Quote of the Day: Don’t worry, just speed to your abortion appointment!

The new law has forced about a dozen abortion clinics to close. (Credit: Whole Woman’s Health)

Yesterday, as Jos covered, a federal appeals court took up Texas’s harsh new abortion restrictions. During testimony, lawyers from the pro-choice side noted that thanks to the new law, there is no longer a single abortion provider in the Rio Grande Valley, making the nearest clinic for the mainly low-income, Latino residents a 300-mile round trip away.

But 5th Circuit Judge Edith Jones was unimpressed. Via Think Progress:

“Do you know how long that takes in Texas at 75 miles an hour? This is a peculiarly flat and not congested highway.”

Well, I don’t know about you, but I am greatly relieved to know that if I ever need an abortion the Lone Star state, I won’t have to worry about a traffic jam. Of course, considering all the unnecessary, state-imposed hurdles, that’d probably be the least of my worries.

I’m not sure if Jones, who has advocated for overturning Roe v. Wade so her views on abortion are no secret, is actually look for an answer. But I can do basic math, so let’s assume it is a 4-hour round trip. Of course, Texas law requires two trips to the clinic–one for your forced ultrasound and mandatory counseling and another to get the procedure after a 24-hour waiting period to think very hard about the evil you’re about to do. Eight hours in the car is a long time–and that’s assuming you have a car and you have the time, neither of which are a given in the poor communities hardest hit by these restrictions.

But nope, according to Jones, there’s no “undue burden” to see here, folks.

Maya Dusenbery is an Executive Director of Feministing..