Events Calendar

This two-part inaugural event of the Sissy Farenthold Fund for Peace and Social Justice will bring together elected officials representing Austin and Travis County residents at the city, county, state, and federal levels—along with abortion funders and abortion rights advocates—to share strategies for securing post-Roe reproductive justice in Texas and beyond. Roundtable participants will be in conversation with each other and with Professor Rachel Rebouché, a leading scholar in reproductive health and family law (and Texas native) who has written extensively about the jurisdictional complexities of—and possibilities for—the post-Roe legal and access landscapes.

Part 1: Blue Zones, Red State: Strategies for Ensuring Abortion Access in Texas

12 PM Central on July 11th on Zoom (registration required)

Elected officials will think together across the city, county, state, and federal levels to discuss strategies for supporting abortion access and reproductive justice in Texas post-Roe. Participants will discuss the Austin City Council’s proposed GRACE resolution and the Travis County District Attorney’s pledge not to prosecute providers or people seeking abortion, alongside consideration of what state and federal representatives might do to facilitate greater access or prevent further restrictions. A part of that discussion will include the legal promises and pitfalls surrounding medication abortion, and proposals for federal interventions.

Participants:

Lloyd Doggett, Texas District 35 Representative, U.S. House of Representatives

Vanessa Fuentes, District 2 Council Member, Austin City Council

Donna Howard, Texas District 38 Representative, Texas House of Representatives

Rachel Rebouché, Interim Dean and James E. Beasley Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law

Moderator: Karen Engle, Minerva House Drysdale Regents Chair in Law, Co-director, Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, The University of Texas at Austin

Full event information: https://law.utexas.edu/calendar/2022/07/11/69078/

This two-part inaugural event of the Sissy Farenthold Fund for Peace and Social Justice will bring together elected officials representing Austin and Travis County residents at the city, county, state, and federal levels—along with abortion funders and abortion rights advocates—to share strategies for securing post-Roe reproductive justice in Texas and beyond. Roundtable participants will be in conversation with each other and with Professor Rachel Rebouché, a leading scholar in reproductive health and family law (and Texas native) who has written extensively about the jurisdictional complexities of—and possibilities for—the post-Roe legal and access landscapes.

Part 2: Going Out of State: Strategies for Ensuring Abortion Access for Texas Residents

July 18th, 5 PM CT on Zoom

This roundtable will bring those who work with Texas-based abortion funds together with advocates from neighboring jurisdictions to discuss strategies for ensuring abortion access for Texas residents in the context of the post-Roe restrictive legal landscape. Speakers will bring their unique insights into how best to support abortion seekers directly and into how those in abortion-supportive states and countries might extend services to Texas residents without overwhelming their own health care systems. Drawing on lessons learned from working under various legally restrictive abortion regimes, participants will also consider movement-building strategies for a post-Roe world.

Confirmed Participants:

Jennifer Ecklund, Attorney for Texas Abortion Funds

José Garza, Travis County District Attorney

Marsha Jones, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Afiya Center (Dallas)

Rebeca Ramos Duarte, Executive Director of GIRE in Mexico City

Rachel Rebouché, Interim Dean and James E. Beasley Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law

Moderator: Karen Engle, Minerva House Drysdale Regents Chair in Law, Co-director, Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, The University of Texas at Austin and Gabriela Torres, Intern, Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice and Student at The University of Texas at Austin

Full event information: https://law.utexas.edu/calendar/2022/07/18/69105/