The restriction of information on abortion is a threat to the health of pregnant women under legislation before the Texas government, a group of technology and free speech advocacy groups argued.
A coalition of advocacy groups wrote a letter to the chairs of the Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday requesting that the leadership oppose House Bill 2690, legislation restricting the sale of select abortion pills in Texas. The bill also includes a clause limiting information about the pills, including removing webpages that might offer information about the drugs or how to get them. The authors of the letter include the left-leaning tech group Chamber of Progress, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and PEN America.
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“As drafted, these prohibitions may lead to services censoring direct messages between patients and caregivers on obtaining safe care,” they argue in the letter, according to a copy provided exclusively to the Washington Examiner. “It may also force services to block or censor telemedicine counseling services in which medical professionals advise pregnant people on a variety of reproductive health services, including but not limited to legal abortions.”
They also argue that not providing sufficient information would “pose harm to all women, especially communities of color and low-income women.” They note that “online searches for information about abortion are most common in states with the strictest abortion laws” and claim misinformation could force women to receive dangerous treatments if medical content on the subject is limited.
They said access to medication-based abortion is still protected federally and that women still are allowed to drive across borders to get treatments.
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Texas has implemented multiple restrictions on abortion in recent years. Five women sued the state in early March, alleging that the state’s laws prevented them from getting abortions despite the life-threatening circumstances they were experiencing.
A federal judge in Texas moved to block the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, a product that is explicitly banned by H.B. 2690. The White House said it intends to fight the ruling in court, while House Democrats have submitted legislation to ensure the pills remain on the market.
