and promote information on how to get the procedure.
In San Marcos, student-led organizers hosted vendors and abortion rights volunteers in a fundraiser for abortion funds.
Tais, with San Marcos Abortion Activists, says the organization was started in response to last year's ruling. She says promoting access to abortions is crucial for the city she calls home.
"San Marcos is sort of a rural town, I would say because it's right in the middle of two major cities," Tais said, "But along I-35, we're kind of in a resource desert. A lot of people have to travel either to Austin or San Antonio and now we can't even go to those places for access."
Kim Vrela-Broxson, a volunteer with Texas-based abortion fund The Bridge Collective, attended the event. At her booth, Vrela-Broxson handed out reproductive health information, free pregnancy tests and emergency contraceptives.
She says the last 12 months have presented unique challenges for the organization, which largely serves to coordinate travel plans for those seeking abortions.
"It looked like partnering with other funds who are able to help people get appointments and other states," Vrela-Broxson said.
Abortion pill info popup "store"
Efforts to promote information on abortion access also started earlier in the week just south of Austin in Bastrop.
There, a storefront for Mayday Health popped up. The site hosted information for how to attain abortion pills regardless if one lives in Texas.
Co-founder Olivia Raisner said that one of the biggest challenges her organization has encountered is misinformation about abortion pills.
"They're effective and safe. We just need to keep kind of hitting that drumbeat so that the other side doesn't drown out the real true information," Raisner said.
Raisner says Mayday Health was created in response to the Dobbs decision as well. She says the site receives more than 30,000 visits a month, mostly from states that have heavy abortion restrictions.
According to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, in the first half of 2022 more than 17,000 abortions were performed in the state. That plummeted to just 85 between July and December 2022.
Since August of 2022, all abortions performed in the state have been because of a medical emergency.