On June 24, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, clearing the way for states like Texas to ban nearly all abortions. As we navigate this quickly shifting legal landscape, Marfa Public Radio wants to help answer your questions: What do you want to know about what Roe’s end means for people in Far West Texas? | Lea esta nota en español
By Annie Rosenthal
On June 24, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. This new ruling leaves it up to individual states to decide whether to allow the procedure.
Texas lawmakers had already made their choice on that front: Last year, the state legislature passed a “trigger law” to ban nearly all abortions in the wake of a Supreme Court judgment. That law –– which allows abortion only to save the life of the pregnant person or prevent “substantial impairment of major bodily function” –– won’t go into effect until 30 days after the Supreme Court’s decision becomes official, which typically takes about a month. But state officials are using pre-Roe legislation to keep clinics from providing abortions even before then, and legal access to the procedure in Texas has already all but disappeared, pushing residents to travel out of state or turn to self-managed abortion.
In Far West Texas, these obstacles aren’t entirely new: Accessing reproductive care –– including abortion –– has long been complicated here. For months, Marfa Public Radio has been collecting stories about our listeners’ experiences navigating those challenges — and in the coming months, we’ll roll out a series exploring how the options out here shape the choices Big Bend residents make about when, how, or if to have children.
But right now, as we navigate a historic moment and rapidly shifting legal landscape, lots of things are confusing –– from who could face penalties and for what, to what resources remain legal, to how this decision could impact other parts of life. Marfa Public Radio wants to hear from you: What questions do you have about about what the end of Roe means for our region?
You can submit your questions in the box below, and our reporters will do our best to answer them.
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