Women’s Stories in Center’s Texas Case ‘May Change the Abortion Narrative’
Mary Ziegler writes in the Boston Globe about the power of the women’s testimony in the Center’s Zurawski v. State of Texas case.
Last month’s Texas hearing for the Center for Reproductive Rights case, Zurawski v. State of Texas, demonstrated the high personal cost to women of abortion bans in a way that “may change the abortion narrative,” writes Mary Ziegler in an August 3 Boston Globe article.
Ziegler, a legal historian and author of several books about reproductive rights, wrote about the July hearing and the powerful stories presented by the plaintiffs, including four women who were denied abortion care due to Texas’s abortion bans despite facing severe and dangerous threats to their health, lives and future fertility.
As their testimony made clear, writes Ziegler, “the trial is about more than the legalistic nature of the exceptions to the ban.” The heartbreaking testimony brought many in the Austin courtroom to tears, including a State of Texas attorney, she writes.
Read more about the women’s testimony.
Hearing Wrap-up: Zurawski v. State of Texas
Texas women denied abortion care give riveting testimony while the state tries to dismiss the lawsuit.
“The five women told stories about having near-death experiences; being sent away when her water broke, going into septic shock, and ending up in intensive care, which is what happened to Amanda Zurawski; or sobbing and nearly vomiting on the stand recalling the death of a baby who lived for just four hours, as happened to Samantha Casiano,” writes Ziegler.
Texas Tried to Prevent the Women from Testifying
These women almost didn’t get a chance to tell their stories in court, she writes. Aware of the power of the women’s stories, the state of Texas tried to prevent the plaintiffs from testifying, arguing that they didn’t have standing to sue because their injuries occurred in the past and future harm “was speculative.”
The state’s attorneys also tried to shift the blame for the women’s lack of access to necessary abortion care from the state to their physicians, who risk harsh penalties—including life in prison—for violating Texas’ abortion bans.
Storytelling, both before Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973 and now, is a powerful tool to change hearts and minds, writes Ziegler. The campaign to expand abortion access post-Roe, “will have as much to do with making clear what happens to real patients when abortion is a crime.”
“The case is a potent reminder of the power of women’s stories,” she added.
Read the full article here:
- “Women’s stories may change the abortion narrative,” Boston Globe, 08.03.23
