WATCH: Scores of Women Are Telling Their Personal Abortion Stories to Destroy the Stigma

By Akiba Solomon Jan 19, 2016

Advocates for Youth’s 1 in 3 campaign is live-streaming an abortion speakout with about 100 people until 6 p.m. ET. The event, which focuses on destigmatizing abortion, will feature people’s personal stories and testimony from abortion providers, movement leaders, artists and elected offficials. The speakout will also serve as a live amicus brief for the Supreme Court, which is set to hear a Texas case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole, on March 2. The critical case challenges HB2, a 2013 state law that imposed new regulations for abortion providers that the plaintiff says are unnecessary for patient safety and designed to shut them down.

Among other rules, this so-called TRAP law [PDF] requires Texas abortion providers to adopt the standards of ambulatory surgical centers that perform much more invasive procedures involving heavier anethetics and to change the specs of their physical spaces. Plaintiffs say such changes will put them out of buisiness. 

According to the New York Times, there were 40 abortion providers in 16 Texas counties before HB2. If SCOTUS rules in favor of Texas in Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole, there could be an estimated reduction of 10 clinics for the entire state. (On Friday, the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we’ll be running an explainer about this complicated case.)

Speakers for the 1 in 3  speakout include artist and activist Faviana Rodriguez, U.S. Reps. Eleanor Holmes Norton and Barbara Lee, "The Daily Show" co-creator Lizz Winstead and Sen. Wendy Davis. 

Watch Advocates for Youth’s live speakout below.