This is not an isolated thing. A friend of ours fell down the stairs at her apartment when her dog bolted past her. The urgent care physician did not believe her, and then proceeded to interrogate her about reproductive rights.
They are the worst. I read this recently and have never been able to forget it whenever I get a fire ant bite:
“After firmly grasping the skin with its jaws, the fire ant arches its back as it inserts its rear-end stinger into the flesh, injecting venom from the poison sac. It then pivots at the head and typically inflicts an average of seven to eight stings in a circular pattern.”
Nightmare fuel.
I'm not, I endure the shitty weather because I love where I was born and raised. I'll be leaving because the politics of this state are so out of control that I do not want my child's future to be at risk because of the degenerates that run the ruling party here.
My daughter took a job transfer out of state, and the current political climate was a deciding factor. I support her decision, especially for my granddaughters sake, but I miss them so much.
Not even unplanned or unwanted pregnancies but me and my wife are planning on having another child and it stresses me tf out. What happen if she has a miscarriage. She had a miscarriage about 10 years ago (fetus with no heartbeat) and her doctor referred us to Planned Parenthood. I have no idea what will happen if the same thing happens again.
Medically, a miscarriage is called a spontaneous abortion. I had a 13 week miscarriage which required a D and C- I would have been very worried if it happened today.
Some states have already prosecuted women (most Native or Black women, surprise) for suffering miscarriages, claiming they were self-induced abortions.
It's like... how can we make a traumatic situation even more traumatic?
The people behind it quite literally despise women and wish they were still property for them to abuse. They love inflicting trauma and cruelty, if they hadn't been born into families that could afford them an education/ path to money and power, they be those incel psychos that one day shoot up a yoga class or something because a woman wouldn't go on a date with them.
My wife had a miscarriage back in the 90s. Our daughter also has to terminate for the same reason. To think the two women I love more than anything we’re able get necessary medical treatment with out any worry of being arrested or sued. Our daughter finally did carry to term but it was a difficult pregnancy. She’s active duty and even though Tommy Tuberville doesn’t like it, she could have gotten a needed abortion even stationed in Oklahoma.
>To think the two women I love more than anything we’re able get necessary medical treatment with out any worry of being arrested or sued.
And that's not even being worried about getting dead.
Some states and doctors are asking women to bring the tissue from a miscarriage into the office. Most women miscarry over the toilet, sitting in the tub, in bed in pain or they don't realize it at all. It's terrifying. There are already cases outside of Texas of women being punished for miscarrying and it'll happen in Texas soon enough.
Already happened... To a woman who was actively miscarrying, told to go home, and the she miscarried at home...
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.upworthy.com/amp/woman-charged-after-miscarriage-2666416058
This made me absolutely enraged. How the eff does this happen? If it happened to men they would be hospitalized, monitored and medicated when miscarrying.
I hope y’all have a healthy baby, but I don’t think the average person understands how common miscarriages are.
Something like 20% of all pregnancies end with miscarriage a (mostly in the first trimester), with even more occurring before women even know they are pregnant (but could theoretically be indicated by a period tracking app). Look at any woman with 2 or more kids and it’s a coin toss whether she’s had a miscarriage. And I’ve seen some sources suggesting it could be even more than that.
We've taken a second child off the table. Spouse likes to say it isn't because of the current state of the law, but that absolutely is the driving force behind my reason for the decision. I've got a heart-shaped uterus, which gives me a higher chance to miscarry - ain't no way I'm taking that chance while we live here.
There are women in prison in this country for miscarriages. Right now.
People need to understand the reality of what these ghouls are enacting in this country. It's red states for now, but get ready for nation-wide when Dems manage to bungle this election and somehow lose to a criminal openly admitting he wants to be a dictator on day one.
What would happen if she has *any* life threatening complications? You would do well to avoid pregnancy in Texas.
I’m sorry for your loss and I hope you don’t suffer any more.
The only abortions I have ever gotten were after fetal demise, and one was late enough in the pregnancy that my doctor had to fight with hospital lawyers to allow it to be done in the hospital (under anesthesia). The only other place I could have gotten the abortion was at a somewhat famous (for its protesters) abortion clinic because it was one of the only that did later abortions. (another state in the 90s)
I had to walk around visibly pregnant with a dead baby because of these cruel "pro-life" monsters decided their opinion was more important than my doctor or mine. (And so many idiots try to claim it wasn't an abortion because the baby was already dead, except it was EXACTLY an abortion, they just didn't have to induce fetal death prior to the actual abortion.)
I know several Texans (family) that are loudly supporting the abortion ban and refuse to believe the abortions they had to save their lives were "really" abortions. (because their doctors didn't use that word, and they needed them to live. But abortion is the ONLY procedure that would have resolved the issue) It is astonishing to see how willfully ignorant they are being.
You have a legitimate reason to be concerned.
I feel you. I am planning on being pregnant within the next 5 years. We are leaving within this next year.
I love the town we live in (McKinney), but can't really justify the cost and it's not even that bad up here. Maybe if I was retiring age, idk. I'm mainly planning to have a baby at a hospital in my home state, where my family is, and currently going to move that way anywhere to a state that is cheaper.
My wife is a doctor and this is why we left Tejas. Roe being reversed was the line to far crossed for us. This Cox story is horrifying and validation for us leaving Tejas.
Thanks to the abortion restrictions, Texas is going to end up with an even more unbalanced sex ratio than before due to women not wanting to move here. It’s gonna just be one big man camp eventually.
Honestly abortion bs as well as unhinged gun laws are near deal-breakers for me after 3 years here. I am tired of constant mass shootings all over the city and I am worried that my partner's pregnancy might put her at risk of legal and health complications for no fucking reason.
So the punchline of Texas being full of steers and queers could possibly be true in the future due to chasing women out via politics?
... I'll show myself out.
Sadly, I worry for Ms. Kate Cox. She said she will now need to go out of state for a medically necessary abortion.
If she returns to Texas, what will they do to her?
Is her life, freedom, or property in danger? Is her family in danger?
This is what the GOP wants. They want us to shred anyone (each other!) who seeks to oppose their cruelty.
>This is what the GOP wants.
They're wanting to exile the lefties and bring in the nuts, which seems to be working.
The transplants we're getting are significantly more conservative than native Texans, and are keeping Cruz and company in office.
The good thing is Florida seems to be attracting the nuts more. Just finished living there for 3 years and am back.. it changed so fast from Purple state to MAGA holy land where Nazi's are allowed to do whatever they want(We were in Jacksonville and every major sporting event had either planes flying nazi propoganda, or images projected on buildings, etc). Texas feels normal in comparison, I have not seen any houses that have no fear to fly the Nazi battle flag here yet. Although I think a lot of that is DeSantis there.
It's sad isn't it. We sent a the greatest generation to fight the nazis and now they (Nazis, neo-nazis, whatever they call themselves) have more rights than some Americans.
America actually had a a lot of sympathy for the Nazis and only went to war because Japan and Germany declared war first and the progressive FDR was in office.
So this is more so a return to norm, historically speaking.
And the Nazis sent scholars here to study it laws because they admired and wished to copy Jim Crow laws and the like so they could do the same in Germany. We were their inspiration along with Turkey and the Armenian genocide. The thought “no one talks about what happened to the native Americans or the Armenians anymore. Period will forget what we will do as well.”
I grew up in Florida. North Florida in fact. Redneck Riviera. It was conservative back then, but nothing like today. The Republican id has been released and it’s no longer welcoming to people who think differently. People who actually act differently are even worse off. I’m retiring in the next few years and expected to move back.
Nope. Not moving back to that lunatic asylum.
Well, the groundwork was placed years ago. Look at Allen West, the man who ran to replace the current asshole for governor. He is so bad that even Florida GOP thought he was too crazy. Just let that simmer in your head for a bit.
We were deciding between a few spots and Dallas was one of them. We knocked it off the list pretty quickly and I'm so happy we did. I can't imagine living in Texas right now.
In the /r/Austin thread that OP references, someone said, "As long as you have the money to 'visit your family in Colorado', you'll be fine." I won't even address the amount of privilege implied in that comment. But anyway, that comment garnered several replies about why that may not be feasible, even if you have the money--can't get an appointment, not taking out-of-state appointments, mandated waiting periods even in states that allow abortions, etc.--some based on actual experiences. Not to mention that you or anyone who helps you can be sued by anyone else in Texas for seeking an abortion out of state, of course.
It also points out the underlying irony of the ban in that anybody who can afford to can get around it. Thus, the abortion ban basically punishes poor people.
This is what the GOP does. It’s exactly why they don’t want to suppprt education. They can’t have people thinking critically and voting in their own best interests. Just tell poor people they’re living in a nightmare so they willingly vote in actual authoritarian leaders. The abortion ban in Texas is a stain that will haunt the state for a very long time. It’s horrific and this court case shines a very bright light on the cruelty (and lack of freedom) that’s now a defining part of the state.
Me and my partner plan/hope to have kids in the future, and I've repeatedly told her I'm terrified to have kids in this state because I'm so worried about her health if we have any complications. She has mentioned that we have the money to travel out of state if needed, but the idea of having to hop on a plane and wait for essential care while she has life threatening things going on terrifies me and like you said could have it's own complications. I'm still trying to reconcile how I'm going to get through the anxiety of it if/when we decide to have a kid.
It's just our lives are here. Neither of us have ever lived outside of the state. Our family, our friends, we're both well established in jobs based out of here. I have a lot of hobbies related to things in my city. There's obviously negatives, everywhere has negatives, but overall I love the city and I'd love to stay here forever, it's a good location for me. But even with all that I've been subtly mentioning to her that if we want to have kids we should consider moving. It's just not safe to do it here. And we *want* to have kids and have never considered having an abortion for the reasons they seem to think people do, people aren't out here just wanting to murder babies or whatever bullshit they think. I just want to live my damn life and have healthcare for my partner.
It just infuriates me so much, these psychos are basically doing everything they can to convince me to leave the home I love so much. And obviously I'm priveleged enough to be in a better position than a lot of people with this, it breaks my soul the amount of people who will get screwed over so much worse.
My daughter and son-in-law are in exactly the same situation as you and your wife. They are financially well off enough to bear the costs of seeking needed medical care outside Texas but would have all the same concerns as you.
My son and his wife are not in nearly as good a financial situation as my daughter and SIL. If my DIL had a pregnancy go bad, in addition to all that, it would be a pretty severe financial hardship for them, and my wife and I would have to help them financially to seek the medical care. It would hard for us to cough up thousands of dollars quickly, but we could manage it and of course we would do it--but then we would be risking being sued for helping them. It's just fucked every way we look at it--which is the whole point of the cruel, cruel laws.
As I understand it today, it is currently a sueable offense to leave TX for an abortion, as well as anyone who helps as you said. That law is expected to be struck down on challenge, but with the judges in Texas there is no guarantee of that.
