Dear Texas,
We have heard that you are facing a serious push back on abortion rights from legislators; we are writing from Northern Ireland to offer you our solidarity. Having battled an abortion ban here, we believe it is incredibly important to receive local and international support when people are denied their fundamental rights.
Alliance for Choice will donate to, and share Texan abortion funds amongst our sibling organisations across the UK and Ireland. We hope this bolsters the funds required to cover additional costs abortion seekers will face when it comes to forced interstate travel.
We also support strong relationships with online abortion pill providers, such as Women on Web and Women Help Women who are a safe way to provide for those who fall through the cracks and cannot travel up to 13 weeks; those in coercive control relationships, with disabilities, with precarious jobs without leave, unsure immigration status, lack of access to finance, and more.
You will need to fight even harder to dismantle the harmful stigma that accompanies such extreme misogyny, abortion bans are not healthy to live through either physically or mentally for all those who need abortion healthcare, those involved in providing it and those advocating for it. You may have to become the people – instead of clinicians, that offer advice and help to women and pregnant people who need abortions, you will have to find ways of sharing the information that helps the most people without getting yourselves into trouble.
We know what it is like to be criminalised for helping people. You and those you help might actually get arrested, you might have your homes searched and your workplaces raided as we did. Those intent on denying women and pregnant people access to abortion healthcare may inform the police of what they think is ‘illegal behaviour’,… either way you really have to know who you can trust with the information about your medical procedure, if you access pills at home.
We spent decades pleading with politicians in Northern Ireland and the UK to address these human rights abuses. We don’t have full access yet, but our persistence and the determination of those intent on seeing abortion rights, access and justice a reality, delivered decriminalisation and safety.
We don’t stand behind you, we stand shoulder to shoulder alongside you, don’t give up hope!
In solidarity,
Alliance for Choice
