SB8 Made it Even Harder for Young People to Get an Abortion in Texas

Young people face all the same barriers that adults face in accessing abortion care, but in states like Texas, youth also face a parental consent law. Rosann Mariappuram, Executive Director of Jane’s Due Process, sits down to talk with us about this extra barrier to care, and what it looks like after the passage of the six-week abortion ban, SB8.

While also having to navigate the labyrinth of general, state-based abortion restrictions (such as mandatory ultrasounds, 24-hour waiting periods, a lack of abortion clinics in the state, and taking time off work and school), those under 18 in Texas must also receive parental or guardian consent when accessing abortion care. For many young people this can be an especially difficult challenge. If consent cannot be obtained, young people must go through a judicial bypass, or speaking with a judge to obtain a court order to receive an abortion.  

Judicial bypass processes often involve extremely invasive questions meant to gauge young people’s “intelligence or emotional stability.” Judges ask questions about the pregnancy, family life, grades, and other personal concerns. Texas’s passage of the six-week abortion ban, SB8, has complicated the judicial bypass process. The process, which already required two to three weeks of careful legal counseling, is forcing Jane’s Due Process staff to work under a tighter schedule. Still, this legislation has left many teens unattended in their need for abortion care; in fact, during the first month of SB8’s passage, abortion care in the state dropped by 50%, and 70-90% for young people.

Sex education is not required in the state of Texas, but if sex education is taught, the current curriculum does not necessitate the sharing of information on contraception and abortion, nor does the curriculum require LGBTQ+ inclusivity. Texas also has some of the worst maternal mortality rates in the U.S., especially for Black women. New research has shown that, while Black women make up only 11% of Texas births, they make up 30% of maternal deaths.

With no inclusive and supportive sex education and an extremely troubling maternal mortality status, Texas does not prove a hospitable state for exercising one’s reproductive health. Abortion is incredibly difficult to access, especially after the passage of the six-week ban. Many patients are being forced to travel outside of the state and spend considerable amounts of money on transportation methods and overnight accommodations, while abortion funds and clinics are continuing to face increasing barriers to providing care, emotional and mental stress, and legal repercussions.

Links from this episode

Jane’s Due Process
Jane’s Due Process on Twitter
Jane’s Due Process on Facebook
More information on Texas-based sex education standards
Population Institute’s 50-State Report Card

Transcript

Jennie: Welcome to rePROs Fight Back, a podcast where we explore all things reproductive health, rights and justice. I'm your host, Jennie Wetter, and I'll be helping you stay informed around issues like birth control, abortion, sex education and LGBTQ issues and much, much more-- giving you the tools you need to take action and fight back. Okay, let's dive in.

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Jennie: Welcome to this week's episode of rePROs Fight Back. I'm your host, Jennie Wetter, and my pronouns are she/her. So it's been a little bit since I've done an intro, cause I've been wanting to just dive into the topics and there's been so much happening. So I'm gonna keep all the things pretty short, cuz again, there has been so much happening. Let's start with some like, good news, right? Joe Biden just nominated the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. Like that is so exciting. Like Ketanji Brown Jackson seems like an amazing choice and I'm really excited that we're gonna have the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. So I'm sure we'll talk about her more in a later episode, but just first let's just soak in the excitement. Let's see. Unfortunately, I feel like a lot of the rest wasn't like great news. We had the six-month anniversary of SB8, which again, anniversary feels like the wrong word, right? It's not something to celebrate. We've had SB8 in place for six months. That means people in Texas have been without basically without abortion access for six months, that's pretty horrifying. And you know, it, it hasn't stopped there. Right? So Texas has SB8, but other states have been working to pass copycats. So we've seen this Texas style legislation [duplicating] really fast. And it's really horrifying to think that this could really be the new wave of what we're gonna see. And it’s just gonna… just deny so many people the access to their fundamental rights.