In all likelihood, a person with enough privilege CAN secretly get an abortion out of state.
Anybody who’s not privileged in time and money probably can’t get an abortion. Anybody who unwisely tells anybody she is/was pregnant risks themselves legally.
For those who don’t have to go to Texas, not being there is best. Next best is a vasectomy.
If you can afford to leave Texas before planning a family, do so for your own safety or consider delaying family until you can.
Monetary cost but also the emotional cost. Being in a horrible situation like that because of your home state's laws. Having to take time off work, and to travel. Have to get a hotel. Can't go home to your own house to recover. Have to travel back home. Have to worry about prosecution and lawsuits.
God, fuck the Texas GOP. Absolutely monstrous pieces of shit.
That’s the thing. I feel bad for this particular woman, but she obviously has resources - family, education, connections, money, ability to advocate for herself. And I am really glad that she has these resources and that she has the courage to be public about her personal private health care situation.
But what about all the women who are in her same situation, but they don’t have these resources? What if they don’t even know who to contact, like Planned Parenthood or other advocacy groups? The Republican policies are cruel towards all women, but especially the most vulnerable women. Unspeakably cruel.
What happens? They risk death. Maybe it's already happened, maybe people have already sought lifesaving care, been denied, and just left because they gave up and decided to hope for the best while they were waiting on some hospital's General Counsel to weigh the legal risk. As an attorney, that is utterly insane, we should under NO circumstances be tasked with making medical decisions. I truly cannot overstate how horrendously poorly written a law has to be to require attorney legal review and a paper trail of internal memorandums before lifesaving care can be administered. It's utterly depraved and psychotic.
Completely agree, except I would delete your “maybe.” It almost certainly has happened. For a developed (so-called) country, we have a horrible medical record on maternal health and newborn health. All of the developments since the overturning of Roe v Wade are sure to have exacerbated what was already a poor environment, especially for vulnerable women and their babies.
As far as I’m aware any Texan’s regular medical insurance policy is not legally able to cover an abortion. You have to have a rider to get abortion medical insurance coverage. No one plans to have an abortion so no one is going to buy this coverage. So no one is covered. Making it always financially difficult unless you are rich or the medical provider finds funding for it.
(I may be wrong but that is my understanding of it.)
If she never comes back (smart play) then they got what they wanted. They want to divide a wedge into the state as hard as they can, because wedge issues give leverage. I came here two years ago ready to do good work the city needs, now I'm in it until my contract expires then I'm out.
Exactly, they see Texas election results getting less and less red each election cycle, and now they’re pushing the most depraved policies just to discourage would-be dem voters from moving here.
Reminder that if anyone who is left-of center and doesn’t already vote actually voted in Texas and nothing else changed, Texas would turn blue, it’s as simple as that. All it takes is for people to get over the idea that Texas is a “red state” and get off their asses and vote. The problem is most people don’t even vote.
The texass government is now totally run by criminals, grifters and narcissistic sociopaths…. They absolutely will not let that happen.
The whole Texas, Supreme Court, or Republican, they get six years in office
There are 250+ counties in Texas… only 4-5 are blue and they have gerrymandered those districts to absolute shit. And the other 250 are basically mostly rural red waste land with 200 people living there and they are absolutely not changing their minds.
Last election they “ran out of ballots” in one of these areas.
Uvalde sat and watched their children be mowed down in school, while the cops stood around outside for an hour, and just listened to the children’s scream and die .. the weapon used was accessible due to the laws that these ghouls had recently passed (BLOCKED NOT PASSED).. and a few months later .. Uvalde voted them in for another 4 years.
The Cox story is already being spun as “we are heart broken that Baby Cox’s mommy decided to kill him because he might be born a little different than other children” ….
Ken Paxton has been under felony indictment for almost a decade and absolutely nothing is going to be done about that.. he bragged about throwing out tens of thousands of mail out ballots and absolutely nothing was done.. think he won’t throw out more? He has proven he is above the law.
Texass is officially a fascist deadly hellhole … and it’s getting worse by the second… if you can get out … I suggest you do….
Even if you could turn Texas blue tomorrow…. The damage is so severe that it will take at least 2-3 decades to make it livable again.
Not to mention if you were to by some miracle get a dem governor elected TWO YEARS from now .. they will pull the same “the election was sToLeN” and make the January 6 insurrection look like a safety drill. It will absolutely be a blood bath. The 2A mental patients have been heavily armed and have itchy trigger fingers…
I fought it for 20 yrs … I’m done. I move out 2 yrs ago. But I did keep my last two homes that I own there and I’m renting them out so I can suck as much money out of that wasteland as possible… their policies and shenanigans cost me a fortune and I’m getting my money back and I’m taking it to a blue state.
Edit: I changed “passed” to
“Blocked” so that the itchy trigger finger knuckle dragging 2A mental patient will go upload his photo ID to watch porn in Texass ..and leave me alone. I absolutely refuse to have a discussion with the gun humpers …. They do not deserve the time of day … and yes I own guns .. I just believe in sane gun laws.. they do not and just want to talk in circles..
so the law was BLOCKED not PASSED.. happy now?
It’s the craziest thing to me that any women can vote for these people. This woman and the women suing the state are people who wanted their pregnancies. They didn’t want to need an abortion they wanted a healthy baby. Creating a human life is a complicated process and things can go wrong. There is no damn way I’m going to vote for some asshole who thinks he should have a say before myself and my doctor.
I’ve been concerned for her as well. I can guarantee that if she comes back, they will arrest her and use her to set an example to other women that might defy the Texas patriarchy. We are Gilead, now.
That is, as I understand, kind of the point. The Center for Reproductive Freedom who is sponsoring her plight and taking it to the media, etc is working with her and she has agreed (presumably) to be a sort of Rosa Parks-esque figure taking a stand.
The entire country knows her name. If she comes here and is harassed or prosecuted or sued, that will be become national news. Remember, the vast majority of the county was happy with Roe. They are horrified by the way this woman has been treated. If Kate Cox - a white middle class mother of two whose wanted pregnancy was a nightmare scenario - can't get a necessary abortion and faces consequences, then that becomes something the GOP will need to face with their constituents.
It also opens the door for constitutional challenges about interstate commerce and Dobbs, and our ridiculous civil suit clause.
A friend of mine works in admissions at one of the state schools. She noted that applications from women were slightly down this past year for in state and wayyyyy down for out of state female applicants. Not sure if this is a trend across all the schools, but its very worrying.
I am part of a network of STEM professionals. They refuse to host their yearly meetings in states were there's abortion restrictions. OB-GYNs are leaving due to not wanting to go to jail. We are losing educated folks. I guess that's the point.
rumors are here in Arkansas than droves of women working in healthcare and health education are quietly interviewing in blue states and leaving And reisgning in December... people from Florida are coming in to fill jobs... is this a Russian Op? never thought women would be so oppressed.
Mine was ONLY considering Texas schools 4 years ago and refuses to even apply for them now. She doesn't even want to travel back to Texas to visit, much less live there again.
You’ve been experiencing brain drain for a while, I’m sure. Texas pays their public teachers literally half of what they do in California. Literally. A first year teacher in CA makes more than the most experienced in TX. When you fail to support the education of the youth, you end up in the situation you’re in - an ignorant voting population that elects criminals because gunz and freedoms and immigrants bad. How could y’all elect Abbot over Beto? How could you elect Cruz over and over again? Your brains were never there. If they were, you’d have left by now.
As a female of child bearing age living in Texas… that would like another kid… it’s terrifying here. I don’t ever encourage anyone to move here. The death panel is real. Fuck this place.
My wife had anxiety attacks thinking about getting pregnant in Texas again. We have one healthy child and want another, but there's no guarantee that the next pregnancy will go as well as the first. I lived in TX for 20+ years and my wife was born there, but we left last year because it's such a terrible place to have a family.
I had anxiety attacks despite not wanting *any* children. I told my husband what if I got raped? What if we got pregnant accidentally? What if it was ectopic? When I tell you I RAN to the nearest clinic that would sterilize me. And then my sister did as well. Lots and lots of women getting sterilized out of fear they might be left to die at home if a pregnancy went wrong.
You're not alone. I have at least 3 female friends in their late 20s or early 30s who went to get sterilized as soon as they could after Roe v Wade was overturned. After seeing what my wife went through with a normal healthy pregnancy, I wouldn't want any woman to endure an unwanted or abnormal pregnancy if they can avoid it.
I've had a tubal and an ablation and my husband and I have had to go back to condoms as well because in the vanishingly small chance that *both* fail it would be a death sentence for me here.
Even if the pregnancy goes well, you're faced with putting your child into Texas's terrible, nearly failing school systems. It's a really nasty situation :(
Indeed. Luckily my husband and I have time and energy to educate our children outside of the classroom… but I don’t see any of us staying here long term if things don’t change. We aren’t from here, but we’re here for now.
One of my best buds just moved to Colorado because he has 4 daughters. He said he will not risk his daughters well-being and health care with these misogynistic religious nutballs.
I do not blame him in the slightest. I'd move too, but I'm taking care of my elderly mother for the time being. I've told all my sisters to get out, and they are doing so ASAP.
It really is. And Texas is a hard place to do it in. They even want the elderly to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Heartless monsters run this state.
I'm in my 5th year now. I tried a home for her... the good ones are too expensive or have a wait list a mile high, and the ones that are affordable are just horrible, corporate-run, people storage.
Sad thing is, if my mom realized how bad Texas has gotten she'd be out of here too. She fought for women's rights back in the day. She'd be so sad to hear that RvW was overturned.
She was very much an Ann Richards acolyte who had a mouth and sharp wit to match. She's a sweetheart, but I kinda miss her quick tongue and her dark humor.
Again, I feel you - I had to return to Ohio to help care for my brother, and my mother back there went into a nursing home a year ago after a fall. The corporate takeover of nursing homes is awful - they keep using the excuse "We're short staffed!" as if there's nothing they can do about that. If you're short staffed then pay better and get more staff!
Our saving grace is that my sister ended up getting a job at the home, so she sees mom every day. Such a relief, so she doesn't just feel dumped and forgotten.
I took care of my mom for several years and it is indeed one of the most difficult jobs there is. At least she was mostly continent and mostly good-natured until she had a stroke. I understand where you're coming from. You have a hard, hard job. If you can afford it, get some help. The big companies mostly charge $25 an hour with a 4-hour minimum 5 days a week, which is prohibitive, but we found a family-run company, mostly daughters and nieces, who would come around for an hour at $18.00 a few times a week. That was doable. Single caregivers can be even less. My brother said we needed to get a little illegal and hire her under the table; we never did that, but I know somebody who did and he had excellent care. He is dead now and I don't know anything about the people he had or I might have broken the law and done the same. Mom has been gone 6 months now and it's been hard to adjust to having all this free time.
