Today Lauren Miller and Dr. Austin Dennard – two Dallas residents forced to flee Texas to receive the reproductive care they needed – along with Dr. Allison Gilbert, a Dallas OB/GYN, blamed the current state of Texas abortion care on Ted Cruz. Specifically, the speakers highlighted Cruz’s efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade and help establish the near-total abortion ban Texans are living through today.
Dr. Austin Dennard, a Dallas OB/GYN forced to flee Texas for abortion care, said:
“Because of Ted Cruz and the abortion ban he supports, I had to flee my state for care – because as long as I remained on Texas soil, where my family has been for six generations, I was to remain pregnant. That’s what politicians like Ted Cruz were forcing me to do. Forcing me to stay pregnant and forcing me to birth a baby who would either die in my womb or suffering, gasping for his last breaths in my arms… He knew what Texas women would face when Roe v. Wade fell. And after all, he confirmed the judges and the justices to the bench to dismantle it. And Ted Cruz knew that when Roe fell, almost all abortion in our great state of Texas would immediately become illegal.”
Lauren Miller, a Dallas resident forced to flee Texas for the abortion care that saved her life, said:
“Ted Cruz pushed for the end of Roe v. Wade knowing the laws that would take effect here. He’s supported them every step of the way. Ted Cruz pushed for these bans and put anti-choice Justices on the Supreme Court despite Texans like me begging him not to support policies that harm us. This ban, the reality that we are living through – it’s on him.
“I spoke in the Senate to Ted Cruz’s subcommittee to testify about what I went through. After years of him ignoring me, I wanted him to hear it from me directly. And truthfully, I wanted to hear what he’d say in response, having put Texas women in this situation. He didn’t show up – couldn’t be bothered, or he couldn’t stand the thought of hearing from me. But he’ll be hearing from all of us on November 5th.”
Dr. Allison Gilbert, Dallas OB/GYN, said:
“Ted Cruz laid the groundwork for the disparities in care we’re all seeing today… He said Roe v. Wade was one of our, quote, ‘greatest tragedies.’ But I can think of many more tragedies – thousands of them: The woman diagnosed with a fetal anomaly incompatible with life, who can no longer access care in Texas. The survivor of domestic abuse who has experienced increased violence during her pregnancy, who can no longer access care in Texas. Or the 15-year-old who was sexually assaulted by her stepfather, and the many, many more who have been denied care in our state. Let me be clear: Those examples are not just examples. They are not hypotheticals. Those are real patients, who I have personally been forced to deny life-saving care.”
