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NEW: Abortion bans are fueling domestic violence in Texas.
The leading cause of death for pregnant women is homicide, often by an abusive partner with a gun. And Texas is forcing victims to stay pregnant, while making it easier for abusers to get guns.
2/10
I've covered policy impacts on domestic violence victims for years, and when Roe fell I wondered how abortion bans would effect victims especially since pregnancy is such a dangerous time for them.
3/10
After months of reporting, experts tell me initial research shows that DV reports are increasing nationally but we're likely seeing it play out first in Texas.
For a couple of reasons:
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1) TX was the first to severely restrict abortion in 2021, forcing women to stay pregnant nearly a year before Roe fell.
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2) This exposed DV victims to more violence with fewer ways to escape because pregnancy is an extremely dangerous time for victims.
Pregnant+postpartum women are more than twice as likely to be murdered than to die from sepsis, hypertensive disorders or hemorrhage.
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3) TX has the largest rate of gun sales in the country and continues to have lax firearm restrictions.
The state is so firearm friendly that gun rights groups chose it as the testing ground for a SCOTUS case that will determine if domestic abusers get to keep their guns.
7/10
In the last decade, the amount of women shot + killed by an abuser has nearly doubled in Texas.
If SCOTUS sides with gun groups, "lives will be lost,"
@ndvh 's Crystal Justice told me.
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4) The shelters & nonprofits trying to help DV victims navigate this new landscape are put in an impossible bind.
Many are funded by the very institution that enacted + enforces the abortion ban: the state of Texas.
9/10
Survivors + advocacy workers tell me they're terrified that this new normal will lead to more dead women in Texas.
Read more here:
How Texas Created A Deadly New Normal For Domestic Violence Victims
10/10
One in three women are in abused in Texas. And the majority of those women in abusive relationships are raped by their partners to get them pregnant and keep them in the relationship.