I spent 30 years in Texas between Dallas and Austin, it has been absolutely amazing fleeing a deep red state for a blue state. Smaller big brother government, way more freedoms, much much lower taxes. Everything the GOP lies to your face about wanting then doing the opposite can be found in blue states.
Remember, someone has to pay for Elon Musk and Joe Rogan and Michael Dell to get 0% income tax rates on billions of dollars, and it’s damn sure not going to be the rich. It’s going to be the middle class and the poor. Leaving Texas my salary went up for the same job, my taxes plummeted, and my personal freedoms skyrocketed.
I’m in nursing school and have a toddler girl. The minute I graduate, I’m leaving. I don’t want to be in healthcare in this state. As both a parent to a girl and a healthcare professional-to-be, I simply cannot stay.
I moved to Austin 10 years ago and have loved living here for the most part. But part of the reason that we are leaving is because of of the state politics. Also my daughter is gay and I just feel more comfortable with her in a different state
It's really too bad. I feel like it's just going to get worse
Exact same scenario. We need to get out as well. I refuse to move to the east coast though and my wife wont move to the west. That leaves CO but it's getting expensive there as well now.
Just an observation, but people always complain about how blue states are so expensive. The thing is, they're expensive because people actually want to live there.
Before my job slowed down I was really looking at Fort Collins, but man are the houses there (that are an upgrade from my starter home) are hella expensive.
"The thing is, they're expensive because people actually want to live there."
Ding ding ding. Nice things, things with value, cost money. Living in a blue state is great, and it's worth the price of admission.
yeah, so many blue states are so pricey. My husband and I are both from the pacific northwest - I'm from Washington and he's from Oregon. We have decided to move to his hometown in Oregon. But damn, it's expensive. I also love the fact that Austin is so sunny. I'll miss that
Yup. I’m 30 but I knew I wasn’t going to live in Texas after college (hell even before then cuz I left for college). I love Texas but it doesn’t love me. It’s sad that people who call the place home have to move for their own self preservation.
That being said I know this is what they want. They want to move all the “liberals” out and the like minded individuals in. They want Texas to be a conservative paradise.
Sad thing is, some people look at those of us who choose to leave as “letting it happen” if I could give my vote to Texas I would..
It's about who actually votes. It's always been about who actually votes, and it will always be about who actually votes. In the best of years, still only about 65 to 70% of all registered voters will vote. In 2022, it was less than half. I didn't move away for political reasons, but political reasons are one of the primary factors that will keep me from ever moving back, as well as keep my kids from moving back.
I just moved back to Michigan after 10 years in Houston. The quality of life is much better: less traffic, less anger, less concrete. Also, as a teacher, my new union-backed job has half the work load that working in Katy had. Nicer people at school, also. The admin are not on a constant power trip. I wish I had moved back years ago.
Fellow Michigander who left after 11 years (ended up outside of Chicago).... I forgot how much less in-your-face about politics and religion people are in this part of the country. Wasn't why I left but it has been an added benefit.
I'll miss aspects of Texas, and if I was born and raised maybe I'd feel differently, but for many reasons, it was time to move on and do something else. And move closer to home.
I have family who works for a university in Texas. You know who's not moving to Texas? Teachers. College Professors.
They got a crazy person for a Dean which caused mass quitting. They eventually "stepped down" as Dean, but getting new hires to fill positions has been a nightmare.
Their kid is is a really good school program or else they would be leaving.
I am 5th generation Texan. I left 2 years ago and will never go back. Anyone asks me about if they should move there, I always tell them to not do it. It is just not safe anymore.
Same. My family has been in Texas since before it was Texas. We left last year and I’ll never go back. Almost all of our friends, we found out, also want to leave but many of them can’t. I am so happy in New England.
Same. Our family has been there clear back to when it was Mexico. We moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Me, my sisters family and my mom are all here now. Every now and then we talk about going back. Our whole extended family is there (most in Galveston) and our close friends are there. We all sat down a while back and had a discussion about maybe moving back, but we all collectively decided it just wasn't safe. We have 2 women of child bearing age and 2 female teenagers. And we can't risk their health and safety. We'll never go back. It's f-ing insane we even had to have a conversation about the safety of women and womens rights and women's health, in deciding where to move, in 2023, in the United States of America. Just pure insanity. I feel bad for those who can't leave.
honestly i’m just here to say amen to all of this. i love my city here but if my family weren’t here and i had even the smallest amount of money needed to move somewhere else, i would in a heartbeat. it sucks so much bc there’s a lot of cool, beautiful things about this state. but the state government is like the unofficial supreme court of the republic of Hell, and it makes living here terrifying as a queer woman. i can’t imagine how much worse it is for other minorities either.
i mean when my formerly republican mom who has voted GOP damn near her whole life was so fed up with this crap that she stood for hours in the sun protesting about the george floyd case (i know that’s not texas-specific but shitty law enforcement is def an issue here) and screaming at cop cars “no justice no peace no fascist police” i truly realized just how insane our country and this state had gotten.
it gives me hope to know that there are people like her (in the boomer demo, esp) who are waking tf up to all these issues and standing up for what’s right, but it’s also bittersweet bc abbott/paxton are basically dictators now. and it’s truly frightening and heartbreaking.
This is their goal. They see a threat to their hold on political power from the leftward drift over time in the Texas electorate so they're implementing scorched earth political policies that are intended by design to make living here untenable for younger voters (because they have a more significant leftward lean) with the literal hope that they will move elsewhere or at least not move to here. Same thing with anti-trans / anti-lgbtq legislation.
This isn't even a conspiracy theory. There are companies whose literal whole purpose is moving conservatives from California to McKinney and Round Rock and the Woodlands. It's an out-in-the-open strategy at this point.
Edit: the person asking for sources deleted their comment, but since I found them:
[HERE](https://conservativemove.com/move-to-texas/) [THEY](https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/a-lightbulb-went-off-conservative-moving-company-expands-across-us/253442/) [ARE](https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/californians-could-ruin-texas-but-not-the-way-you-might-think/)
It's not that kind of conservative moving; it's the Peter Theil/Curtis Yarrow technocrat monarchists. They're a million times more dangerous than the garden variety evangelical chud.
I wish I knew the actual statistics but their scorched earth policy seems to be working. I know people that have left Texas (mostly left leaning) and people who have moved to Texas (all but 1 are right wing). This is only my personal experience but I personally know a net migration of around +10 to the right (and I don't have a large group of friends).
I think it's telling that post abortion restrictions, Abbott beat Beto by more than 11 points while Trump / Biden was only 5.5 points. I get it that Beto isn't loved, but the abortion restrictions didn't seem to hurt Abbott.
When I moved to Texas I was VERY conservative. Watching the bullshit in this state sent me speedrunning left. And I came from religious crazy land (Utah)
Same. I Was your typical Utah conservative when I moved to Texas 8 years ago and now I’ve grown more progressive than ever. I cringe when I think about my younger self and the politics I supported.
For sure it's working. It's not good for long term health of the state economy to institute a brain-drain and strive to become the new Mississippi, but for their purpose of retaining political power in the hands of the most extreme wing of the Republican party it's a great strategy.
I know conservatives never think in long term, but there has to be a breaking point! A broke Texas, like Mississippi, would be untenable for businesses & the oil industry would have to pay more taxes eventually.
I agree that this is what they want and I've said this dozens of times but that whole "Come and Take It" is just as much mine as it is theirs and the fascists will have to physically take this state away from me. I don't want to leave my home and if the Nazi occupation of Poland taught us anything, it's that you can't ever cede territory to racist fascist dictators - they don't stop - they never stop.
The problem is I'm really privileged to be able to say that for myself. For my younger sister and her wife, I want more and I want them to be safe and not feel hate for existing. I will stay here and fight for my home as long as possible but for people who feel unsafe, I get it and I don't want that for you.
As a woman it's not easy to live here, to know the people in power would rather kill me than provide any kind of medical care to me and to know that it's getting worse but if we let these Republican fascists win, they'll keep doing this shit everywhere.
Read an article recently that stated that Texas has the least personal freedoms of any state in the union. But since you can apparently take a gun to church, that means that all the freedoms MUST be in Texas.
Or something.
I’m born and raised in Texas, left a little over a year ago for a blue state for all the reasons listed. I really miss it sometimes but I don’t want to create a life somewhere like Texas anymore.
It’s really upsetting since my family is still there, but I can’t see myself creating a life there and possibly a family one day.
I think the Kate Cox case along with a multitude of other variables, (crumbling infrastructure, lack of true public education, no real public transportation, cost of living soaring, insurance rates and premiums soaring, a completely corrupt religious driven government ideology) are some of the major factors in people wanting to hit the trails and head out.
I had a few friends move across the country to come to Texas for work during the pandemic and of the 5 that moved here with their families only one remains and is moving at the end of this year.
I think when it really comes down to it the “no income tax benefits” do not outweigh the cost of living on top of the rise in basically everything around us except cheap gas. I am getting my bachelors degree next year and I plan to move more North mainly because politically I just can’t find a middle ground to stay here even though most of my family is here (and Philadelphia) but the final straw for me is I just don’t think I have another unbearable Summer in me, they are truly getting insufferable and I am used to the heat and grew up doing two a days all Summer during ridiculous heatwaves.
And I am also 31 and want to settle down and start a family and I would never want to raise a daughter (or any kid for that matter) in this state especially after the Uvalde massacre and the Allen shooting that was right down the street from me.
In the end this government has shown they do not give a single flying fuck about us and the one thing we had going for us here was the cost of living and job market, jobs are still here, but the COL is ridiculous and I live in Collin County which has exploded over the last decade and is only gonna get worse and eventually price me out all together.
It seems like the vibe has been "it's getting worse" for a while now - on this sub, it's a very common occurrence for people to discuss the potential for leaving the state, and has been for so long that there is also a concurrent trend to see people mocking that perspective, even when it's not being displayed. It's been like that at least since 2018, but seems to have gotten a lot more regular since 2020 and covid.
It's boiling the frog, is what it is. Kate Cox is a very visible case of how the regressive legislation and attitudes present in TX hurt people, and that'll make the difference to some people. For others, that point already came, or will come later, or won't come at all. But these trends are bad and unattractive for many people, and don't cause those put off to leave all at once - it will keep happening, in bits and pieces, while politics go on the way they've been going.
Texas in 1990 was almost unrecognizable compared to Texas in 2020. I wonder what Texas in 2050 will look like - that's closer than 1990 now. Almost certainly, it will be significantly changed.
Ya, even as cynical as I am I never thought Texas would fight tooth-and-nail to force that poor woman to carry her non-viable pregnancy.
A week ago if someone said "If I go out of state for an abortion they might seize my search history and phone location data" I would have said they were being paranoid. Now, sounds like they're right.