Jennie: Um, I guess in that vein, just a quick promo thing. So as y'all know, I do this as part of my work at Population Institute. And one of my big other things I work on every year is a 50-state Report Card on reproductive health and rights. And it also just came out. So please, please, please check it out. And you can find it at populationinstitute.org/reportcard and see how your state is doing. So I will just say that this is the 10th year we have done it and things are not looking good. And we have steadily seen the decline in how states are faring and how the country is faring. Since we've started doing the report card, when we first released it 10 years ago, we gave the US a C minus and I think we had about nine states that received failing grades. So now 10 years later releasing the report card, the United States has an F and we have 25 states that received failing grades. Please feel free to check it out. It measures not just abortion, but sex education, minor's ability to access contraception, Medicaid expansion, family planning, expansion within Medicaid, abortion insurance coverage. It covers a wide range of issues. And it's definitely worth checking out to see how your state is doing. I think, you know, the next, really big thing that happened is what's going on in Texas right now. So not just around abortion, but uh, with the attacks on trans kids. I'm sure we'll do an episode getting into this further where Texas's governor has said that getting kids gender affirming care is child abuse and that the, that we should start investigating people and how they're treating their kids. And let's just be clear. Gender affirming care is lifesaving care. And it is beyond infuriating that the governor is going to investigate people for loving their children and treating their children with respect and getting them the healthcare they need. We'll do more about that later on the podcast, because there are a lot of attacks on transgender rights happening right now. And the focus is really on trans kids, which is honestly, it's beyond heartbreaking. These kids need our love and affirmation and to see them being attacked, just it, it like breaks my heart and makes me so angry. So we'll dig into that on a later episode. Yeah. So like I said, there's been a lot happening, but I think we'll just turn to this week's episode because it is related to some of this stuff. We are going to talk about youth access to abortion care, and we're gonna be talking to the Executive Director, Rosann Mariappuram with Jane’s Due Process. So we're gonna be talking about it in the context of Texas. So, you know, all of the restrictions in your state may be a little different, but we're using Texas as an example of the hurdles that young people have to go through to access care. And so I'm very excited to have Rosann on here and talking about young people's access to abortion care. So with that, let's turn to the interview with Rosann.

Jennie: Hi Rosann. Thank you so much for being here.

Rosann: Hey, Jennie, it's good to be here.

Jennie: So do you wanna take a minute to introduce yourself, including your pronouns?

Rosann: Rosann Mariappuram, I use she/her pronouns, and I’m the Executive Director of Jane’s Due Process.

Jennie: I'm so excited to have you on here today for like a whole slew of reasons. Like the topic we're gonna talk about, y'all are based in Texas, but we just got done with some storyteller episodes and one, you had a staff member who participated, but a couple of people who used the service of Jane’s Due Process participated, and I was like, oh, maybe we will like, wait on this. I was like, no timing is perfect. We need to like have this conversation right away.

Rosann: Oh, that makes me so happy. Yes. We have some incredible former clients who are now youth storytellers and abortion advocates. And then our staff member Sarah is just such an incredible advocate. So I love that episode.

Jennie: It was so much fun. I'm so glad I did it. I love that we had so much that it ended up being two parts. Like it was just so wonderful.

Rosann: I feel like when you center your storytellers, it's just such a rich conversation. And I think it's more of, because that's how we get people to understand how complex and important abortion access is.

Jennie: It's like, I had high hopes for what it would be. And like every storyteller just like blew them out of the water. They were just so amazing. And like their stories were so different and it was just so great to show the range of experiences. And so we're gonna focus on one of those types of experiences today and that's hurdles young people face accessing abortion. So can you tell us about, you know, some of the challenges young people have?

