For Immediate Release: October 12, 2021
CONTACT: media@napawf.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) pressed the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to stop S.B. 8 from taking effect in Texas after it reversed a short-lived lower court ruling blocking the six-week abortion ban.

Statement from Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF):

“The Fifth Circuit’s reversal of the lower court’s ruling throws Texas back into chaos for those seeking abortion care—making it especially difficult for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women, immigrants, and other people of color. 

Texas is home to 1.6 million Asian Americans, the third-largest population in the country after California and New York. As long as S.B. 8 remains in effect, it will further isolate low-income and immigrant AAPIs by making abortion care unaffordable and out of reach. NAPAWF is one of the only groups on the ground in Texas speaking to AAPI communities about reproductive health and tackling abortion stigma head-on. The courts’ ping-ponging of the case creates confusion about the status of abortion care in Texas, all of which is further compounded by existing misinformation and language barriers.

At a time when AAPI women are facing the highest number of long-term unemployment, increasing anti-Asian hate and harassment, the Texas abortion ban will sow confusion and intimidate people out of getting the abortion care they need.”

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The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is the only multi-issue, progressive, community organizing and policy advocacy organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls in the U.S. NAPAWF’s mission is to build collective power so that all AAPI women and girls can have full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.