Letter from our Executive Director
Texas is the front line of the fight for reproductive justice. 2023 was yet another year of big change for Jane’s Due Process as we navigated the post-Roe world and the impacts of abortion bans on young people’s access to reproductive healthcare. In February of this year, I officially became the Executive Director of Jane’s Due Process – a dream role for me. I first became involved with Jane’s Due Process in fall of 2021, shortly after the 6-week abortion ban was implemented, and over the past several years I’ve built my career post-law school at national reproductive justice organizations If/When/How and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice.
But my heart has always been here in my home of Texas.
At the beginning of 2023, due to trigger laws and threats of prosecution from the Texas Attorney General, Jane’s Due Process’ services helping teens access abortion remained paused as we awaited a decision from the court in our lawsuit to affirm our right to help young people travel for care. We also spent 2023 learning to navigate changes to birth control access for Texas teens in the wake of the Deanda v. Becerra decision that came down in December 2022. A Federal District court in Texas – helmed by anti-abortion extremist judge Matthew Kaczmaryk – upended decades of precedent, which previously allowed teens to access prescription birth control through Title X federal family planning providers without parental consent despite state law. In an instant, this option was cut off, further limiting young Texans ability to exercise their reproductive autonomy. Young people have always been particularly marginalized by abortion bans and parental involvement laws regarding abortion and birth control, but the beginning of 2023 was especially bleak for Texas teens.
But we never stopped doing all that we could to support young people seeking abortion and birth control. We’ve shifted our work to ensure that we’re doing everything in our power to support Texas teens, including providing practical support for teens traveling out of state for care.
This report tells the story of how we transformed from primarily providing judicial bypass support to help teens navigate parental consent for abortion in Texas into a practical support organization helping teens travel for abortion care while continuing to deepen our work around birth control access, sex education, and youth advocacy.
Thanks to you, and despite continued attacks on young Texans’ reproductive rights, Jane’s Due Process isn’t going anywhere. I look forward to walking with you on this road towards young people’s reproductive liberation.
With much love,
Lucie Arvallo
January: Despite Texas’ abortion ban, our hotline and text line provided vital information to young people seeking options outside the state. Additionally, we launched a program distributing free emergency contraception in San Angelo.
February: Following a court ruling, we began assisting young Texans in traveling out of state for abortion care. We also initiated our Sex Talks program to address teens’ questions on reproductive health and relationships.
March and April: In response to the court ruling, we focused on transitioning our services to directly support abortion travel for young people.
May: On May 1st, 2023, we officially started supporting Texas teens traveling out of state for abortions, offering travel coordination, lodging funding, and procedure funding while staying in touch throughout.
June, July, and August: During the summer, in addition to expanding our abortion travel support, we increased free emergency contraception distribution across Texas, including new pickup locations like Rock-Paper-Shears in Lubbock.
September: We collaborated with partners to establish the San Antonio Reproductive Justice Fund, ensuring city budget allocation for reproductive health care.
October: At conferences in Kentucky and Texas, we presented on emergency contraception access, municipal abortion funding, and empowering youth who have had abortions.
November and December: Our Youth Advocacy Fellows gathered in El Paso to strategize on teen access to abortion and birth control, forging partnerships in West Texas and planning for 2024 initiatives. Additionally, we expanded emergency contraception access in Amarillo with delivery and pickup locations.
Over the course of 2023, almost 6,000 Texas teens reached out to us by either call or text for information about or direct support for abortion or birth control access.
We had 2,893 calls to our hotline, 2,975 texts to our textline, 162 cases of teens traveling out of state for abortion care, and distributed 2,090 repro kits.
Despite not being able to help young people travel for abortion care for the first 4 months of 2023, teens continued to call and text us seeking information about their options. Our hotline and text line didn’t slow down, continuing to help teens by providing information on their rights and where they could go to access abortion in other states. It’s harder than ever for young people in Texas to access reproductive healthcare, so it’s essential that they have a place to turn to for information on their options and any support that is available.
Expanding Emergency Contraceptive Distribution: Since launching in Austin as a pilot in 2020, our free emergency contraception program has expanded to Lubbock, Bryan, College Station, and San Angelo, providing vital resources and information to young Texans. Plans for further expansion into Amarillo were finalized in 2023, with the program launching there in January 2024.
Youth Advocacy Fellows: Our Youth Advocacy Fellows successfully advocated for the My Body, My Future Act in 2021 and reintroduced it with Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos in 2023, extending efforts to include Senator Nathan Johnson in the Senate. They convened in El Paso to strategize for 2024, strengthening ties with partners like Planned Parenthood and West Fund.
Sex Talks: Launched in 2023 due to gaps in Texas sex education, Sex Talks allows young people to ask questions anonymously about reproductive health and healthy relationships, providing stigma-free answers through our resident sex educator, Irma Garcia.
Youth Content Squad: In 2023, we initiated our Youth Content Squad, empowering teens and young adults to create social media and website content on topics such as birth control, sexual health, abortion access, and reproductive rights, fostering their advocacy skills and broadening our reach among young audiences.
Thank you for supporting Texas teens accessing abortion and birth control.
All of this work wouldn’t be possible without your support. Your donations to Jane’s Due Process make it possible for us to continue making abortion and birth control as accessible for young Texans as possible. We continue to hear from Texas teens every day, and because of your support we’re able to answer and be here for them.
Continue making a difference for Texas teens’ bodily autonomy, safety, and futures with a gift to Jane’s Due Process.