Rosann: Yes. So one of the things I always say about young people and accessing abortion is that to start with, they face all the same barriers that adults face, which in Texas unfortunately is a lot. So we're one of the states that has just a full milieu, I would say, of abortion restrictions, including things like a mandatory ultrasound, a 24 hour waiting period. We only have about 20-ish abortion clinics in this state, even though there's 33 million people living here and all of the clinics are in main [city areas]. So there's a lot of travel involved and often overnight stays if you're getting care in Texas. And then for youth, there is a parental involvement law. And that means that if you're under 18, you have to have your parent or guardians’ consent to access abortion care. And that is just an incredible barrier. Unfortunately, while many youth are able to involve a parent, for youth who can't involve a parent, it's because they're putting, they're put at risk really by sharing their pregnancy… they might be kicked out of the house. They might be forced to continue a pregnancy against their will or they're living through abuse at home. And so it's just not a safe environment.

Jennie: So just so people have like an understanding, like what do we mean when we say parental consent?

Rosann: Sure. So it's written consent, usually notarized, which means that sometimes we'll work with a teen whose parent really does support their decision, but that parent works all day and they can't go to the clinic and sign documentation and make multiple trips. In other instances, we've had parents who are incarcerated and they support their young person's decision, but they can't physically sign the paperwork. Or sometimes the youth will have a parent who's undocumented and doesn't feel safe signing the paperwork. So it really is the onus on the young person and on the family.

Jennie: Yeah. I mean, just like all the like little things, I mean, and they're not little things, right? Like all of these hurdles, like in and of themselves can be a deterrent and then having to like get a parent to be a notary, like, like all of these extra things and navigating the system. So what happens if that can't happen? Or like you said, they may not feel safe having a parent consent.

Rosann: So if you can't get a parent or guardian to consent, you actually have to go and speak with a judge and get permission from a court. And that process is called a judicial bypass, which is why we were founded. It is literally to help teens navigate that because I, when I will say at 16, I have no idea how courts worked or how to get a lawyer. So we provide all of those services to make sure a young person can get the judicial bypass and then go get the abortion.

Jennie: And we should just also be clear. We're definitely talking about Texas. Like the parental involvement laws are different in other states. Sometimes it's no notice. Sometimes it's consent. Sometimes it's both parents, sometimes it's consent and notice. So, you know, definitely check in with your state to see what their version is. The group I work for, Population Institute, we just released our annual 50 state report card on reproductive health and rights. And one of the measures we do have does list like what the parental involvement laws are. So that's also a resource you can check out.

Rosann: Yeah. Texas started as a notification state and then became a consent state. And then in 2015 added even more restrictions. So I agree. You really have to understand what it looks like in your state. And unfortunately it's been getting worse and worse and worse.

Jennie: Yeah. So what I found fascinating in talking to the storytellers was hearing like exactly how judicial bypass worked. Like I knew intuitively that it was like this onerous process and like all of these extra things that young people had to go through. But when the two young people were talking about all the work they had to do to get the judicial bypass, like it really blew my mind as to like how much work they had to put into getting one.

Rosann: I think one of the other things I always say about our clients is they are so strong and so tenacious in the face of a system that's designed to stop from getting care. Yeah. And often when we speak to a young person, so we run a 24 hour hotline, you could call it right now. And then a volunteer would pick up and sort of explain this process to you. But often a young person hasn't told anybody else that they're pregnant. They are processing that decision about what to do with the pregnancy. And then we have to tell them, “oh, and by the way, you're gonna have to go to the clinic multiple times.” You're gonna have to learn a bunch of information and get questioned by a judge about it. And the judge has free reign to ask you about not just your pregnancy and abortion care, but also what grades you get in school, what your plans are for the future, what your life is like, it's an incredibly invasive process that makes teens feel criminalized.

Jennie: Yeah. And I think we saw like a big example of that blow up. Like, I mean, time has lost all meaning. So I think it was like a month ago in Florida where it like became like a news that a judge denied someone a bypass because of her grades or whatever. And it just was like, I'm sorry, what, now?

