As women in large sections of the state quickly lose access to abortion services, Lenzie Sheible, a 19-year-old University of Texas at Austin student, to form a nonprofit whose aim is to provide these women transportation to cities with abortion clinics.
It was just a few weeks ago that the last remaining abortion clinic in the Rio Grande Valley closed it’s doors because of restrictions contained in Texas’ House Bill 2, the state’s new set of abortion restrictions that has so far led to the closure of 19 clinics.
It was these type of predictions that led Sheible to co-found Fund Texas Women, an organization that helps provide a way for women living in their affected area obtain access to abortion services.
"And so as HB 2 closes more clinics, the closest clinics to women is much further away," Sheible said. "A lot of times the people we help out don’t have cars, they don’t have a place to stay in the city where they are travel and so we help out by sometimes buying bus tickets, plane tickets, hotel and help these women get to where ever they need to go."
Sheible said since their launch in November 2013, they’ve spent an estimated $10,000 helping provide 35 women travel and hotel accommodations, including sending a few cases to Colorado and New Mexico, where late-term abortion is still legal.
"There are many callers who come from South Texas and also west of Austin,” Sheible said.
Sheible said for those opposed to abortion it might seem like they’re intentionally trying to get around legislative barriers that exists -- and she says that is true.
