January 1, Architect of Texas abortion ban says women can simply ‘refrain’ from sex instead

Former Texas Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell argued in a Supreme Court brief that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, women can simply refrain from sexual intercourse.

“Women can ‘control their reproductive lives’ without access to abortion; they can do so by refraining from sexual intercourse,” Mitchell wrote in the brief. “One can imagine a scenario in which a woman has chosen to engage in unprotected (or insufficiently protected) sexual intercourse on the assumption that an abortion will be available to her later. But when this court announces the overruling of Roe, that individual can simply change their behavior in response to the court’s decision if she no longer wants to take the risk of an unwanted pregnancy.”

Mitchell, who played a pivotal role in designing the legal framework of the state’s “heartbeat” bill, said that women can still terminate pregnancies by traveling to “wealthy pro-abortion” states like New York and California.

The Supreme Court will soon hear a Mississippi case that experts say could lead to the reversal of the Roe v. Wade ruling.

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Women can say no to sex if Roe falls, says architect of Texas abortion ban