Donna Ferrato
Wednesday morning, the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee is holding what committee the committee’s ranking member John Conyers (D-Mich.) calls a “one-sided” hearing on the heavily edited sting videos that accuse Planned Parenthood of selling fetal parts for profit. Since these videos have been released, Republican lawmakers and 2016 hopefuls have used them as ammunition in their ongoing crusade against Planned Parenthood. The title of the hearing, Planned Parenthood Exposed: Examining the Horrific Abortion Practices at the Nation’s Largest Abortion Provider, leaves little doubt that the ultimate goal of this hearing is to further the GOP’s effort to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding.
This hearing is only the most recent installment in a long battle that conservatives have waged to decimate abortion rights. Just how successful they have been and what is at stake in the future, is described in stark detail in our investigation into how the “War on Women” was lost. As you can see below, abortion opponents have pushed abortion rights almost back to the pre-Roe v. Wade era. New, unnecessary laws frequently prevent women who want an abortion from getting one. Out of desperation some women are attempting their own abortions, as in the pre-Roe days when countless women died or were injured.
And for those women who do manage to have the procedure, it usually involves some combination of an endless wait, interminable journey, complicated logistics, and lots of money. Here’s a look at some of the journeys women in Texas have made in the past few years to get an abortion:
Here’s a look at how abortion foes have decimated access in the state of Texas:
Finally, here’s a look the explosion of abortion restrictions over the last five years:
Read the full story here.