Rosann: That case, obviously my heart immediately went out to the young person. It is absurd really because, you know, we often grow up in society thinking judges are impartial and they're supposed to make these decisions based in the law. But bypass is one of those spaces where a local district judge has huge discretion over whether or not someone can get care and in a place like Texas, you know, if you get denied your bypass, what does that really mean for you? You know, we can appeal the decision, but that adds extra weeks of delay and we're all living under a six-week abortion ban. So that puts it completely out of reach.

Jennie: Yeah. That was definitely gonna be the next thing I was gonna bring up is like, okay, so you already have this onerous process, which I assume takes time in the best circumstances. Right? So now we're living in a world you're living in a world of SB8 for your young clients. How is that impacting young people's ability to access care in Texas right now?

Rosann: So I'll be honest. This process already took time. We usually would say from when a teen would call us on our hotline and we'd explain the process to when they get their abortion was usually two to three weeks. And most teens that called us prior to the ban were past six weeks. Because especially as a young person, you might have been starting to get your period. You have a irregular period. You don't realize until you miss at which point, you're maybe at five, six weeks. So it was two to three weeks before SB8. And now our incredible team of volunteers, the incredible clinics here in Texas, and also the attorneys that take these cases are trying to race through and get these things done in a matter of days. But even in that best case scenario, most youth, you know, are cut off from care. And I think the statistic that has really landed this home has been that during the first month of SB8, abortion care dropped by 50% in the state, but it dropped by 70 to 90% for teens.

Jennie: Wow. I don't know that.

Rosann: Yeah, it was comparing the rates of abortion prior to SB8 in the same month. And it's just, that's why I say it's a full ban for youth because it's impossible for them to get over all these barriers, which is exactly why SB8 was passed and why all these laws were passed by anti-abortion politicians.

Jennie: Yeah. I, I think that's such a good, important point that you brought up about, especially for young people. Like you might not have a super regular period yet. Like, just like when you find out, especially when you're young, like that six-week ban, really, it cuts into that time.

Rosann: And I know adults and myself included, you know, we like to think we're very, you know, tracking everything. We've got an app for everything, but the youth we work with also are, I mean, even right now, we've seen a huge increase in requests for pregnancy tests and free emergency contraceptives because youth are doing everything they can get not get pregnant, but it's impossible, you know, like contraception fails. Like we're always gonna need abortion. And so this ban and all the lies around it saying, “oh, well they have plenty of time.” Six weeks. It's just so false. It's literally designed to ban abortion.

Jennie: Well, it just makes me think what is regular, right? So like, so for me, regular is anywhere from like 28 days to 40 days. Like mine is not super like every 28 days. So like that's like two weeks. So like already I'm at risk of like running up against those bans, just under normal circumstances of like, I know what my window is.

Rosann: Well, and not to add more awfulness to this, but Texas also requires parental consent for birth control. So a very common thing we hear from youth is that they couldn't get on birth control because their parent wouldn't consent to that, which would've, you know, made sure they didn't get pregnant. Would've regulated their periods, and now they are pregnant and their parent also won't consent to the abortion care. So they're trapped with no access to birth control and now no access to abortion.

Jennie: [Sarcastically] Well, even a step back, I mean, I'm sure Texas has amazing sex education, right?

Rosann: [Laughs]. Yes. We actually had a big fight in 2020 because the state board of education was reviewing our model curriculum. Sex ed is not required here, but this curriculum is what, the minimum standard of what you have to teach. It didn't include anything on contraception. It was not inclusive of LGBTQ youth. And it also obviously did not mention abortion. And we fought really hard. Unfortunately, a lot of [what we fought for was] left out, but we did get contraception finally added. But once again, sex ed isn't required and the schools that do do it tend to focus on abstinence only.

Jennie: Yeah. And that just impacts so many things.

Rosann: Right. Cause if you think about what we're saying to you, we're basically saying we don't trust you with the information. And then, and if you do have sex, we're gonna shame you out of access to the healthcare you would need to have control of your body. And I think what’s also really frustrating is you can't vote. You know, they can't change the politicians that are in power. They're passing these laws. And I think the politicians know that they have no accountability metric to youth.

