For Immediate Release: November 1, 2021
CONTACT: media@napawf.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments challenging S.B. 8, a Texas law banning all abortions after 6 weeks and deputizes private citizens to sue anyone suspected of helping another person obtain an abortion.

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

“S.B. 8 disproportionately impacts people of color, including low-income and immigrant Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) persons in Texas, home to 1.5 million Asian Americans, the third-largest AAPI population in the country, after California and New York. Within this population, 12 percent lack health insurance, 11 percent live in poverty, and a staggering 17 percent are estimated to be without immigration status.

Compounded by existing misinformation, social stigma, and lack of in-language support, S.B. 8 further isolates low-income and immigrant AAPIs by making abortion care unaffordable and out of reach. In spite of these barriers, many patients are driving hundreds of miles for out-of-state abortion care. The stakes are even higher for immigrants who are traveling through ICE checkpoints without status or documentation.

Furthermore, S.B. 8 has a provision allowing private citizens to monitor and take it upon themselves to determine who is breaking the law with zero due process. There is much more at stake than our reproductive rights. This bill, if left unchecked, will serve as a roadmap for other states looking to further erode our civil liberties.”

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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.