At “Ride to Decide” National Bus Tour Event at Dallas Church That Helped “Jane Roe,” Patients Who Sued Texas Over State’s Abortion Ban Discuss What’s at Stake as Extremists Work to Ban Abortion Nationwide
DALLAS, TEXAS –– Today, Free & Just’s “Ride to Decide'' national bus tour stopped in Dallas for a roundtable event at the church that helped Jane Roe decades ago to highlight what’s at stake today as extremist lawmakers work to ban abortion nationwide. Amanda Zurawski and Lauren Miller, plaintiffs in Zurawski v. State of Texas, the first-of-its-kind legal challenge that sought to provide clarity for doctors and patients experiencing medical emergencies in Texas, joined Hollie Cunningham and religious leaders at the roundtable and shared their experience battling for reproductive freedom in Texas.
“I was 18-weeks pregnant and, unfortunately, had complications that were irreversible. Rather than being given the care that I needed, which at the time would have been an abortion, I had to wait until I met one of the medical exceptions allowed under Texas law,” said Amanda Zurawski, who went into septic shock twice and nearly lost her life after being denied an abortion in 2022. “It’s not just my story I am sharing, it’s the story of so many others. The longer this goes on, the more harm and suffering will take place.” Zurawski sued the state of Texas, but her challenge was recently rejected by the state’s Supreme Court in a devastating blow to patients across Texas.
“My happy, healthy son Henry would not be here today if I had not gone out of state for an abortion,” said Lauren Miller, a mother who was forced to travel to Colorado for abortion in 2022 when she learned that one of the twin boys she was pregnant with had a number of fatal fetal conditions that threatened her life and the life of the other twin. “I was able to get the abortion that I needed, but it cost us thousands of dollars and three days of travel for a 15-minute procedure that I should have been able to get just two miles from where we are now.”
Lauren joined Amanda and others as a plaintiff in Zurawski v. State of Texas, and she continues to fight so that no woman will be forced to endure what she did. Recently, Lauren shared her story with the House Ways and Means committee, but was frustrated by extremist lawmakers’ response.
"When I spoke to the House Ways and Means committee and told this story … I had just shared that story, and Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne, whose district we’re in, just flipped her hair and said “well I’m gonna get us back on topic here,” and turned to another speaker. “That should not be how a politician views her constituents. We should not be that irrelevant.”
“Even with a clear medical need, Texas law forced me to flee my home state to get the care that I desperately needed,” said Hollie Cunningham, who was forced to leave the state twice in one year for abortion care after receiving devastating fetal diagnoses in two pregnancies. “The pain and fear of being denied the care needed in my home state will stay with me forever. It breaks my heart knowing that there are other families out there suffering with similar situations who might not have the ability to travel to get the care they need.”
“My faith was central to my decision to have an abortion many years ago,” said Reverend Deneen Robinson, the Executive Director of Truth Pregnancy Resource Center, a non-profit organization founded with the support of the First Unitarian Church of Dallas. Reverend Robinson described her experience accessing abortion care as loving and “God-centric.” “Now, part of why I do this work is because I believe that everyone should lovingly receive the care that they need because choice is central to having a faith construct.”
“It is part of our DNA here at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas, to advocate for, and to lift up the voices of those fighting for the autonomy of their bodies, and for making the choices they want to make in this life,” said Reverend T. J. Fitzgerald, a Minister of Community Care and Community Engagement at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas. Reverend Fitzgerald described the church’s historic role in the movement for reproductive freedom, highlighting how “Jane Roe” met with church leaders in 1969.
The Ride to Decide bus tour comes as attacks on reproductive freedom escalate across the country. Support for legal abortion has increased since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, but that hasn’t stopped anti-abortion extremists and conservative lawmakers from continuing to undermine Americans’ access to abortion care, birth control, and IVF treatment.
The “Ride to Decide” tour is headed to Austin and San Antonio, Texas next, where local storytellers will spotlight the real-life impacts of abortion bans and attacks on reproductive freedom and share why federal action to protect access to abortion and reproductive health care has never been more important.
You can watch the event here. If you are interested in speaking with any of the participants in the press event, please contact kelly@freeandjust.us.
Free & Just is committed to fighting for reproductive freedom. Join us in sharing stories, raising voices, and securing our future.
###
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.