Jennie: Yeah. It just, I know this is like multiple things of like big issues of mine. Like the, the sex ed stuff. Like I definitely came, I went to Catholic school. So like had sex ed from a nun, not actual sex ed.

Rosann: Right. Same, very much.

Jennie: I refer to it as like the Mean Girls model, right? You'll have sex, you'll get this horrible disease and you'll die. So like not super helpful for life skills later. So then when it came time for like birth control, I already had all of those. Like, it doesn't work. Like all of things that you get can get from like abstinence only, or bad sex ed that then maybe put barriers to even accessing it before you get to that. Even parental consent level.

Rosann: A hundred percent. I agree. I mean, power comes from knowledge, right? So if you've had access to knowing what types of birth control are available, what they might like, I think a lot more of them would be able to use it. I wanna name though that although most prescriptive birth control in Texas requires parental consent, you can get Plan B and the emergency contraceptive pill over the counter at any age. And we actually run a program in Lubbock and also in College Station where we're distributing free emergency contraceptives. And then there's a bunch of other amazing programs all over this state, including here in Austin, where I live, the Bridge Collective distributes free goods in the valley, South Texans for Reproductive Justice. So, you know, youth are very thoughtful and they try hard to get access to the contraception they can, but it should be… birth control should be over the counter without a prescription. You know, that's one of the fights I'm excited to keep having in Texas is pushing for that.

Jennie: Yeah. It, again, this is like where the storytellers were like, so helpful of like illustrating exactly what you were saying. Right? Like I can't remember who it was, was talking about. Like she wanted to get on birth control and couldn't; she tried to access Plan B and the pharmacy wouldn't give it to her. And like all of these hurdles built into the system that prevent a, a lot of people, not just young people from accessing the care they need.

Rosann: I think you might be talking about Anna, who is one of our former clients. And I agree. She is such a powerful example of a youth who did everything she could to get what she needed, but the system kept failing her. And that's kinda what I think about a lot is that adults are failing teens when it comes to sexual and reproductive health in states like Texas. And I grew up in Ohio and we had all these same restrictions. I think a particularly bad one that I saw it happened in Ohio, and also happened here, is the Title X program, which is federally funded family planning services for anyone regardless of age or immigration status. It has been so helpful across the country. But here in Texas, they kicked Planned Parenthood out of the Title X program, which means that while many of us think you can go to Planned Parenthood and seek services, they intentionally stripped them from that funding to try to hurt people who rely on that. And that's, I just think it's cruel. It's like clearly that they're trying to trap people in unintended pregnancies and things they don't wanna continue.

Jennie: It just, you know, you sit and like, think about that, cuz like, yes, that is a hundred percent true, right? Like that is exactly what's happening. But then after you have the baby, like where are the support services after? Right? Like it's not like they are pushing one thing and then supporting people with like paid leave and making sure you have everything you need to raise that child and parent that child, um, in a healthy environment, like that's, there's no follow up there. It's like just making sure you give birth.

Rosann: I agree. I know research just came out that showed maternal mortality rates unfortunately have gone up in the past year during the pandemic. And here in Texas, we have some of the worst maternal mortality rates in the country, specifically for Black women. There's an incredible powerful organization called the Afiya Center that has been legislating and lobbying hard to improve outcomes for Black women. One thing they point out is that although Black women only make up 11% of the births in Texas, they make up 30% of maternal mortality rates. And Texas also refused to expand Medicaid. 50% of births in Texas happen on Medicaid. So there's no expansion of healthcare or services for pregnant people. And we also have the highest repeat teen birth rate, which I think talks about that loop where even if you're a teen parent, even if you've already, you know, you can consent to care for your child, you still can't get on birth control until you're a teen.

