The right to abortion has taken a central place in the American election campaign after several states in recent years have tightened abortion laws. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in 2022 that the constitutional right to free abortion should be repealed, which led to changes being approved in various parts of the country.
Risks life imprisonment for performing an abortion
Texas is one of the states that today has a near total ban. Doctors who perform an abortion there can face up to life in prison. In 2023, the legislation led more than 35,000 women to leave Texas to obtain abortions in another state, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Hollie Cunningham in Texas became pregnant in early 2022 but was told in the twentieth week that the fetus had anencephaly and lacked a brain. The options she was faced with were either to carry the pregnancy to term or to go to another state.
– I knew that my daughter would not survive, it could put me in danger and stop me from being able to get pregnant again, she says when TV4 Nyheterna meets her at her home outside Dallas.
“Called us murderers”
She and husband Cody decided to go to the state of New Mexico to perform an abortion at a clinic, where abortion opponents had gathered outside.
– They shouted horrible things at my husband, they called us murderers. He yelled back at them that our pregnancy was planned, that it was what we wanted, that our child was loved, that this was not what we wanted, she says.
In 2023, she became pregnant once again and was informed of the same diagnosis.
– I had to go through the same thing again. I had to leave my home state because I knew I had no support. So I just had to go through this traumatic situation one more time, she says.
She had the remains cremated and the ashes are today at home with her, her husband and their two sons. She has also prepared two boxes of pictures and memorabilia after the two girls the family never added.
– In this way, they are close to us all the time, she says.
Got a big place in the election campaign
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has campaigned hard on the abortion issue and promises to sign a re-introduction of abortion rights, should such a proposal be hammered through Congress.
Donald Trump has changed his opinion several times on the abortion issue and has instead referred to it being up to the states to decide. Before the presidential election, Trump has not wanted to answer whether he would use the veto to stop a national ban on abortion.
Hollie Cunningham says she is not surprised that abortion rights have been given such a prominent place in the election campaign. She believes that it is because several women have spoken openly about how they have been affected.
– It has opened the eyes of many and shown that we need change and more compassion. It is not okay to take away our rights, she says.