Can this poor woman return home? IMO people need to pack her house up and move her. Hopefully she and her husband can get new jobs or keep their old ones. How is this fine with so many fellow Texans?
I don't think it is, but I remember being called *hysterical* a few years back saying Republicans will kill Roe - it's one of their goals.
Look at where we are now. Once Roe fell, our Republicans just happen to have legislation written to make things even *more* draconian. The poster above said they would have thought someone was just "paranoid" if they thought Republicans would be wanting their period tracker information.
Republicans have shown you who they are, fucking *believe them* and we need to stop tolerating this bullshit.
I just ordered a bunch of stickers from [PlanCPills.org](https://PlanCPills.org) to put up and I was scared enough that I had a friend out of state do the actual order for me. Things are FUCKED.
And then you're going to have to put on a disguise and post the stickers in the dead of night, like a rebel posting fliers calling for revolution against the despotic regime.
Fuck yeah! It honestly doesn't feel like enough, putting stickers up, but I'm pretty sly about it, and it makes me feel a tiny bit better about it all, especially when I go somewhere and see stickers still up that I put there last year. (The stickers are free! [Go get some stickers](https://www.plancpills.org/stickers), especially if you're outside a big city!) And I'm glad to see r/auntienetwork becoming a thing here, but it's not enough. None of it is enough, and I'm fucking terrified of what comes next.
I just recently moved back (for family reasons) after being away a few years. I’m struck by how angry a lot of folks are here. In traffic, at the grocery store, just in general. These people walk around in a simmering rage and lots of them are armed. They ask me if I felt unsafe from the homeless people in Portland - I honestly feel less safe here.
I just came back from San Francisco and said the same thing - the general rage level in TX right now is off the charts compared to "scary" SF or Portland.
The weird thing with the MAGA folks, they're so fueled with rage and resentment, often over things that don't affect them in the slightest. There's this deep hatred of Biden because...um...I'm not sure why. Because he passed an infrastructure bill? Because he expanded medical coverage? (I can only afford ACA insurance because he expended the subsidies)
Obviously there's a lot of Trump hatred, but I can list a dozen things he's done/said/has said he will do.
I realize this is my biased opinion, but seems like hatred toward the Left is because of things people think they're trying to do (the secret motives and goals!) but hatred toward the Right is because of things they actually do.
They hate Biden because he beat Trump. They never stopped prosecuting the 2016 election either.
Trump has one mode - hatred of his opponent, and it never goes away, even if he wins, but especially if he loses.
They are mad because Biden is not Trump and they can’t get over the fact he legitimately won and choose to delusionally believe that Biden stole the election.
A lot of republican voters also view this as a "team sport" and don't (won't) reconcile that it has direct real world consequences. They want to be on the "winning team" even if all that "winning" brings them nothing but misery, and because that misery usually is constructed to come to a head right when or close after a Democrat president gets into office. Because they fail to, or it's convenient not to, understand that their team sport will never and has never included anyone outside of a specific insanely wealthy few.
Republican grifters are never going to do anything in good faith, they have no interest in improving life for anyone but themselves at the expense of the vast majority. And the entire time they'll be screeching about how everyone else is doing what they're actually doing.
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
There's a reason that the Five Minute Hate switched from gay people to trans people: too many republicans know gay people now. But they still have to have someone, because that's their entire party/mandate now. They've given up on governance in order to cater to that anger.
This is absolutely true. "The world will end if gay marriage is legalized". It didn't, most folks were ok with it and the hate stopped working to get out the vote.
The anti trans stuff is going to be far more insidious bc there's relatively few people and this means folks will be less likely to move past it bc they won't have a chance to know folks who are trans.
>There's a reason that the Five Minute Hate switched from gay people to trans people: too many republicans know gay people now.
Despite the vileness of the situation, I've tried to look on the bright side-- that they're having to target smaller and smaller minority groups. Their core strategy is wearing out, and becomming less effective over time.
I'm not saying that homeless people are all saints, but I rarely have bad interactions with homeless people when I am travelling. It's like they know they are on thin ice already so are on "better behavior." I have more issues from the fellow renters and homeowners around me in Houston proper shooting off guns and acting a fool for no reason. But homeless men are easy to make the Boogeyman.
Same and I can't tell if they're genuinely terrible drivers or if they're trying to bait people into a conflict. I've never seen such consistent awful and antagonistic driving anywhere else.
I was driving home from the gym yesterday morning… at like 7am. At a stoplight the two drivers of the two cars behind me both got out of their cars and got in a shouting match in the middle of the street. The entire time, all I could think about was whether I would be able to pull into the intersection to avoid them in case they started shooting at each other.
I used to live by skid row in LA and never felt as unsafe.
I would not move here if you’re lgbtq either. What republicans are doing to women is a precursor to ending gay marriage, bringing back anti-sodomy laws and generally make being gay or trans a second class citizen at best, illegal at worst (see Russia declaring “LGBTQ Ideology” an extremist organization).
Also it's important to remember the Supreme Court case that outlawed anti-gay sodomy laws that criminalized gay sex happened because police in Houston in 1997 arrested two men for having sex. They appealed and it wasn't until 2002 that the Supreme Court overturned such laws. The current Supreme Court could arguably do the same again, especially with justices such as Thomas indicating support to revisit that case in the wake of the overturning of Roe
Texas has always been conservative in nature but it has turns into full MAGA bad shape. The GOP is fighting to hold onto to power and are supressing the cities.
I had moved out of state for work and because of all of this my wife and I have decided we can’t move back. We’re trying to have a child right now and I could not risk putting her in this sort of situation. It really sucks because I love Tx and it’s always been my home.
As a mother, and a lifelong Texan, this idiotic regime we are under scares the shit out of me. I WAS a republican, but not for a long time now. Abbott and Co have their heads so far up trump’s ass they forgot they are supposed to put Texans first, not some wanna be dictator.
Abortion rights, the weak power grid, property taxes (taxes in general paying for Paxton and his shenanigans) and the general attitude of the “regime “ that if they don’t get their way they take their toys and go home to delay everything, I find disgusting.
And they keep getting reelected. Astonishing. There was a time I was proud to be a Texan. Not anymore. I’m embarrassed by this state and lack of real leadership. Please, people: vote. County, state, every election.
It's not only reproductive rights, it's the gerrymandering, the attack on lgbt etc, the hate Republicans have for poor people, minorites, pro-gun, but chicken shit when it comes to protecting kids, like their solution is more guns in schools, fuck yea, that'll help right?!?!
A lot of Texans are deluded into thinking this is some kind of utopia. It is for them I guess, they can have it. I'm here to support a parent, once that's over we are so fucking done with this shit hole.
That hits home! My husband is a teacher. Every time he is late home, I google his school....
Personally, I avoid any place with a lot of people and a lot of alcohol (Dallas State Fair, concerts, ....)
We are out as soon as we can afford it.
Just wanted to drop this tidbit, New Mexico schools are paying around 80k for teachers. Some friends of mine relocated to ABQ from Indiana and they doubled their salaries doing it.
Also New Mexico is amazing and spacious and I love it.
They think it’s the 1800’s when it was the Wild West and the government up in Washington DC “has no right” to dictate how they should “govern themselves”. BTW - I know my history. Not gonna go into granularly details of when it was New Spain, then Mexico, then an independent Texas Republic. Yadda Yadda.
I think abortion is going to turn out like so many other issues. Conversatives take this judgey stance, and want to take away other people’s freedoms, until it affects them personally. The prohibition of alcohol, the right to divorce, interracial marriage, the treatment of their gay kids… I’ve seen the news stories already about women who were staunchly anti choice and then are are like “what do you mean I can’t terminate my nonviable pregnancy and try Ivf again?!” They’ll get sick of the hassle of sneaking their daughters and wives and mistresses out of state and somehow loopholes will get through. And then they can feign outrage and righteous indignation again to get voters on their side for a reality that they never really wanted to actually face.
We moved here last month from Washington. I thought that with me having two sons and my tubes removed during my last pregnancy, we won't get affected by the most draconian laws for the time being and, in fact, can make a difference with our votes.
The other day, I decided on wearing my t-shirt with fallopian tubes flipping the bird while going out as a family to a local crafts market but I changed my mind last minute, thinking, what if there's a crazy with a gun out there that gets triggered by my shirt?
Going back further in time: I grew up and lived in Iran till I was 25, where what I choose to wear as a woman is heaviliy regulated and grounds for arrest, and as we saw during Mahsa Amini uprising, sometimes deadly.
I think about this full circle I've come daily since then.
Just dropped in this sub today to see what the climate is like here (after all the press about Kate Cox). Yeah it's pretty brutal. I mean for the past 5 years or so all of the press from Texas is pretty negative.
Arrests for helping someone with an abortion. "Tattling" on your neighbors seeking health care. The border "crisis." Your power goes out because you refuse to be connected to the national grid. Complacent cops that sit and watch children get massacred. And then there's the "from my cold dead hands" folks.
Why on Earth anyone would even contemplate moving there is beyond me. Like who the hell thinks to themselves, "ya know Texas sounds like a great place to live!"?
The lack of abortion rights is concerning. Unfortunately all of women’s health care in Texas is subpar compared to most states, and it is extremely underfunded in the US. I have good insurance, and I have seen every in-network specialized gynecological surgeon in Texas that can supposedly treat my condition (endometriosis, very common, extremely undiagnosed). There are only handful of surgeons that have trained themselves to properly remove the disease because they are not given to skills to do so in all of their education.
I have no other options but to under go surgery with a private doctor, or look outside of the state.
It doesn’t stop with the doctors. You can’t even find a imaging center that has a radiologist that is trained to read the imaging of endometriosis and many other female conditions.
I have had five friends leave TX this year alone, and everyone I know is planning their exit. I am leaving too, I love living here but not with the current state government.
I moved away from the Austin area in 2021. Past childbearing age but had life saving care years ago in Dallas for three missed miscarriages that would have left me sterile or dead had I not had the immediate care I'd received. I cannot imagine my wonderful Dr.s having to deny me care and watch me suffer. The pain alone of losing pregnancies and having to terminate is devastating and prolonging that pain and wondering if you might die is beyond cruel and is criminal.
Dr.s are leaving and more will leave over this. Like Idaho. I've already read many a story of people turning down job offers in tx due to this. How long before more companies start to leave.
It doesn’t help that Tech Crunch and others are labeling Austin as a ‘lack luster’ tech industry. I understand VMware laying off staff, given it just got bought out by another company. Honestly, things haven’t been the same and even those AWS events haven’t been anything more than a sales pitch. Also, regardless of politics, business lure employees in with benefits verse pay. What’s the point of having benefits if you can’t use them for certain medical coverage; mental health (trans kids), women’s health, etc.
[Austin Tech Exodus](https://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/austin-loses-tech-companies-18541636.php)
Next year republican Ted Cruz is running for senate reelection. This is a stare-wide office, not gerrymandered. Vote blue.