Jennie: Yeah. I mean, that's what I find like really mind boggling about like, okay, so you go through judicial a bypass and they're like, you, they can be like, “no, you are not mature enough to make this decision.” Well then the alternative is then that you're mature enough to parent and like teens are mature enough to do both, yes. But like, so I'm not saying that, like not saying teens aren't capable of parenting, right? Like it's just like that, that disconnect that the, the judges who are like turning teens away is, is wild, right? To be like, “you, you can't make this decision to have an abortion.” Well, the alternative is then that they're gonna have the child.

Rosann: I think it shows the absurdity of trying to go to a court to have this decision made instead of, of trusting individual people with their own outcomes. And it shows, you know, this was a workaround that was designed because you know, after Roe v. Wade, there were a lot of abortion restrictions that were passed that then had to kind of hedge the line. Like, does it meet the standard of saying abortion is legal? And for teens, what the court said was basically you do have a right to get abortion care, but because you're a minor, there's something about you that isn't full consent to your own body. So if you go talk to a judge it's gonna work. And I think it's just such a failure of a workaround because judges are not the best arbiter of this decision. The pregnant person, the young person is who we need to, you know…not be continuing to rely on courts to tell us what our rights are about our bodies.

Jennie: Yeah. And I think all of this comes down to like the like puritanical nature of the country, right? Of like discomfort with young people's sexuality and having sex. And so let's not talk about it and like, let's make sure they don't have access to birth control because then they will have sex. And like, we're not gonna give them the information they need in sex ed, because that will then lead them to have this. And instead of grappling with young people as people, we just try to stop them from existing.

Rosann: I agree. All of the research shows that if you have sex ed, you're gonna delay the first time you become sexually active. It also shows if you have access to contraception, you also usually tend to have sex later in life. I think it's a hundred percent that it's something about being afraid of sexuality, of sex for pleasure.

Jennie: [Sarcastically] Wait, no that doesn't fit into this at all. No, no, no. Yeah. And that gets out in multiple ways, right? Like even like the repro conversation kind to doesn't talk about it.

Rosann: I agree. I think that's actually the conversation we're gonna have to be having for the next several years as we have this huge shift in America where, you know, we here in Texas are already living in a post-Roe world. I know there's a very real risk that the rest, at least half of the states in the country will lose access depending on the outcome this summer in the US Supreme Court case, we need to push the stigma piece. We need to talk about sex. We need to talk about sex positivity for all people, not just them. And we also need to talk about like culturally, we push sex on youth, through music and media and all these things. And then we shame them for doing something that's natural and normal and healthy, which is having sex. So I, I think that's just, that's the big piece of work that we still have ahead of us.

Jennie: Well, yeah. And that was definitely a theme that like came up. I felt in my storyteller episodes was so many people talked about shame and the role shame played and all of this, whether it was shame around sex, shame about having an abortion that people were trying to put on them, or just shame in so many different places that I think still exists within this whole sphere.

Rosann: And you know, I not to bring Brene Brown into the conversation, but like always bring her in! Shame is not the way we should be living our lives. It shouldn't be how we restrict people. There's… I think one of the many reasons storytelling is so powerful is when you hear this story of someone else who went through what you went through, you know, had sex, got pregnant, had an abortion, you can see yourself in this issue and see yourself in this cause. And I think that's why it has been marginalized; reproductive and sexual health is something that you deal with in the shadows. But storytellers are so powerful and I'm so honored to work with youth storytellers because they're taking it head on and they're refusing to kind of bow to the shame that's been put on them by seeking the healthcare they wanted. So, yeah. Good storytelling.

Jennie: So when we're recording this, we are like just days after the six month… I mean, anniversary feels like a celebration. So that's definitely not the right word… marking six months since SB8 has been in effect. So I guess how are things looking in Texas right now?

