The following statement was issued by the Dallas-Fort Worth Club.

Senate Bill 8, also known as the Texas abortion bill, has caused an uproar across the country as one of the most egregious attacks on women’s rights in recent history. The bill, which became law on September 1st, outlaws abortion after six weeks and effectively implements a bounty system in which citizens are paid $10,000 for winning a lawsuit against anyone who has an abortion or helps with the process, including those who offer rides to clinics.

S.B.8 is not what the people of Texas want, however. A March 2021 UT/TT poll shows that less than one-third of Texans wanted stricter abortion laws, a number which has been trending downward over the years. More respondents, in fact, support less strict laws regarding abortion, but because the extreme right has cemented their hold on power through undemocratic means such as gerrymandering and voter suppression laws, the will of the people of Texas has gone unheard. The extreme right also worked to further solidify their undemocratic hold on state power with the passage of some of the strictest voter suppression laws in the country, which also came into effect on September 1st and are looking to expand on that with the upcoming redistricting process, which the governor has called another special session to address.

The far right in Texas has been open about their goals. For decades, they have continued to push extreme, unconstitutional legislation with the intent of getting it challenged in federal court in hopes of getting it upheld and paving the way to overturn any remotely progressive court rulings and rolling back working-class gains. Texas governor Greg Abbott, during his time as the Texas Attorney General, said of his suing the Obama administration over 30 times, “My job description has been simplified. . . . I sue the federal government and then I go home.” Now, with several right-wing justices holding various federal-level seats and a conservative-majority Supreme Court, the far right in Texas have found their opening. Because they cannot win democratically, they rely on maneuvers such as these to further their agenda.

The reality is that the brunt of this law will fall on working-class and marginalized women, which is no doubt the intent. Anti-women’s rights legislation is anti-working-class legislation. The Dallas-Fort Worth Club of the Communist Party USA stands with women in Texas and across the country against this affront on their human rights and will fight back at all levels against S.B. 8 and other undemocratic, anti-working-class legislation until they are defeated.

Image: CPUSA.

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