Resolution on Texas Healthcare Freedom and Women’s Rights
Whereas, the United Nations established in 1979 the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), ratified by 189 countries excluding the USA, that protects women’s right to reproductive and sexual health.
Whereas, Texas has established overlapping laws that promote the life of the fetus over the life of the mother, leaving medical professionals unsure of when they can act without loss of license, life imprisonment, and a fine of up to $100,000.
Whereas, the decision to have a child is a personal decision with economic and health impacts.
Whereas, abortion restrictions do not stop abortions, they only stop safe abortions.
Whereas, restricting access to abortion care by the state increases the risk of maternal death.
Whereas, the maternal death rate in the state of Texas has more than doubled since 1999, and the maternal death rate for Black women in Texas is worse than in many developing or under-developed nations.
Whereas, maternal deaths, per 100,000, in most European countries range between 1-4 deaths, in the USA it’s 23.8 deaths, in Texas it’s 72.7 deaths, and for Black women in Texas it’s 117.3 deaths.
Whereas, instead of helping lower Texas’ excessive maternal deaths, county governments are further restricting, or attempting to restrict, travel to out-of-state abortion care facilities.
Whereas, the Texas GOP is hypocritically unconcerned about Texas’ staggeringly high maternal deaths.
Whereas, the Texas GOP is using the state to suppress doctors from providing life and fertility-saving care to women suffering from non-viable and other dangerous pregnancies.
Whereas, Texas GOP policies force women to bear their rapist’s child.
Resolved that the Texas Democratic Party:
condemns the Texas GOP’s anti-abortion and bodily freedom policies that are resulting in the deaths of women;
condemns the Texas GOP stealing people’s reproductive and bodily freedom under the false flag of being “Pro-Life” when in fact their policies are Anti-Life as they are causing maternal deaths to grow even higher in Texas;
condemns the Texas GOP for not tackling Texas’ excessively high maternal death rate,
condemns the Texas GOP’s persecution tactics against women, doctors, and others who seek, help, or otherwise assist with abortion healthcare;
will never stop fighting to restore the rights of all people to have full reproductive and bodily freedom, including demanding State and Federal Governments pass legislation enshrining the right to pre-viability abortion, and eventually solidifying this right in the US Constitution;
demands government enact all needed policies that will lower maternal deaths to levels seen in developed nations;
demands government enact all policies to lower, and eventually equalize with state standards, the maternal death rate for Black women in Texas; and
supports:
Government staying out of Texans’ right to make personal and responsible decisions about whether and when to bear children, in consultation with their families, physicians, personal consciences, and/or their faith;
Keeping the government small when it comes to reproductive choices and let people be free to make their own decisions;
Protecting doctors from any lawsuits from individuals, the state, or any form of government for protecting a person's bodily health, autonomy, and freedom;
Banning any local, county, state, or federal government from preventing, fining, or jailing individuals, or those providing assistance, for traveling to get an abortion;
Disallowing public funds from being used to prosecute individuals or entities who provide reproductive healthcare;
Enshrining the right to mifepristone and other medical abortion medications as a right to all pre-viability abortion;
Enacting paid parental leave for 6 months.
[SDEC Replaced the original with this committee substitute, the substitute was then passed on consent calendar 1/20/24]
NOTES – NOT A PART OF THE RESOLUTION
SOURCE
https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/s/your-local-repro-health-epidemiologist
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/maternal-mortality-ratio/country-comparison/
https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306396