Texas has been one of the major epicenters of the right-wing assault against abortion rights. Despite an intensely reactionary state government and record-breaking triple-digit heat, abortion activists refuse to cede ground. In the streets, in study and in solidarity, organizers across the state are attempting to lay the foundation for a working-class feminist mass movement.
Austin
PSL Austin has been in the streets consistently since Roe was overturned. On July 2, a crowd of hundreds of people convened at Buford Tower near City Hall. A common theme was that action needs to be taken now, because waiting until November would be deadly for so many people. PSL organizers led chants and carried signs through the scorching heat. The crowd marched across two bridges where much of Austin traffic crosses into and out of downtown.
On July 5, PSL Austin called a protest at the Texas State Capitol, making a clear set of demands to Joe Biden as well as Austin City Hall. Protesters demanded that Biden declare a public health emergency and use federal funding and facilities to ensure abortion rights access in all 50 states. Organizer Marilyn Wende again emphasized that we cannot wait until November, but need to be organized as soon as possible.
“One person even told me to just be patient for about ten years or so and I could get my abortion rights back. I will not!” said Wende. “We are unstoppable when we stand in solidarity! We scare the shit out of Greg Abbott when we stand in solidarity!”
The crowd of 50 marched to City Hall, where they held an open forum for people to share their stories. One young protester called out the hypocrisy of the far right: “You think you can be pro-life when you don’t give a shit about the kids who … are dying in schools right now? You don’t give a shit about trans kids, poor kids, kids on the street … you only care until the moment they’re born! That’s not pro-life, that’s just pro-controlling women’s bodies!”
Another protester, a teacher, said, “this system is broken and we need change now! Universal healthcare for our entire nation … Hearing the under-18-year-old [quoted above] talk today, I’m going to continue coming out, to fight for students, to make a change. I don’t care what I have to do. I’ll be out here every day!”
The protest concluded with a demand to Austin City Hall to pass the GRACE Act, a stopgap measure that would prevent city funding from being used to investigate abortions. Organizer Brianna Griffith said, “We know that City Hall has a history of capitulating to the state government. They will pass some progressive legislation, then the state will try to overrule it, and they’ll immediately capitulate … But we won’t allow it. If City Hall doesn’t pass it, we’ll be back. If City Hall passes it and gets overruled and doesn’t fight for us, then we’ll be back here again, fighting for ourselves!” The protesters then marched back to the capitol, chanting the entire way.
PSL Austin is now gearing up for a two-month-long series of public study groups, forums, film screenings, and public education, alongside the continuing street struggle, to raise consciousness about the fight for abortion.
San Antonio
San Antonio has stayed in the streets since the SCOTUS decision. Over the weekend, hundreds turned out for protests on both Saturday, July 2, and Monday, July 4. A band of activists dropped several banners all reading “Abortion is Freedom” on the 4th as well.
On Wednesday, a small group of protesters marched through San Antonio’s Riverwalk, the famed tourist destination, attracting enthusiastic support from many of the people they encountered.
There is a People’s Public Comment in front of the San Antonio City Council Chambers on Thursday, July 7 at 6 p.m. City Council is in recess, but the people will hold their own public comment to express the need for the city to pass the GRACE Act.
Another protest is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 9.
Houston
In Houston, PSL organizers held a demonstration on July 2 denouncing the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Joined by community members and other local organizers from various activist groups, attendees gathered in front of City Hall and tackled what else is at stake alongside women’s rights. LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, voting rights, and even union rights are in similar peril until we fight back.
As one organizer declared, “We can list more and more, picking apart this country’s evil history … But we see that these are choices — choices to keep us down, to keep us scared, to keep us alienated from each other, and to keep us cynical and skeptical of alternatives.”
Many protesters proudly spoke for the very first time before a crowd. Some even commented that Saturday’s demonstration was also their first protest — the very first time they’d ever turned out to demand action from their elected officials and to challenge the status quo. The protest stayed between 30 and 50 strong, with protesters knowing they were standing in for many more who couldn’t attend but demanded their due rights.
With local media in attendance, organizers spoke directly to the people in English and in Spanish. “We must reject the notion that we can vote this problem away,” noted one PSL member, “We are here today, but we must be here tomorrow and the day after, for weeks on end, months on end, until the power of the people forces their hand!”
Dallas
On Wednesday, June 29, PSL organizers in Dallas held a well-attended study group on LGBTQ struggles and abortion access. On July 2, organizers put together a film screening and discussion of “Jane: An Abortion Service,” about the Chicago-based women’s health group that performed nearly 12,000 safe but illegal abortions between 1969 and 1973 with no formal medical training. Afterward, organizer Dariel Hernandez gave a presentation about abortion access and reproductive rights in Cuba, where abortion has been free, safe, and accessible to the Cuban people since 1965, eight years before it even became legal in the United States.
PSL also helped organize a July 4 cookout focused on opposition to U.S. imperialism and its devastating effects on people around the world. Participants spoke out against the ongoing U.S. colonization of Puerto Rico, U.S. influence in the Philippines, shared poetry, food, and song and discussed building stronger community ties and the importance of fighting together towards liberation.
La lucha sigue!
Across the state, the demands being made have been extremely well-received. A recent survey found that 78% of Texans support abortion rights, with only 15% completely opposing access to abortion. Despite the relentless right-wing assault on women, trans people, Black and Brown people, and even basic civil liberties, Texas is primed for a resurgence of working-class feminism.
Feature photo: Abortion rally in San Antonio, TX. Liberation photo.
