Texas Doctor: New Restrictions Will Force Women to Resort to Illegal and Unsafe Abortions
by Liam O'Connor
A
physician in Texas has warned of an explosion in the number of women
performing self-abortions after a number of highly restrictive
anti-choice laws was passed last year.
Dr.
Lester Minto, owner of the Reproductive Services of Harlingen clinic in
the lower Rio Grande Valley, says that rather than cutting the rate of
abortions, the new measures will simply lead to more women seeking
illegal abortions, or performing them on themselves.
According to Opposing Views, Dr. Minto said:
[box
type="shadow"]"I hope our politicians are made aware of how many girls
are self-aborting in the Rio Grande Valley. This law is
backfiring."[/box]
Minto
says that women and girls in Texas are increasingly relying on a drug
called misoprostol, which though designed to treat ulcers, can also
induce abortions. He says other methods are likely to be used as well,
including illegal abortions, and even women self-aborting without the
help of a medical professional.
Dr.
Minto is the target of regular threats from far-right Christian
anti-abortion activists. He wears a bulletproof vest, carries a .45
pistol, and has the FBI and a federal marshal on speed-dial. However he
has not let these threats, or the change in the law, stop him from
providing help to women and girls who come to him.
In
response to the change in the law, he said in October: "Who said I'm
not going to do abortions? You said that. I didn't say that. There's
other names you can call it."
It
has been estimated that the new changes will prevent 22,000 women in
Texas from obtaining a safe, legal abortion. The restrictions have led
to the closing of dozens of abortion providers across the state. Americans Against the Tea Party
recently reported that lawyers for the Center for Reproductive Rights
argued before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that it was an undue
burden to expect poor women in the Rio Grande Valley area to make a 300
mile round-trip to find an approved abortion clinic. The judge's
response was that they could easily make the journey by car if they
wanted to and if they drove faster.
As
has been well-documented throughout modern history, restricting
abortion does not lead to a decrease in abortions, but merely an
increase in the number of self-abortions and illegal abortions. These
procedures are incredibly dangerous, and demonstrate the callous
disregard the anti-choice movement has shown when it comes to protecting
the rights and health of women and girls. An undeveloped, unborn fetus
is considered more worthy of protection than a living, breathing woman
or girl.
At
the same time the Republicans and their conservative allies have
frequently been at the forefront of beating back one of the best
possible ways to prevent an increase in abortions: a rigorously
high-standard of sex education, an open and relaxed attitude to talking
about sex, and an increase in the availability of contraception.
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