Texas counties trying to prevent people from using roads to get an abortion grows

Repost of ificandream’s op yesterday

Source: Associated Press

Updated 5:57 PM PDT, October 24, 2023

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — A Texas county near New Mexico — where abortion is legal — has banned helping people traveling to get an abortion in one of the newest ways conservatives are trying to restrict abortion access since the fall of Roe v. Wade.

Lubbock County is the largest of four Texas counties that have now adopted a version of the measure, which would be enforced through lawsuits filed by private citizens against people who help women obtain abortions. It is the same legal mechanism Texas used to enact a strict abortion law in 2021 before the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the state last year to ban nearly all abortions entirely.

Commissioners in the west Texas county adopted the measure 3-0 at a meeting Monday, rejecting some requests to postpone the vote.

The ordinance “has many legal problems,” said Lubbock County Judge Curtis Parrish, the county’s top elected official. “This ordinance, however, does not have a problem with its intent or the intent of those who are passionate about this.”

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-travel-ban-roads-west-texas-3997304c4156f131ee90bb1363735ba3