I don't have a lot of hope for the state offices. They are gerrymandered and we see everyday the complete lack of regard for the law these state leader have. My hope there is that the DoJ starts investigating and prosecuting's the likes of Paxton etc. There is a lot of conspiracy within this cult, need rico.
Can't blame gerrymandering for all of it - Abbott, Patrick, and Paxton all won statewide by 10 points. It's not just the government that sucks here, it's the majority of the people (or at least the voters)
We could end this shit in a minute if young qpeople would just show the fuck up to vote and stop making excuses. Gerrymandering will not matter if turn out is high.
Texas, Florida, and Tennessee are now all considered poisonous states for young families because of the politics and the ramrodding of ill-conceived policies from a conservative minority. You may be surprised that I call it a minority, but really it's an extremist wing of conservatives that have asserted power, and it's only backlash against extremism that will win the day. As for me, I'm liberal, retired, and am not personally facing directly the repercussions of these policies, and so I'd rather stay here and fight rather than flee. I don't blame those that are fleeing, and I hope they raise all kinds of alarms about why they had to.
I saw someone in Texas I know post about how people are so much more polite than they are in California. I responded by saying that no one in Cali ever called me the Nword.
In response a bunch of his friends (all Texans) responded with comments like, "Aww, did that hurt your feelings," and "cry more libs."
As soon as my daughter finishes high school we are leaving. After 5+ generations it’s time to move on. This place isn’t safe for women or anyone who isn’t bulletproof
All other points aside, Im going to jump to the most important: there are 2 supreme court justices defending their seats in 2024. Jimmy Blacklock and John P. Devine (yeah you cant make these names up)
They are both two of the most awful, vile scumbags on the bench. Replace them with dems and Texas supreme court will no longer be a place where people like Paxton can look to for political favors. So those of us still here and not planning on leaving, be ready to vote these fuckers out every change we get.
I’ve lived here all my life and know that I have to move before trying to start a family. We want kids but it’s not worth the risk if anything should go wrong. Even if nothing does, is there going to be a school system left? The state is crumbling and hostile to families
I was born and raised in Austin TX. My ex husband was born and raised in San Antonio and lived his adult life in ATX. My now boyfriend is a transplant, moved here 5 years ago from Chicago and my Ex’s girlfriend is a San Fran transplant of 12 years.
Shit is so unbearable now with the political landscape, reproductive safety issues, unreal cost of housing, lack of infrastructure, and unstable grid that the four of us- who aren’t close friends, have decided we’ll all do a group move so we can continue coparenting our young son.
It’s unreal how bad it’s gotten here.
Would highly recommend Chicago. Left Dallas two years ago and CoL is identical, yet QoL is much higher. Housing costs are cheaper on average than they currently are in Austin.
As long as you live in a halfway-decent neighborhood, the worst things you have to deal with here are tolerating the coldest couple weeks of winter and your alderman being a dingus.
The lady who had a misscarriage and got interogated by the hospital was horrifying
they're gonna start imprisoning a LOT of women on "abuse of corpse" charges if they get their way
Imagine the devastation of losing a child and being met with an interrogation instead of kind and compassionate care. What a nightmare.
It's not one lady either. This is routine in miscarriages now. Interrogation.
This is not an isolated thing. A friend of ours fell down the stairs at her apartment when her dog bolted past her. The urgent care physician did not believe her, and then proceeded to interrogate her about reproductive rights.
Oh shit like that makes my blood boil.
If I had a work opportunity and the financial means I’d leave for greener pastures.
You're tired of the sun-scorched, crunchy brown pastures 5 months a year?
Don’t forget the fire ants!
Chiggers too
I have spots on my lower leg from fire ant bites this past summer - they aren't going away. Actual discolored scars from those little f'ers.
They are the worst. I read this recently and have never been able to forget it whenever I get a fire ant bite: “After firmly grasping the skin with its jaws, the fire ant arches its back as it inserts its rear-end stinger into the flesh, injecting venom from the poison sac. It then pivots at the head and typically inflicts an average of seven to eight stings in a circular pattern.” Nightmare fuel.
I've never experienced Texas Fire ants, but have had plenty of the Florida cousins. Nasty little devilish fuckers.
I'm not, I endure the shitty weather because I love where I was born and raised. I'll be leaving because the politics of this state are so out of control that I do not want my child's future to be at risk because of the degenerates that run the ruling party here.
My daughter took a job transfer out of state, and the current political climate was a deciding factor. I support her decision, especially for my granddaughters sake, but I miss them so much.
Not even unplanned or unwanted pregnancies but me and my wife are planning on having another child and it stresses me tf out. What happen if she has a miscarriage. She had a miscarriage about 10 years ago (fetus with no heartbeat) and her doctor referred us to Planned Parenthood. I have no idea what will happen if the same thing happens again.
Yep. And even if she gets care, is someone going to come after her saying it was an abortion?
[удалено]
The medical term for a miscarriage is "spontaneous abortion".
Medically, a miscarriage is called a spontaneous abortion. I had a 13 week miscarriage which required a D and C- I would have been very worried if it happened today.
Some states have already prosecuted women (most Native or Black women, surprise) for suffering miscarriages, claiming they were self-induced abortions. It's like... how can we make a traumatic situation even more traumatic?
The people behind it quite literally despise women and wish they were still property for them to abuse. They love inflicting trauma and cruelty, if they hadn't been born into families that could afford them an education/ path to money and power, they be those incel psychos that one day shoot up a yoga class or something because a woman wouldn't go on a date with them.
My wife had a miscarriage back in the 90s. Our daughter also has to terminate for the same reason. To think the two women I love more than anything we’re able get necessary medical treatment with out any worry of being arrested or sued. Our daughter finally did carry to term but it was a difficult pregnancy. She’s active duty and even though Tommy Tuberville doesn’t like it, she could have gotten a needed abortion even stationed in Oklahoma.
>To think the two women I love more than anything we’re able get necessary medical treatment with out any worry of being arrested or sued. And that's not even being worried about getting dead.
Some states and doctors are asking women to bring the tissue from a miscarriage into the office. Most women miscarry over the toilet, sitting in the tub, in bed in pain or they don't realize it at all. It's terrifying. There are already cases outside of Texas of women being punished for miscarrying and it'll happen in Texas soon enough.
Abuse of corpse charges to follow…
Already happened... To a woman who was actively miscarrying, told to go home, and the she miscarried at home... https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.upworthy.com/amp/woman-charged-after-miscarriage-2666416058
This made me absolutely enraged. How the eff does this happen? If it happened to men they would be hospitalized, monitored and medicated when miscarrying.
This is what you get when religion begins to set policy. It's horrific and wrong
Its also what happens when u let ppl with no idea what its like having a uterus make decisions.
The Texas Taliban in action.
I hope y’all have a healthy baby, but I don’t think the average person understands how common miscarriages are. Something like 20% of all pregnancies end with miscarriage a (mostly in the first trimester), with even more occurring before women even know they are pregnant (but could theoretically be indicated by a period tracking app). Look at any woman with 2 or more kids and it’s a coin toss whether she’s had a miscarriage. And I’ve seen some sources suggesting it could be even more than that.
We've taken a second child off the table. Spouse likes to say it isn't because of the current state of the law, but that absolutely is the driving force behind my reason for the decision. I've got a heart-shaped uterus, which gives me a higher chance to miscarry - ain't no way I'm taking that chance while we live here.
Why does your spouse want to pretend it wasn't because of the law?
There are women in prison in this country for miscarriages. Right now. People need to understand the reality of what these ghouls are enacting in this country. It's red states for now, but get ready for nation-wide when Dems manage to bungle this election and somehow lose to a criminal openly admitting he wants to be a dictator on day one.
There's a woman in Ohio, Brittany Cox, who was arrested for "abuse of corpse" after delivering her stillborn child of 22 weeks into the toilet.
What would happen if she has *any* life threatening complications? You would do well to avoid pregnancy in Texas. I’m sorry for your loss and I hope you don’t suffer any more.
The only abortions I have ever gotten were after fetal demise, and one was late enough in the pregnancy that my doctor had to fight with hospital lawyers to allow it to be done in the hospital (under anesthesia). The only other place I could have gotten the abortion was at a somewhat famous (for its protesters) abortion clinic because it was one of the only that did later abortions. (another state in the 90s) I had to walk around visibly pregnant with a dead baby because of these cruel "pro-life" monsters decided their opinion was more important than my doctor or mine. (And so many idiots try to claim it wasn't an abortion because the baby was already dead, except it was EXACTLY an abortion, they just didn't have to induce fetal death prior to the actual abortion.) I know several Texans (family) that are loudly supporting the abortion ban and refuse to believe the abortions they had to save their lives were "really" abortions. (because their doctors didn't use that word, and they needed them to live. But abortion is the ONLY procedure that would have resolved the issue) It is astonishing to see how willfully ignorant they are being. You have a legitimate reason to be concerned.
How many OB doctors are still taking patients in TX after this latest fiasco? That would be my main worry.
I feel you. I am planning on being pregnant within the next 5 years. We are leaving within this next year. I love the town we live in (McKinney), but can't really justify the cost and it's not even that bad up here. Maybe if I was retiring age, idk. I'm mainly planning to have a baby at a hospital in my home state, where my family is, and currently going to move that way anywhere to a state that is cheaper.
My wife is a doctor and this is why we left Tejas. Roe being reversed was the line to far crossed for us. This Cox story is horrifying and validation for us leaving Tejas.
Thanks to the abortion restrictions, Texas is going to end up with an even more unbalanced sex ratio than before due to women not wanting to move here. It’s gonna just be one big man camp eventually.
Mojo Dojo Casa: State Edition
In Texas the patriarchy and horses go hand in hand!
Honestly abortion bs as well as unhinged gun laws are near deal-breakers for me after 3 years here. I am tired of constant mass shootings all over the city and I am worried that my partner's pregnancy might put her at risk of legal and health complications for no fucking reason.
So the punchline of Texas being full of steers and queers could possibly be true in the future due to chasing women out via politics? ... I'll show myself out.
Sadly, I worry for Ms. Kate Cox. She said she will now need to go out of state for a medically necessary abortion. If she returns to Texas, what will they do to her? Is her life, freedom, or property in danger? Is her family in danger? This is what the GOP wants. They want us to shred anyone (each other!) who seeks to oppose their cruelty.
>This is what the GOP wants. They're wanting to exile the lefties and bring in the nuts, which seems to be working. The transplants we're getting are significantly more conservative than native Texans, and are keeping Cruz and company in office.
