New Bill in Texas Proposed to Pushback Against Abortion Laws

If a woman is required to read a misinformed pamphlet before getting an abortion, a man should be charged for masturbating or purchasing viagra as well.

A Texas Democratic lawmaker, Representative Jessica Farrar, has proposed a bill named “A Man’s Right to Know Act”. This bill would fine a man $100 for masturbation and impose a waiting period of 24 hours for any man who wants a colonoscopy or a vasectomy, or seeking viagra on the market.

This act is a proposed pushback against the “A Woman’s Right to Know” pamphlet, one that is handed to women seeking abortions in Texas under the state law. This pamphlet has been criticized repeatedly in the past for its inaccuracy and its negative message to women who are in need of abortions. in fact, one section of the pamphlet even claims that breast cancer and abortions are linked, which have been proven false by scientists.

Farrah pointed out poignantly that in the world Texas has the highest maternal mortality rate. In fact, this number has doubled from 2010 to 2014. In Texas, women face particularly extreme challenges to get abortions, because of strict laws and the lack of clinics in the state.

Texas state law does not allow women to choose to have an abortion past the 20-week mark and exception can only be made when the woman’s life is endangered. This law has forced many women to carry unviable fetuses. Moreover, women are also forced to receive counseling and have an ultrasound under the law. The women are also obligated to hear the image of the ultrasound described to them by their provider.

To make the situation worse, 96% of Texas counties had no clinic providing abortions in 2014 and almost half of the women in Texas live in those counties. This means that almost half of the women in Texas do not have access to a clinic where they can get abortions in the region they live in.

In fact, since 2014 that number has only plummeted as the state imposed stricter regulations on its abortion doctors and clinics. The number of facilities that can provide abortions in Texas has fallen under 20 as of recently. Despite the fact that these restrictions were struck down by the Supreme Court, the clinics still reacted to the shadow of them.

Texas women can only get abortions in seven cities in the entire state, meaning that for the majority of women seeking abortions in Texas, it is not a possibility at all due to the legal restrictions and the limited accessibility.

Farrah’s attempt to push back against these measures is not likely to be approved or implemented. Yet it does present a stance for abortions that has not been heard in the political stage of Texas in the past few years and give a reminder to male lawmakers that women have the rights to their bodies as much as men.

She has received enormous backlash from the Republicans as Representative Tony Tinderholt commented that “I’m embarrassed for Representative Farrar. Her attempt to compare to the abortion issue shows a lack of basic understanding of human biology.” Unsurprisingly, Tinderholt’s most recent proposal is a bill that would require abortion providers and women receiving abortions with charges of murder.