SMU forum Jan. 31 to focus on women’s health care legislation in Texas

DALLAS (SMU — The Women’s and Gender Studies Program at SMU will sponsor a public forum Jan 31 on the effects of proposed Texas’ anti-abortion legislation that has been criticized by women’s rights advocates as crippling state-funded health care options for all women.

Scheduled for 7 p.m. in SMU’s McCord Auditorium, the forum comes 40 years to the week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled abortion legal in the landmark Texas case Roe v. Wade.

The event will feature a discussion with Texas Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth), Dallas physician (OB-GYN) Deborah Fuller and Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas President and CEO Ken Lambrecht. It will be moderated by Dave Mann, editor of The Texas Observer.

Admission will be free to the public, but reservations are required; RSVP to walthall@texasobserver.org.

“This forum will address the forgotten needs of under- and uninsured women, the key role of funding in the women’s health debate, and the uncertain future of choice in Texas,” says Beth Newman, director of SMU’s Women’s and Gender Studies Program, sponsor of the event with The Texas Observer (which has been highlighting the issue in a series of articles and events).

“Recent actions by the Texas Legislature are putting the health of women and their families at risk,” Newman says. “The defunding of Planned Parenthood is not only an assault on women’s reproductive freedom, but also on the total health of many of our citizens, especially low-income women.”

“Collateral Damage” continues the Women’s and Gender Studies Program’s focus on women’s health care issues after its panel discussion with Sandra Fluke last fall.

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