October 20, 2021
Page 9
Opinion articles do not necessarily represent
the views of the Portland Observer. We
welcome reader essays, photos and story
ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com.
O piniOn
Here Come the Abortion Hunters
Texas law pits desperate people against each other
by Ebony Slaughter-Johnson
Texas’s
cruel
new anti-abortion
law is more than
just an unconsti-
tutional restriction
on
reproductive
choice. It’s also an
egregious new fron-
tier in late capitalism.
In addition to banning abortion
beyond six weeks into pregnan-
cy, the law allows private citizens
to sue anyone who helps a per-
son abort a pregnancy, promising
$10,000 payments for the bounty
hunters.
Someone who decides to dedi-
cate themselves to abortion bounty
hunting could make a comfortable
living. Just seven bounties would
earn you more than last year’s me-
dian household income.
Those seven bounties wouldn’t
have to come from seven abortions
— they could come from just one.
Because the category of those who
could be said to “aid or abet” the
termination of a pregnancy is so
expansive, the number of individu-
als an abortion bounty hunter could
sue is theoretically boundless.
As plaintiffs, abortion boun-
ty hunters could sue anyone the
pregnant person even remotely re-
lied on — including anyone who
furnished them with information
about abortion services, family
members who provided emotional
support, and the specialist who per-
formed the abortion.
The primary purpose of the Tex-
as law is to instill fear in those who
receive and administer abortions.
But what drives that fear is the
fact that our unequal economy is
already so terrifying. Ten thousand
dollars is a lot to lose when only 39
percent of Americans have enough
savings to weather a $1,000 emer-
gency.
Conversely, as the gap between
the rich and the poor widens,
$10,000 is a lot to pocket.
While American billionaires
have increased their wealth during
the ongoing coronavirus pandem-
ic by nearly $2 trillion, 8 million
more Americans were pushed into
poverty last year. Social spending
has cushioned that impact, but the
lapse of expanded unemployment
benefits will force many more
Americans to make difficult choic-
es.
Even as the pandemic continues
to demonstrate the essential contri-
butions of some of the lowest-paid
workers in the country, the federal
minimum wage remains stubborn-
ly set at $7.25 per hour. Holes in
the social safety net left many
Americans without food, health
care, and housing well before the
pandemic.
Even now, after the pandem-
ic proved the precariousness of
Americans’ financial health, no
federal legislation has been in-
troduced to implement universal
health care coverage or guarantee
a universal basic income.
Scenes of Americans lined up
by the thousands, waiting for free
food in one of the richest countries
in the world, should have been a
lightning rod for change. Instead,
they seem to have convinced some
hardliners that Americans are just
not interested in hard work.
The depravity of the Texas abor-
tion law lies in its ability to pit
desperation against desperation.
Financial vulnerability egged on
by unfettered capitalism has forced
Americans to literally sell their
blood plasma. No one should be
surprised that it might also force
them to sell their morals.
Abortion bounty hunters will in-
evitably seek to collect their boun-
ties. When they do, don’t just blame
the lawmakers who wrote this ugly
law — blame the unequal econo-
my that forces so many impossible
choices. When capitalism is enlisted
in efforts to limit women’s repro-
ductive freedom, everyone loses.
Ebony Slaughter-Johnson is an
associate fellow at the Institute for
Policy Studies which covers histo-
ry, race, and the criminalization of
poverty. This op-ed was distributed
by OtherWords.org.