Texas abortion rights advocates share stories in Washington

WASHINGTON — Wednesday is the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, which ended the constitutional right to an abortion. The decision left it up to states to decide whether to ban or severely restrict abortions, leading to a patchwork of laws across the country.

Women from Republican-led states like Texas, which enacted sweeping restrictions with few exceptions, are in Washington this week. They are hoping their personal stories can lead to change.

Dozens of women from 35 states descended on Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to meet with lawmakers and participate in forums. Many are from Republican states like Texas, which have banned abortions almost completely.  

“This was one of the first times that a Republican representative was actually willing to have a staffer meet with us,” said Kaitlyn Kash, an Austin mother affected by the Texas laws. “It’s not going to change anything overnight, but it is showing the impacts of these laws.”  

They talked about how their fertility and even their lives were put at risk after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion four years ago in what is known as the Dobbs decision. 

Samantha Casiano participated in a forum this week with Democratic senators. After Dobbs, the mother from East Texas received a fatal fetal diagnosis. Casiano did not have the time or finances to get an abortion out of state. 

“My daughter was born, and she was here for four hours, missing her skull,” Casiano told Spectrum News. “Think of a fish coming out of the water. She was grasping for air, and she suffocated to death in her father’s arms. It was tragic. It was painful.” 

“Being here definitely shows me so much,” Casiano continued. “We met with senators that understand us, and senators that will tell us, ‘We’re pro-life.’ Like as if we didn’t love Halo, and we didn’t want her in our lives, which we did.”

Kash also shared her story in the forum and stood behind Senate leaders in a separate press conference marking four years since the Supreme Court ruling. Kash traveled out of state for an abortion during her second pregnancy after her fetus was diagnosed with a rare skeletal disorder. Then, during her third pregnancy, Kash miscarried, but she had problems filling a prescription to pass her pregnancy because the pill her doctor prescribed is also used for medication abortions. 

Kash told lawmakers that exceptions written into restrictive abortion laws often are not honored.

“What it really does is it prevents all women from getting healthcare,” Kash told Spectrum News. “I’ve met women who have needed that medication for fibroids removal so that they could do IVF. I mean, you’re talking about medication that serves a lot of purposes. Just because you don’t like one of those purposes does not mean that the government should take it away from us.” 

Many advocates say that while they are working to restore abortion access, they are also trying to stop efforts to restrict abortions further — in particular, the push to ban mifepristone, the drug typically used in medication abortions.

Abortion rights opponents in Texas are urging state lawmakers to block access to the pill by mail or online from doctors out of state.