Hundreds rally in Mountain View Saturday to protest Texas abortion law

Hundreds of residents rallied in downtown Mountain View on Saturday in a show of sharp opposition to Texas’ new abortion law, calling it a blanket ban on abortions and an attack on women’s rights.

Attendees of the Reproductive Rights Rally, held at the downtown Civic Center Plaza, held signs demanding that abortions should remain safe and legal, and that defending abortion rights means protecting women and their right to choose. The rally was a direct response to Texas’ efforts to block abortions and erode decades of precedent under the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade.

Local politicians making an appearance included State Sen. Josh Becker — who announced his plans to boost access to abortions through state legislation — along with Assemblyman Marc Berman and Mountain View Mayor Ellen Kamei. Susyn Almond, a Mountain View resident and event organizer, said the crowd quickly grew to upward of 325 people, exceeding the size of the San Jose march.

“We have a wonderful activist crowd on the Peninsula, and this is an issue whose time has come once again,” Almond said.

The Texas Heartbeat Act, which went into effect on Sept. 1, prohibits abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The only exception is for medical emergencies. A heartbeat can be detected as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women realize they are pregnant.

The law is structured differently from other abortion restrictions in that it relies on enforcement from the public through civil legal action. Anyone who performs an abortion or aids and abets in an abortion can be liable for at least $10,000 in damages. The U.S. Department of Justice has since filed a legal challenge alleging that the law is unconstitutional.

Texas’ law has been slammed by pro-choice advocates since it was signed into law in May this year, and prompted large-scale protests across the country once it took effect in September. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo said in a statement last month that the restrictions are an attack on Roe v. Wade and the right of women to make decisions about their own lives and bodies.

“Today, that right is under enormous threat by a shameful and unconstitutional law in Texas,” Eshoo said. “The law also turns private citizens into bounty hunters, empowering them to spy and turn in their neighbors.”

In stark contrast to Texas, California has expanded the reproductive rights of women in recent months, with Gov. Gavin Newsom signing a pair of bills — AB 1356 and AB 1184 — that strengthen protections for patients seeking an abortion and other reproductive health care services.

Almond, previously a pregnancy counselor, said she had worked with women prior to the passage of Roe v. Wade and understands what’s at stake. Women used to talk of back-alley abortions and near-death experiences, she said, because there was no safe, legal way to terminate a pregnancy at the time. Those who had more money had more options, but it wasn’t much better.

“They would take all the money they had and fly to Mexico and have an unsafe abortion there and suffer the consequences,” Almond said.

The Mountain View rally took place along with hundreds of others throughout the country over the weekend, and really only marks the beginning, Almond said. The Supreme Court isn’t expected to act on the case for several months, and the result could very well dilute or repeal Roe v. Wade.

And while California has sought to boost access to reproductive health services including abortions, close to a dozen states have “trigger laws” that would automatically outlaw first and second trimester abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

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