Free & Just looks forward to working with Senator-elect Talarico to protect access to abortion
WASHINGTON, DC –– Today, Texans elected James Talarico to the U.S. Senate. He won a state that has become the testing ground for the country’s most extreme abortion bans.
Under the state’s ban, at least three women have died after being unable to get timely abortion care, and Attorney General Ken Paxton has spent his tenure defending those bans and trying to reach doctors in other states. Talarico has spoken out against the ban and for expanding access, especially for women in life-threatening situations.
When he takes office in January, the first fight waiting for him is over who runs the FDA.
In August, President Trump tapped Dr. Heidi Overton, a noted anti-abortion extremist, to run the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — the agency that decides which medications America's doctors are permitted to prescribe. In recent years, Overton has celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as "a huge victory for life," dismissed federal legislation protecting abortion rights as "radicalism," and has promoted false claims about the safety of medication abortion that contradict more than two decades of evidence.
Preventing her confirmation as FDA Commissioner is crucial to protecting medication abortion access across the country.
“Texas has been the testing ground for abortion bans that nearly killed me, more than once,” said Kaitlyn Kash, Texas mother and plaintiff in Zurawski v. Texas, who had to flee to Kansas to access abortion care. “I’ve fought these bans in court and everywhere else. For the first time, Texas will have a senator who’s fought alongside us instead of against us.”
“Texas is what the rest of the country looks like if the attacks on abortion access keep going. Texans just sent someone to Washington who’s seen that up close and said no,” said Gowri Buddiga, Campaign Director, Free & Just. “We look forward to working with Senator-elect Talarico, starting with the fight over an FDA nominee who’s spent years attacking medication abortion.”
If you are interested in connecting with patients, providers, or advocates about what this election means for reproductive freedom and what’s next, please contact Kelly Rimar (kelly@freeandjust.us).
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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.