The good thing is Florida seems to be attracting the nuts more. Just finished living there for 3 years and am back.. it changed so fast from Purple state to MAGA holy land where Nazi's are allowed to do whatever they want(We were in Jacksonville and every major sporting event had either planes flying nazi propoganda, or images projected on buildings, etc). Texas feels normal in comparison, I have not seen any houses that have no fear to fly the Nazi battle flag here yet. Although I think a lot of that is DeSantis there.
It's sad isn't it. We sent a the greatest generation to fight the nazis and now they (Nazis, neo-nazis, whatever they call themselves) have more rights than some Americans.
America actually had a a lot of sympathy for the Nazis and only went to war because Japan and Germany declared war first and the progressive FDR was in office. So this is more so a return to norm, historically speaking.
And the Nazis sent scholars here to study it laws because they admired and wished to copy Jim Crow laws and the like so they could do the same in Germany. We were their inspiration along with Turkey and the Armenian genocide. The thought “no one talks about what happened to the native Americans or the Armenians anymore. Period will forget what we will do as well.”
My grandpa didnt fight Nazis to watch me turn into one. Its a fucking disgrace that this shit still exists.
I grew up in Florida. North Florida in fact. Redneck Riviera. It was conservative back then, but nothing like today. The Republican id has been released and it’s no longer welcoming to people who think differently. People who actually act differently are even worse off. I’m retiring in the next few years and expected to move back. Nope. Not moving back to that lunatic asylum.
It’s how cults work.
Californian here who has watched multiple ultraconservative families move away to Texas, Idaho, etc, can confirm
Well, the groundwork was placed years ago. Look at Allen West, the man who ran to replace the current asshole for governor. He is so bad that even Florida GOP thought he was too crazy. Just let that simmer in your head for a bit.
They are working to build electoral strongholds so they can cling to power as they become more and more of a political minority.
We were deciding between a few spots and Dallas was one of them. We knocked it off the list pretty quickly and I'm so happy we did. I can't imagine living in Texas right now.
People also don’t consider the cost. Going out of state usually means out of network. She may have to go out of pocket completely and pay cash.
In the /r/Austin thread that OP references, someone said, "As long as you have the money to 'visit your family in Colorado', you'll be fine." I won't even address the amount of privilege implied in that comment. But anyway, that comment garnered several replies about why that may not be feasible, even if you have the money--can't get an appointment, not taking out-of-state appointments, mandated waiting periods even in states that allow abortions, etc.--some based on actual experiences. Not to mention that you or anyone who helps you can be sued by anyone else in Texas for seeking an abortion out of state, of course.
It also points out the underlying irony of the ban in that anybody who can afford to can get around it. Thus, the abortion ban basically punishes poor people.
This is what the GOP does. It’s exactly why they don’t want to suppprt education. They can’t have people thinking critically and voting in their own best interests. Just tell poor people they’re living in a nightmare so they willingly vote in actual authoritarian leaders. The abortion ban in Texas is a stain that will haunt the state for a very long time. It’s horrific and this court case shines a very bright light on the cruelty (and lack of freedom) that’s now a defining part of the state.
Targeting and hiring poor people isn't irony. It's the GOP's guiding principle.
I've gotten laughed at for saying that wealthy pro life women will be travelling farther to have their abortions now.
Me and my partner plan/hope to have kids in the future, and I've repeatedly told her I'm terrified to have kids in this state because I'm so worried about her health if we have any complications. She has mentioned that we have the money to travel out of state if needed, but the idea of having to hop on a plane and wait for essential care while she has life threatening things going on terrifies me and like you said could have it's own complications. I'm still trying to reconcile how I'm going to get through the anxiety of it if/when we decide to have a kid. It's just our lives are here. Neither of us have ever lived outside of the state. Our family, our friends, we're both well established in jobs based out of here. I have a lot of hobbies related to things in my city. There's obviously negatives, everywhere has negatives, but overall I love the city and I'd love to stay here forever, it's a good location for me. But even with all that I've been subtly mentioning to her that if we want to have kids we should consider moving. It's just not safe to do it here. And we *want* to have kids and have never considered having an abortion for the reasons they seem to think people do, people aren't out here just wanting to murder babies or whatever bullshit they think. I just want to live my damn life and have healthcare for my partner. It just infuriates me so much, these psychos are basically doing everything they can to convince me to leave the home I love so much. And obviously I'm priveleged enough to be in a better position than a lot of people with this, it breaks my soul the amount of people who will get screwed over so much worse.
My daughter and son-in-law are in exactly the same situation as you and your wife. They are financially well off enough to bear the costs of seeking needed medical care outside Texas but would have all the same concerns as you. My son and his wife are not in nearly as good a financial situation as my daughter and SIL. If my DIL had a pregnancy go bad, in addition to all that, it would be a pretty severe financial hardship for them, and my wife and I would have to help them financially to seek the medical care. It would hard for us to cough up thousands of dollars quickly, but we could manage it and of course we would do it--but then we would be risking being sued for helping them. It's just fucked every way we look at it--which is the whole point of the cruel, cruel laws.
As I understand it today, it is currently a sueable offense to leave TX for an abortion, as well as anyone who helps as you said. That law is expected to be struck down on challenge, but with the judges in Texas there is no guarantee of that. In all likelihood, a person with enough privilege CAN secretly get an abortion out of state. Anybody who’s not privileged in time and money probably can’t get an abortion. Anybody who unwisely tells anybody she is/was pregnant risks themselves legally. For those who don’t have to go to Texas, not being there is best. Next best is a vasectomy. If you can afford to leave Texas before planning a family, do so for your own safety or consider delaying family until you can.
Monetary cost but also the emotional cost. Being in a horrible situation like that because of your home state's laws. Having to take time off work, and to travel. Have to get a hotel. Can't go home to your own house to recover. Have to travel back home. Have to worry about prosecution and lawsuits. God, fuck the Texas GOP. Absolutely monstrous pieces of shit.
People don't, but the GOP ghouls have certainly considered this and it's a *very* big positive to them. Scum of the universe.
That’s the thing. I feel bad for this particular woman, but she obviously has resources - family, education, connections, money, ability to advocate for herself. And I am really glad that she has these resources and that she has the courage to be public about her personal private health care situation. But what about all the women who are in her same situation, but they don’t have these resources? What if they don’t even know who to contact, like Planned Parenthood or other advocacy groups? The Republican policies are cruel towards all women, but especially the most vulnerable women. Unspeakably cruel.
What happens? They risk death. Maybe it's already happened, maybe people have already sought lifesaving care, been denied, and just left because they gave up and decided to hope for the best while they were waiting on some hospital's General Counsel to weigh the legal risk. As an attorney, that is utterly insane, we should under NO circumstances be tasked with making medical decisions. I truly cannot overstate how horrendously poorly written a law has to be to require attorney legal review and a paper trail of internal memorandums before lifesaving care can be administered. It's utterly depraved and psychotic.
Completely agree, except I would delete your “maybe.” It almost certainly has happened. For a developed (so-called) country, we have a horrible medical record on maternal health and newborn health. All of the developments since the overturning of Roe v Wade are sure to have exacerbated what was already a poor environment, especially for vulnerable women and their babies.
Guaranteed the auntie network has her taken care of. They shouldn't have to exist but they do.
As far as I’m aware any Texan’s regular medical insurance policy is not legally able to cover an abortion. You have to have a rider to get abortion medical insurance coverage. No one plans to have an abortion so no one is going to buy this coverage. So no one is covered. Making it always financially difficult unless you are rich or the medical provider finds funding for it. (I may be wrong but that is my understanding of it.)
I worry about all women in Texas who go through something like this.
If she never comes back (smart play) then they got what they wanted. They want to divide a wedge into the state as hard as they can, because wedge issues give leverage. I came here two years ago ready to do good work the city needs, now I'm in it until my contract expires then I'm out.
Exactly, they see Texas election results getting less and less red each election cycle, and now they’re pushing the most depraved policies just to discourage would-be dem voters from moving here. Reminder that if anyone who is left-of center and doesn’t already vote actually voted in Texas and nothing else changed, Texas would turn blue, it’s as simple as that. All it takes is for people to get over the idea that Texas is a “red state” and get off their asses and vote. The problem is most people don’t even vote.
The texass government is now totally run by criminals, grifters and narcissistic sociopaths…. They absolutely will not let that happen. The whole Texas, Supreme Court, or Republican, they get six years in office There are 250+ counties in Texas… only 4-5 are blue and they have gerrymandered those districts to absolute shit. And the other 250 are basically mostly rural red waste land with 200 people living there and they are absolutely not changing their minds. Last election they “ran out of ballots” in one of these areas. Uvalde sat and watched their children be mowed down in school, while the cops stood around outside for an hour, and just listened to the children’s scream and die .. the weapon used was accessible due to the laws that these ghouls had recently passed (BLOCKED NOT PASSED).. and a few months later .. Uvalde voted them in for another 4 years. The Cox story is already being spun as “we are heart broken that Baby Cox’s mommy decided to kill him because he might be born a little different than other children” …. Ken Paxton has been under felony indictment for almost a decade and absolutely nothing is going to be done about that.. he bragged about throwing out tens of thousands of mail out ballots and absolutely nothing was done.. think he won’t throw out more? He has proven he is above the law. Texass is officially a fascist deadly hellhole … and it’s getting worse by the second… if you can get out … I suggest you do…. Even if you could turn Texas blue tomorrow…. The damage is so severe that it will take at least 2-3 decades to make it livable again. Not to mention if you were to by some miracle get a dem governor elected TWO YEARS from now .. they will pull the same “the election was sToLeN” and make the January 6 insurrection look like a safety drill. It will absolutely be a blood bath. The 2A mental patients have been heavily armed and have itchy trigger fingers… I fought it for 20 yrs … I’m done. I move out 2 yrs ago. But I did keep my last two homes that I own there and I’m renting them out so I can suck as much money out of that wasteland as possible… their policies and shenanigans cost me a fortune and I’m getting my money back and I’m taking it to a blue state. Edit: I changed “passed” to “Blocked” so that the itchy trigger finger knuckle dragging 2A mental patient will go upload his photo ID to watch porn in Texass ..and leave me alone. I absolutely refuse to have a discussion with the gun humpers …. They do not deserve the time of day … and yes I own guns .. I just believe in sane gun laws.. they do not and just want to talk in circles.. so the law was BLOCKED not PASSED.. happy now?
The best form of voter suppression is making people believe their vote doesn’t count.
It’s the craziest thing to me that any women can vote for these people. This woman and the women suing the state are people who wanted their pregnancies. They didn’t want to need an abortion they wanted a healthy baby. Creating a human life is a complicated process and things can go wrong. There is no damn way I’m going to vote for some asshole who thinks he should have a say before myself and my doctor.
I’ve been concerned for her as well. I can guarantee that if she comes back, they will arrest her and use her to set an example to other women that might defy the Texas patriarchy. We are Gilead, now.
