Just days after the Supreme Court made the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Texas gubernatorial hopeful Beto O’Rourke held a pro-abortion rally in Austin, FOX News reported.
“This is about controlling the lives and the bodies of the women of Texas,” O’Rourke said on stage alongside pro-abortion organizers on Sunday.
Texas passed a bill earlier this year banning abortions after six weeks but is also one of several states with “trigger laws” that will ban almost all abortions after the Supreme Court’s official decision. The Texas law will go into effect 30 days after the ruling.
As The Dallas Express reported, a court deemed on June 28 that abortions up to the six-week mark could continue until the Texas “trigger law” went into effect. Attorney General Ken Paxton alluded, in a statement, that the state could start prosecuting abortions immediately, but a court issued an injunction that protected abortions for the time being.
Shortly after, on July 1, the Texas Supreme Court overturned the injunction, saying the 1920’s-era abortion ban already on the books in Texas applies, and prosecutions can continue, according to The Texas Tribune.
“Texas will always fight for the innocent unborn, and I will continue working with the Texas legislature and all Texans to save every child from the ravages of abortion and help our expectant mothers in need,” Governor Greg Abbott said after the Supreme Court overturned Roe.
Other state leaders have also chimed in their support for the Supreme Court’s decision.
Ken Paxton tweeted after the announcement that he would be closing his office and “making it an annual holiday.”
Senator Ted Cruz said the reversal is “nothing short of a massive victory for life, and it will save the lives of millions of innocent babies.”
State GOP chair Matt Rinaldi called it a “historic day which Republicans and Pro-Life advocates have waited for a generation.”
Recently elected U.S. Representative Mayra Flores also celebrated the reversal.
“Honestly, this is a dream come true for me, for South Texas,” Flores said. “In South Texas, we’re pro-life — somos pro-vida — so this was a big win for us and South Texas, but also for our country.”
Speaking to the Texas Tribune after his rally, O’Rourke furthered his comments regarding the overturn.
He told the publication that he would work to repeal Texas’ abortion laws and expand access to reproductive healthcare if elected governor.
If O’Rourke wants to sit in the governor’s mansion, it could be an uphill climb. A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed Abbott holding a 5% lead over the Democratic challenger.
A democrat has not held a state-wide office in Texas for over 30 years, according to FOX News. The last Democratic governor was Ann Richards, who served from 1991 to 1995.
“Just imagine the shockwaves this will send if, for the first time in 32 years, Texas elects a Democrat as governor; a governor who won on the right of every woman to make her own decision about her own body, her own future, and her own health care,” O’Rourke told the Texas Tribune.
“You know the Legislature will not only take notice, they will be forced to act in more of our common interest instead of this extreme, fringe set of policies they have been pursuing over the last decade,” he added.
Other pro-abortion advocates echo O’Rourke’s belief that abortion access is “on the ballot” in November.
The group Emily’s List aims to help pro-abortion lawmakers win seats in the state Congress and hopes to see changes made in November as well.
“We, the pro-choice majority in this country, will hold them accountable,” the group said. “We will replace them in offices across the country, up and down the ballot, with Democratic pro-choice candidates who will fight for our rights and freedom, with women who will work to expand access to anyone who needs it.”