Rosann: So I'll start with just shouting out the incredible abortion providers here in our state and in the surrounding states who, you know, overnight had to shift to a model of trying to help people figure out how pregnant they are and then give them good ideas and information, whether or not they could stay here and get care, or if they had to go out. So, you know, states like New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana, they have just opened their hearts and their doors to take care of Texans seeking abortion. But it's impossible to move, you know, thousands of people across state lines.

Jennie: And it's a big state.

Rosann: We are rather big in Texas. You know, I think particularly when you think about there's an incredible abortion fund called the Frontera Fund in the Rio Grande valley. To get from the valley to Colorado or New Mexico, you have to take two flights, minimum, stay overnight, usually for care. It's just incredible that clinics and abortion funds have mobilized to try to create this network of support, but it's, it's not sustainable. And I'm scared for the rest of the country because if one of the largest states is dealing with this and now it's gonna ripple through the south and the Midwest, you know, that is a…it is a human rights crisis. It's been a crisis and we need really bold action by our leaders against it. And unfortunately that hasn't happened yet though. I did take some hope earlier this week when the Senate voted on the Women's Health Protection Act, which would create and codify the federal right to abortion firmly in a law instead of resting on Roe v. Wade.

Jennie: Yes. It's very sad that it didn't move forward, but having the vote was a really important step. It got so much further than it has before it passed the House. Like it's really exciting and it's exciting to see it get closer each year. So like it didn't pass this year, but like this isn't the end, right? It's just like continuing the story of it will pass to protect the right to abortion. I just, yeah. Like my heart breaks. And I just like worry for all of the people who are trying to access care now.

Rosann: Yeah, exactly. We are not gonna stop fighting, but every single day here in Texas, people are being denied care and we see it for youth, as you know, they are such a vulnerable population and also such a population that's been disenfranchised for so long. So at JDP, I think I, we really firmly center youth storytelling and youth advocacy. You know, we're not gonna quit fighting because we know the only way out of this is to change the laws in our states. Um, it's how we got here. So we're also fighting at the state house in Texas and you know, we have pledge session every two years, so we're gonna, you know, not give up in any manner and we're gonna believe that young people have the right to fight these laws in their home states too. And shout out to Illinois, which repealed parental involvement laws. Woo! And so it's definitely powerful work that is done by youth advocates and we know it can happen.

Jennie: So I guess it leads me, you know, with all of this and I'm sure y'all were really busy before SB8, like, how are y'all holding up? Like, are you guys, sorry-- not guys-- are y'all holding up OK?

Rosann: First off…

Jennie: Still working on getting that outta my vocabulary. Sometimes it slips back in.

Rosann: Well, no, I, I can even name that! So our name is Jane’s Due Process, which comes from Jane Doe, which is how minors are described in the court documents for bypass and also in the courtroom itself though, it's a completely confidential, um, you know, process because they know teens are at risk of, you know, abuse or harm if their pregnancy is found out. So we have a very gendered name, but we work really hard to say youth and young people and teens because folks of all gender expressions need abortions and have abortions. So definitely working on that here too. Yes, I would. You know, I don't wanna speak for the whole team. I just, I think it's an honor to work with the staff at Jane’s Due Process. We care so deeply. I remember the day after SB8 took effect, you know, obviously we all felt a lot of things. We also want to just like get to work and that's what we've been doing for six months and it's, what's gonna happen. No matter the outcome at the US Supreme Court this summer, we're not gonna be intimidated out of helping people and we're not gonna be, you know, threatened by these frivolous lawsuits SB8 tries to throw at us. I think it shows something that the best fight from the anti-abortion movement to scare and intimidate and threaten, you know, we come from a place of hope and of love and of power. So I think that's been something we've all focused on for the past six months is we know we're doing the right thing because we see it in, in the young people. We help.

Jennie: So now that our audience has heard about all the things that are happening, what can they do? What actions can our audience take to help?