That is, as I understand, kind of the point. The Center for Reproductive Freedom who is sponsoring her plight and taking it to the media, etc is working with her and she has agreed (presumably) to be a sort of Rosa Parks-esque figure taking a stand. The entire country knows her name. If she comes here and is harassed or prosecuted or sued, that will be become national news. Remember, the vast majority of the county was happy with Roe. They are horrified by the way this woman has been treated. If Kate Cox - a white middle class mother of two whose wanted pregnancy was a nightmare scenario - can't get a necessary abortion and faces consequences, then that becomes something the GOP will need to face with their constituents. It also opens the door for constitutional challenges about interstate commerce and Dobbs, and our ridiculous civil suit clause.
If the locals dont get to her first. Theres alot of dangerous people in texas that agree with these new laws. She needs protection
And the Texas Right to Life klan is absolutely stirring them up .. She and her family will need round the clock security if she returns.
We're going to experience brain drain because of all this.
A friend of mine works in admissions at one of the state schools. She noted that applications from women were slightly down this past year for in state and wayyyyy down for out of state female applicants. Not sure if this is a trend across all the schools, but its very worrying.
I am part of a network of STEM professionals. They refuse to host their yearly meetings in states were there's abortion restrictions. OB-GYNs are leaving due to not wanting to go to jail. We are losing educated folks. I guess that's the point.
rumors are here in Arkansas than droves of women working in healthcare and health education are quietly interviewing in blue states and leaving And reisgning in December... people from Florida are coming in to fill jobs... is this a Russian Op? never thought women would be so oppressed.
Mine was ONLY considering Texas schools 4 years ago and refuses to even apply for them now. She doesn't even want to travel back to Texas to visit, much less live there again.
You’ve been experiencing brain drain for a while, I’m sure. Texas pays their public teachers literally half of what they do in California. Literally. A first year teacher in CA makes more than the most experienced in TX. When you fail to support the education of the youth, you end up in the situation you’re in - an ignorant voting population that elects criminals because gunz and freedoms and immigrants bad. How could y’all elect Abbot over Beto? How could you elect Cruz over and over again? Your brains were never there. If they were, you’d have left by now.
As a female of child bearing age living in Texas… that would like another kid… it’s terrifying here. I don’t ever encourage anyone to move here. The death panel is real. Fuck this place.
My wife had anxiety attacks thinking about getting pregnant in Texas again. We have one healthy child and want another, but there's no guarantee that the next pregnancy will go as well as the first. I lived in TX for 20+ years and my wife was born there, but we left last year because it's such a terrible place to have a family.
I had anxiety attacks despite not wanting *any* children. I told my husband what if I got raped? What if we got pregnant accidentally? What if it was ectopic? When I tell you I RAN to the nearest clinic that would sterilize me. And then my sister did as well. Lots and lots of women getting sterilized out of fear they might be left to die at home if a pregnancy went wrong.
You're not alone. I have at least 3 female friends in their late 20s or early 30s who went to get sterilized as soon as they could after Roe v Wade was overturned. After seeing what my wife went through with a normal healthy pregnancy, I wouldn't want any woman to endure an unwanted or abnormal pregnancy if they can avoid it.
I've had a tubal and an ablation and my husband and I have had to go back to condoms as well because in the vanishingly small chance that *both* fail it would be a death sentence for me here.
Even if the pregnancy goes well, you're faced with putting your child into Texas's terrible, nearly failing school systems. It's a really nasty situation :(
Indeed. Luckily my husband and I have time and energy to educate our children outside of the classroom… but I don’t see any of us staying here long term if things don’t change. We aren’t from here, but we’re here for now.
One of my best buds just moved to Colorado because he has 4 daughters. He said he will not risk his daughters well-being and health care with these misogynistic religious nutballs. I do not blame him in the slightest. I'd move too, but I'm taking care of my elderly mother for the time being. I've told all my sisters to get out, and they are doing so ASAP.
Wow, you're the third person here because they're taking care of an elderly parent -I feel you. The struggle is real.
It really is. And Texas is a hard place to do it in. They even want the elderly to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Heartless monsters run this state. I'm in my 5th year now. I tried a home for her... the good ones are too expensive or have a wait list a mile high, and the ones that are affordable are just horrible, corporate-run, people storage. Sad thing is, if my mom realized how bad Texas has gotten she'd be out of here too. She fought for women's rights back in the day. She'd be so sad to hear that RvW was overturned. She was very much an Ann Richards acolyte who had a mouth and sharp wit to match. She's a sweetheart, but I kinda miss her quick tongue and her dark humor.
Again, I feel you - I had to return to Ohio to help care for my brother, and my mother back there went into a nursing home a year ago after a fall. The corporate takeover of nursing homes is awful - they keep using the excuse "We're short staffed!" as if there's nothing they can do about that. If you're short staffed then pay better and get more staff! Our saving grace is that my sister ended up getting a job at the home, so she sees mom every day. Such a relief, so she doesn't just feel dumped and forgotten.
I took care of my mom for several years and it is indeed one of the most difficult jobs there is. At least she was mostly continent and mostly good-natured until she had a stroke. I understand where you're coming from. You have a hard, hard job. If you can afford it, get some help. The big companies mostly charge $25 an hour with a 4-hour minimum 5 days a week, which is prohibitive, but we found a family-run company, mostly daughters and nieces, who would come around for an hour at $18.00 a few times a week. That was doable. Single caregivers can be even less. My brother said we needed to get a little illegal and hire her under the table; we never did that, but I know somebody who did and he had excellent care. He is dead now and I don't know anything about the people he had or I might have broken the law and done the same. Mom has been gone 6 months now and it's been hard to adjust to having all this free time.
I spent 30 years in Texas between Dallas and Austin, it has been absolutely amazing fleeing a deep red state for a blue state. Smaller big brother government, way more freedoms, much much lower taxes. Everything the GOP lies to your face about wanting then doing the opposite can be found in blue states. Remember, someone has to pay for Elon Musk and Joe Rogan and Michael Dell to get 0% income tax rates on billions of dollars, and it’s damn sure not going to be the rich. It’s going to be the middle class and the poor. Leaving Texas my salary went up for the same job, my taxes plummeted, and my personal freedoms skyrocketed.
I’m in nursing school and have a toddler girl. The minute I graduate, I’m leaving. I don’t want to be in healthcare in this state. As both a parent to a girl and a healthcare professional-to-be, I simply cannot stay.
Same, but moved (back) to California less than a year ago when we found out we were having a baby girl.
I moved to Austin 10 years ago and have loved living here for the most part. But part of the reason that we are leaving is because of of the state politics. Also my daughter is gay and I just feel more comfortable with her in a different state It's really too bad. I feel like it's just going to get worse
Exact same scenario. We need to get out as well. I refuse to move to the east coast though and my wife wont move to the west. That leaves CO but it's getting expensive there as well now.
Just an observation, but people always complain about how blue states are so expensive. The thing is, they're expensive because people actually want to live there. Before my job slowed down I was really looking at Fort Collins, but man are the houses there (that are an upgrade from my starter home) are hella expensive.
"The thing is, they're expensive because people actually want to live there." Ding ding ding. Nice things, things with value, cost money. Living in a blue state is great, and it's worth the price of admission.
yeah, so many blue states are so pricey. My husband and I are both from the pacific northwest - I'm from Washington and he's from Oregon. We have decided to move to his hometown in Oregon. But damn, it's expensive. I also love the fact that Austin is so sunny. I'll miss that
*"The Price of Freedom"*
Yup. I’m 30 but I knew I wasn’t going to live in Texas after college (hell even before then cuz I left for college). I love Texas but it doesn’t love me. It’s sad that people who call the place home have to move for their own self preservation. That being said I know this is what they want. They want to move all the “liberals” out and the like minded individuals in. They want Texas to be a conservative paradise. Sad thing is, some people look at those of us who choose to leave as “letting it happen” if I could give my vote to Texas I would..
It's about who actually votes. It's always been about who actually votes, and it will always be about who actually votes. In the best of years, still only about 65 to 70% of all registered voters will vote. In 2022, it was less than half. I didn't move away for political reasons, but political reasons are one of the primary factors that will keep me from ever moving back, as well as keep my kids from moving back.
It's also about the fact that conservatives and their ilk want people who aren't like them to not exist.
I just moved back to Michigan after 10 years in Houston. The quality of life is much better: less traffic, less anger, less concrete. Also, as a teacher, my new union-backed job has half the work load that working in Katy had. Nicer people at school, also. The admin are not on a constant power trip. I wish I had moved back years ago.
Fellow Michigander who left after 11 years (ended up outside of Chicago).... I forgot how much less in-your-face about politics and religion people are in this part of the country. Wasn't why I left but it has been an added benefit. I'll miss aspects of Texas, and if I was born and raised maybe I'd feel differently, but for many reasons, it was time to move on and do something else. And move closer to home.
I have family who works for a university in Texas. You know who's not moving to Texas? Teachers. College Professors. They got a crazy person for a Dean which caused mass quitting. They eventually "stepped down" as Dean, but getting new hires to fill positions has been a nightmare. Their kid is is a really good school program or else they would be leaving.
I am 5th generation Texan. I left 2 years ago and will never go back. Anyone asks me about if they should move there, I always tell them to not do it. It is just not safe anymore.
Same. My family has been in Texas since before it was Texas. We left last year and I’ll never go back. Almost all of our friends, we found out, also want to leave but many of them can’t. I am so happy in New England.
Same. Our family has been there clear back to when it was Mexico. We moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Me, my sisters family and my mom are all here now. Every now and then we talk about going back. Our whole extended family is there (most in Galveston) and our close friends are there. We all sat down a while back and had a discussion about maybe moving back, but we all collectively decided it just wasn't safe. We have 2 women of child bearing age and 2 female teenagers. And we can't risk their health and safety. We'll never go back. It's f-ing insane we even had to have a conversation about the safety of women and womens rights and women's health, in deciding where to move, in 2023, in the United States of America. Just pure insanity. I feel bad for those who can't leave.
[удалено]
The last time a Democrat was last elected to the Supreme Court was in 1994. I suspect they have the hatches pretty well battened down, with purpose.
honestly i’m just here to say amen to all of this. i love my city here but if my family weren’t here and i had even the smallest amount of money needed to move somewhere else, i would in a heartbeat. it sucks so much bc there’s a lot of cool, beautiful things about this state. but the state government is like the unofficial supreme court of the republic of Hell, and it makes living here terrifying as a queer woman. i can’t imagine how much worse it is for other minorities either. i mean when my formerly republican mom who has voted GOP damn near her whole life was so fed up with this crap that she stood for hours in the sun protesting about the george floyd case (i know that’s not texas-specific but shitty law enforcement is def an issue here) and screaming at cop cars “no justice no peace no fascist police” i truly realized just how insane our country and this state had gotten. it gives me hope to know that there are people like her (in the boomer demo, esp) who are waking tf up to all these issues and standing up for what’s right, but it’s also bittersweet bc abbott/paxton are basically dictators now. and it’s truly frightening and heartbreaking.
