HomeMy WebLinkAbout050323 - Local Resistance Sheet from CEDAW nat
Y
The GRACE Act was passed by the Austin City
Council in late July to halt the investigation and
prosecution of abortions in the Texas capital.
NGRAC
pregnant women or to store or report
information about patients'abortion
i care, and it deems investigations of
-T HIE
abortion allegations as the "lowest
priority for enforcement" in most
ACTcases. The legislation was champi-
RACE oned by activists and lawmakers,and
/' garnered a recommendation from the
Austin Commission for Women.
"It's written in such a way that,you
know, although we can't necessarily
change federal or state laws and...we
Local Resistance el,v..tot provides adhere toadditional ose at the�protec-
tions and additional resources and
In red states and blue, city councils are stepping up for support for individuals who are mak-
abortion rights after the Dobbs decision ing these decisions,"Rebecca Austen,
chair of the Austin Commission for
FROM SEATTLE TO AUSTIN TO three ordinances in late July to sup- Women,said at the press event.
Cleveland, city councils have port abortion care. All three were Following Austin's lead,San Anto-
had to get creative to safeguard quickly approved by the full council. nio and Denton, Texas, approved
the reproductive rights of their resi- "No one is free and no one is equal similar resolutions.And even before
dents and visitors.Although state bans without control over their own bod- these measures were passed, Bexar
take precedence over city-level ordi- ies,lives and futures,"said Columbus County Sheriff Javier Salazar an-
nances,activists and local legislators City Council President Pro Tempore nounced on Facebook that he would
can still exert authority through city Elizabeth Brown, a member of the refuse to pursue anyone seeking
budgets and enforcement measures— Women's Caucus. abortion care in his jurisdiction,
or a lack thereof. The ordinances included a$1 mil- which includes San Antonio.Salazar,
OnJuly 18,Cleveland MayorJustin lion grant for Planned Parenthood the father of two daughters, posted,
M.Bibb and the City Council put the and other reproductive health organ- "As their Dad,I have no control over
Ohio city on the map as one of the izations,simultaneously committing their adult bodies.As their sheriff,it
most effective examples of local inter- to investigate crisis pregnancy cen- is absolutely none of my business."
vention.Their six-part plan included ters(fake wmen's health clinics that In states where abortion is still le-
ways to forgo investigation and prose- seek to prevent abortions through gal,cities have passed resolutions pro-
cution of abortion-related crimes and misinformation and scare tactics). tecting those traveling from out of
to protect the privacy of pregnant pa- In Texas, where most abortions state to obtain the procedure.Council
tients'medical information. have been banned since September members in both Seattle and Ithaca,
Bibb is working to establish a 2 02 1,Austin City Council members New York, declared those locales to
$100,000 Reproductive Freedom responded to the Supreme Court's be "sanctuary cities," where police
Fund to support abortion-related Dobbs ruling by unanimously passing will not cooperate in the investigation
travel for Cleveland residents,and he the Guarding the Right to Abortion or arrest of women who visit to re-
pledged to maintain city employees' Care for Everyone(GRACE)Act on ceive abortion care. Other sanctuary
health insurance coverage for out-of- July 21."There's this misconception cities—like Oakland,Calif.—are call-
state abortions if possible. The city out there that Texas is some kind of ing for increased funding for abortion
also committed to filing an amicus overwhelmingly anti-abortion state, and other reproductive healthcare.
brief with the state Supreme Court on and that's just not the reality,"council City councils may not be able to
behalf of its residents in hopes of over- member Jose Vela said in a press con- reverse statewide abortion bans, but
turning Ohio's six-week abortion ban. ference after the bill's passage. their strategic resistance can go a
Nearby in Columbus, the City The GRACE Act prohibits use of long way.
Council's Women's Caucus drafted city funds to conduct surveillance of —SOPHIE DORF-KAMIENNY
8 1 FALL 2022 2ft www.feminist.org