Dem
51
GOP
49
Now that Roe is no longer the law of the land, folks in Texas seem to be in competition with each other to see who can come up with the harshest, most unpopular anti-abortion maneuvers. There were two stories of this sort this weekend.
To start, Amarillo is currently wrestling with an ordinance that several other, smaller Texas cities have already adopted. What it would do, if passed, is criminalize the use of local roads for travel in order to get an abortion. The people behind these measures say they wouldn't prosecute the person actually having an abortion, just those who assist. Maybe that's true, maybe not, but even with that interpretation it would mean that if, say, a person picked up their girlfriend in Lubbock, and then passed through Amarillo on the way to Colorado for an abortion, they could be prosecuted in Amarillo for having used that city's roadways. Since two major highways (I-27 and I-40) pass through Amarillo, then many people seeking out-of-state reproductive care will be using "Amarillo roadways."
Meanwhile, a Texas man named Collin Davis is taking steps to explore a brave new world in anti-abortion litigation. Davis and his former romantic partner split at some point in between her becoming pregnant, and her procuring an abortion in Colorado. He is now threatening to use the legal system to bring heaven and earth down upon his ex-partner and upon anyone who aided her in her quest for reproductive healthcare. And Davis, who is very probably being backed by one or more national anti-choice organizations, is talking about pursuing both civil and criminal litigation. In other words, he wants to have people thrown in prison while also taking a chunk of their money.
As a purely tactical matter, these maneuvers are exceedingly unwise. There are some important elections coming up in Texas, including some House races that will be close, and a U.S. Senate race that could be close. On top of that, there is a close presidential race, and there are lots of close congressional races nationwide. It is true that Joe Biden is very unlikely to win Texas, and it is also the case that Amarillo is not Peoria. But the most extreme and outlandish anti-abortion maneuvers are going to be fodder for every Democrat in the land running on abortion (which is going to be most of them). Amarillo, Davis, and Davis' likely backers are just providing ammunition for the blue team. The smart move would be to wait until December of this year, 2 years removed from the next election cycle, and 4 years removed from the next presidential cycle. But apparently the crackdown must happen NOW. (Z)