Rosann: Always gonna start with show some love to abortion funds wherever you live. There is an abortion fund near you. I promise. So abortion funds are private charities that help people for their abortions because well, here in Texas, uh, public insurance is banned from covering abortion care through the Hyde amendment. Um, so that's, if you're on Medicaid, and private insurance in Texas is also banned from covering abortion care. So everyone in Texas is paying out of pocket. So your local abortion funds is a great place to start, help them as a volunteer, fundraise for them. If you can. We're about to start Fund-a-thon, which yes, my favorite time of year! Fund-a-thon is the National Network of Abortion Funds’ annual fundraiser. It's where most local abortion funds raise their money for the whole year. There you can actually get involved. Yeah. The National Network of Abortion Funds’ is a great place to find your local fund. And then I would say this all happens on the local and state level. So find out who your state representative is and, you know, ask them their positions on this. I think we focus a lot on the national work, um, and it is very important, but you can have a huge impact just by looking at like, who's your state board of education member and how do they feel about sex ed? What about your city council? Is there anything you could do locally to fund abortion access work? The city of Austin actually passed a grant that funds practical support, so travel and lodging, and that has been hugely important under SB8. So I think, think local and think about community in terms of how you can get involved.

Jennie: Absolutely. And a lot of abortion funds also have fun swag to check out. So like you can do your Fund-a-thon wearing a very amazing abortion funds T-shirt. I definitely have amassed a huge collection and I will definitely be participating in Fund-a-thon. I just donated to Texas funds for my birthday and encouraged other people to do the same since my birthday was on the six-month anniversary. So like making sure that we're spreading the love to those who need it. So if you're able to always donate.

Rosann: Oh my gosh, you just made tear up.

Jennie: Did you get the that abortion fund t-shirt that they had that says “fund abortion meow” And it has a cat on it? I bought myself two.

Rosann: There is a beautiful overlap of cat people, abortion and like astrology that is like the world I always wanna live in, which is to say we have really good people in this fight.

Rosann: Yeah. There are just, yeah. So definitely check out all of the amazing, fun, abortion fund swag, cuz there are some pretty amazing t-shirts and whatever out there, like so many things I love… the Baltimore abortion fund one has like ouji board and like The Raven themed abortion fund stuff. That's super cute.

Rosann: Yeah. JDP is on, we're working on swag and I'm trying to think of some other ones I've seen. I, I used to be on the board with the Lillith Fund and they just have a, we fund abortion shirt that I wear all the time. I feel like a walking billboard. I love it.

Jennie: I can't remember whose it is, but there’s the Waffle House one that like, it looks like a Waffle House sign. It says “Fund abortion y'all.” Yeah, I love that one. I wore that this week.

Rosann: I think the other thing I would say is, you know, obviously voting is incredibly important and I would say vote in even the small elections. You know, we just had an election here in Texas this week that was focused on the primaries. And like there are really important nuances and abortion care like opinions that happen in your like local state judge races. So think about that. Like all our bypass cases get heard by state judges. So it's really important that state judges, you know, understand how important reproductive healthcare is. And I think that's something that it can, it can be a lot to vote in Texas, you know, the try real hard to keep us from voting, but really staying active, make sure your voter registration is up to date and vote in every single election because that's where a lot of these big decisions get made.

Jennie: Rosann, thank you so much for being here. I had so much fun talking to you.

Rosann: Same. It was such a treat. Thank you so much for having me and for featuring youth and for featuring JDP.

Jennie: Okay. Y'all I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Rosann. I had a great time talking to her about the work that Jane’s Due Process does and what's happening in Texas right now with that, I think we will just, um, say if you have a topic you would like us to cover, please always feel free to shoot me an email.

Jennie: Thanks for listening everyone. And we'll see you on our next episode of RePROS Fight Back. For more information, including show notes from this episode and previous episodes, please visit our website at reprosfightback.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at RePROS Fight Back, or on Instagram at reprosfb. If you like our show, please help others find it by sharing it with your friends and subscribing, rating and reviewing us on iTunes. Thanks for listening.

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