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AUSTIN, Texas — Some 300 people rallied at the state Capitol here Jan. 24 in defense of a woman’s right to choose on the anniversary of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion. Young women carried signs saying, “We won’t go back!” referring to the days when women were forced to seek dangerous, illegal abortions. “My body, my choice” and “Legal abortion saves lives,” other signs said.
A new state regulation that requires abortion clinics to have hospital-grade surgical facilities — currently stayed pending a decision by a federal appeals court — would force many clinics to close, leaving only eight still open. The law requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, restricts the use of abortion-inducing pills and makes it illegal to perform an abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy.
“I should be able to decide what happens to my body,” Ezgi Irmakkesen, an Austin high school student, told the Militant.
Opponents of women’s right to abortion also marched at the Capitol, drawing 1,500, according to the Associated Press.
In McAllen, Texas, on the border with Mexico, dozens of supporters of women’s rights demonstrated in support of the Whole Woman’s Health Clinic, the only remaining abortion provider in the Rio Grande Valley.
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