the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Jun 23, 2003
At the end of May, the Texas legislature passed a new law which further restricts women’s access to abortion. The state of Texas already required women to wait 24 hours after requesting an abortion. But doctors are now required to tell women they face serious risks if they have an abortion–including the outrageous claim that abortion could lead to breast cancer.
The American Cancer Society says these claims are patently untrue. "Nobody seriously believes this," says a Houston physician. The head of Planned Parenthood in Amarillo, Texas says of the Texas legislators, "It’s like talking to the Flat Earth Society."
It’s politicians like these who have encouraged terrorists to attack abortion clinics and shoot doctors and others who work at the clinics. In Texas, as the result of politicians’ actions and terrorist threats, there are only 15 counties out of 254 where doctors still can be found to provide abortions.
Not only do women in Texas have to travel long distances to find a doctor when they need an abortion. They have to wait overnight, while worrying about a non-existent risk of cancer.
Every poll taken shows that the vast majority in this country want women to have the legal right to choose an abortion.
It’s no surprise that these legislators–who are fundamentally opposed to women deciding for themselves what happens to their own bodies and who regularly ignore the majority’s wishes–hold the truth in contempt. Their aim is to impose reactionary 18th century views on everyone. And truth, democracy and individual rights be damned.