Legislators look to end travel, medication abortion Houston teen relied on to end unwanted pregnancy

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Houston Landing recently published the story of a local 17-year-old who embarked on a physically and emotionally taxing journey to end her pregnancy. Reporter Dion Nissenbaum traveled 1,500 miles away with her to New Mexico. He joined Eyewitness News to discuss the results of his reporting and the abortion landscape for women and girls in the Houston area.

Abortion is banned in Texas, except when a pregnancy threatens the life of a pregnant person. Nissenbaum said his research revealed Houston women who want to travel out of state for an abortion face serious challenges. His work with a local clinic led him to the teenager referred to in his reporting as “J.”

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She became pregnant unintentionally, and she nor her boyfriend felt prepared to be parents. Her sister, who works in the healthcare industry, helped J travel to New Mexico to receive a medication abortion. If J had taken the pills in Texas, Nissenbaum said her sister could have faced charges under the law for assisting in an abortion. He also talked with anti-abortion advocates who said they were largely uninterested in prosecuting people like J and her sister. They said they wished J’s sister would have steered her toward a crisis pregnancy center.

There are current efforts to make it illegal for a pregnant person to travel out of Texas to receive an abortion. Abortion pills sent in the mail are also illegal. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is currently suing a New York doctor for mailing the medication to a woman in Collin County.

READ MORE: Texas sues New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills by telemedicine

Nissenbaum said the abortion restrictions make Texas an unsafe place for pregnant people. Doctors are retiring early and fleeing the state.

Nisenbaum said J has not indicated any regrets about her decision to end her pregnancy.

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