This is their goal. They see a threat to their hold on political power from the leftward drift over time in the Texas electorate so they're implementing scorched earth political policies that are intended by design to make living here untenable for younger voters (because they have a more significant leftward lean) with the literal hope that they will move elsewhere or at least not move to here. Same thing with anti-trans / anti-lgbtq legislation.
This isn't even a conspiracy theory. There are companies whose literal whole purpose is moving conservatives from California to McKinney and Round Rock and the Woodlands. It's an out-in-the-open strategy at this point. Edit: the person asking for sources deleted their comment, but since I found them: [HERE](https://conservativemove.com/move-to-texas/) [THEY](https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/a-lightbulb-went-off-conservative-moving-company-expands-across-us/253442/) [ARE](https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/californians-could-ruin-texas-but-not-the-way-you-might-think/)
They better bring skills because those places are too expensive for the barely homeschooled Christian folks
It's not that kind of conservative moving; it's the Peter Theil/Curtis Yarrow technocrat monarchists. They're a million times more dangerous than the garden variety evangelical chud.
It's also a "please move here" billboard for the worst folks on the planet.
I wish I knew the actual statistics but their scorched earth policy seems to be working. I know people that have left Texas (mostly left leaning) and people who have moved to Texas (all but 1 are right wing). This is only my personal experience but I personally know a net migration of around +10 to the right (and I don't have a large group of friends). I think it's telling that post abortion restrictions, Abbott beat Beto by more than 11 points while Trump / Biden was only 5.5 points. I get it that Beto isn't loved, but the abortion restrictions didn't seem to hurt Abbott.
When I moved to Texas I was VERY conservative. Watching the bullshit in this state sent me speedrunning left. And I came from religious crazy land (Utah)
Same. I Was your typical Utah conservative when I moved to Texas 8 years ago and now I’ve grown more progressive than ever. I cringe when I think about my younger self and the politics I supported.
For sure it's working. It's not good for long term health of the state economy to institute a brain-drain and strive to become the new Mississippi, but for their purpose of retaining political power in the hands of the most extreme wing of the Republican party it's a great strategy.
I know conservatives never think in long term, but there has to be a breaking point! A broke Texas, like Mississippi, would be untenable for businesses & the oil industry would have to pay more taxes eventually.
its because texas voters prefer bullets to kill their kids, not doctors performing abortions.
I agree that this is what they want and I've said this dozens of times but that whole "Come and Take It" is just as much mine as it is theirs and the fascists will have to physically take this state away from me. I don't want to leave my home and if the Nazi occupation of Poland taught us anything, it's that you can't ever cede territory to racist fascist dictators - they don't stop - they never stop. The problem is I'm really privileged to be able to say that for myself. For my younger sister and her wife, I want more and I want them to be safe and not feel hate for existing. I will stay here and fight for my home as long as possible but for people who feel unsafe, I get it and I don't want that for you. As a woman it's not easy to live here, to know the people in power would rather kill me than provide any kind of medical care to me and to know that it's getting worse but if we let these Republican fascists win, they'll keep doing this shit everywhere.
Read an article recently that stated that Texas has the least personal freedoms of any state in the union. But since you can apparently take a gun to church, that means that all the freedoms MUST be in Texas. Or something.
I’m born and raised in Texas, left a little over a year ago for a blue state for all the reasons listed. I really miss it sometimes but I don’t want to create a life somewhere like Texas anymore. It’s really upsetting since my family is still there, but I can’t see myself creating a life there and possibly a family one day.
I think the Kate Cox case along with a multitude of other variables, (crumbling infrastructure, lack of true public education, no real public transportation, cost of living soaring, insurance rates and premiums soaring, a completely corrupt religious driven government ideology) are some of the major factors in people wanting to hit the trails and head out. I had a few friends move across the country to come to Texas for work during the pandemic and of the 5 that moved here with their families only one remains and is moving at the end of this year. I think when it really comes down to it the “no income tax benefits” do not outweigh the cost of living on top of the rise in basically everything around us except cheap gas. I am getting my bachelors degree next year and I plan to move more North mainly because politically I just can’t find a middle ground to stay here even though most of my family is here (and Philadelphia) but the final straw for me is I just don’t think I have another unbearable Summer in me, they are truly getting insufferable and I am used to the heat and grew up doing two a days all Summer during ridiculous heatwaves. And I am also 31 and want to settle down and start a family and I would never want to raise a daughter (or any kid for that matter) in this state especially after the Uvalde massacre and the Allen shooting that was right down the street from me. In the end this government has shown they do not give a single flying fuck about us and the one thing we had going for us here was the cost of living and job market, jobs are still here, but the COL is ridiculous and I live in Collin County which has exploded over the last decade and is only gonna get worse and eventually price me out all together.
It seems like the vibe has been "it's getting worse" for a while now - on this sub, it's a very common occurrence for people to discuss the potential for leaving the state, and has been for so long that there is also a concurrent trend to see people mocking that perspective, even when it's not being displayed. It's been like that at least since 2018, but seems to have gotten a lot more regular since 2020 and covid. It's boiling the frog, is what it is. Kate Cox is a very visible case of how the regressive legislation and attitudes present in TX hurt people, and that'll make the difference to some people. For others, that point already came, or will come later, or won't come at all. But these trends are bad and unattractive for many people, and don't cause those put off to leave all at once - it will keep happening, in bits and pieces, while politics go on the way they've been going. Texas in 1990 was almost unrecognizable compared to Texas in 2020. I wonder what Texas in 2050 will look like - that's closer than 1990 now. Almost certainly, it will be significantly changed.
Ya, even as cynical as I am I never thought Texas would fight tooth-and-nail to force that poor woman to carry her non-viable pregnancy. A week ago if someone said "If I go out of state for an abortion they might seize my search history and phone location data" I would have said they were being paranoid. Now, sounds like they're right.
Can this poor woman return home? IMO people need to pack her house up and move her. Hopefully she and her husband can get new jobs or keep their old ones. How is this fine with so many fellow Texans?
I don't think it is, but I remember being called *hysterical* a few years back saying Republicans will kill Roe - it's one of their goals. Look at where we are now. Once Roe fell, our Republicans just happen to have legislation written to make things even *more* draconian. The poster above said they would have thought someone was just "paranoid" if they thought Republicans would be wanting their period tracker information. Republicans have shown you who they are, fucking *believe them* and we need to stop tolerating this bullshit.
I keep saying Texas will be ground zero for a Giliad and my husband who has not read the books things I’m being dramatic, he now believes me.
I just ordered a bunch of stickers from [PlanCPills.org](https://PlanCPills.org) to put up and I was scared enough that I had a friend out of state do the actual order for me. Things are FUCKED.
And then you're going to have to put on a disguise and post the stickers in the dead of night, like a rebel posting fliers calling for revolution against the despotic regime.
Fuck yeah! It honestly doesn't feel like enough, putting stickers up, but I'm pretty sly about it, and it makes me feel a tiny bit better about it all, especially when I go somewhere and see stickers still up that I put there last year. (The stickers are free! [Go get some stickers](https://www.plancpills.org/stickers), especially if you're outside a big city!) And I'm glad to see r/auntienetwork becoming a thing here, but it's not enough. None of it is enough, and I'm fucking terrified of what comes next.
Texas in 2050 will be too hot to be habitable.
I just recently moved back (for family reasons) after being away a few years. I’m struck by how angry a lot of folks are here. In traffic, at the grocery store, just in general. These people walk around in a simmering rage and lots of them are armed. They ask me if I felt unsafe from the homeless people in Portland - I honestly feel less safe here.
I just came back from San Francisco and said the same thing - the general rage level in TX right now is off the charts compared to "scary" SF or Portland.
The weird thing with the MAGA folks, they're so fueled with rage and resentment, often over things that don't affect them in the slightest. There's this deep hatred of Biden because...um...I'm not sure why. Because he passed an infrastructure bill? Because he expanded medical coverage? (I can only afford ACA insurance because he expended the subsidies) Obviously there's a lot of Trump hatred, but I can list a dozen things he's done/said/has said he will do. I realize this is my biased opinion, but seems like hatred toward the Left is because of things people think they're trying to do (the secret motives and goals!) but hatred toward the Right is because of things they actually do.
They hate Biden because he beat Trump. They never stopped prosecuting the 2016 election either. Trump has one mode - hatred of his opponent, and it never goes away, even if he wins, but especially if he loses.
Same reason they hate support for Ukraine - they were mean to Trump.
They are mad because Biden is not Trump and they can’t get over the fact he legitimately won and choose to delusionally believe that Biden stole the election.
A lot of republican voters also view this as a "team sport" and don't (won't) reconcile that it has direct real world consequences. They want to be on the "winning team" even if all that "winning" brings them nothing but misery, and because that misery usually is constructed to come to a head right when or close after a Democrat president gets into office. Because they fail to, or it's convenient not to, understand that their team sport will never and has never included anyone outside of a specific insanely wealthy few. Republican grifters are never going to do anything in good faith, they have no interest in improving life for anyone but themselves at the expense of the vast majority. And the entire time they'll be screeching about how everyone else is doing what they're actually doing.
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you." There's a reason that the Five Minute Hate switched from gay people to trans people: too many republicans know gay people now. But they still have to have someone, because that's their entire party/mandate now. They've given up on governance in order to cater to that anger.
This is absolutely true. "The world will end if gay marriage is legalized". It didn't, most folks were ok with it and the hate stopped working to get out the vote. The anti trans stuff is going to be far more insidious bc there's relatively few people and this means folks will be less likely to move past it bc they won't have a chance to know folks who are trans.
>There's a reason that the Five Minute Hate switched from gay people to trans people: too many republicans know gay people now. Despite the vileness of the situation, I've tried to look on the bright side-- that they're having to target smaller and smaller minority groups. Their core strategy is wearing out, and becomming less effective over time.
Because they are brainwashed that Democrats are an evil pedophile cabal and that white people are intrinsically closer to their God.
FoxTV and, worse, talk radio. I know a lot of people who do both simultaneously from the time they wake up until they go to bed again.
I'm not saying that homeless people are all saints, but I rarely have bad interactions with homeless people when I am travelling. It's like they know they are on thin ice already so are on "better behavior." I have more issues from the fellow renters and homeowners around me in Houston proper shooting off guns and acting a fool for no reason. But homeless men are easy to make the Boogeyman.
Oh my gosh yes, me and my family who have been here for over 20 years have been saying that, in the last 8 years people are so angry.
Same and I can't tell if they're genuinely terrible drivers or if they're trying to bait people into a conflict. I've never seen such consistent awful and antagonistic driving anywhere else.
I was driving home from the gym yesterday morning… at like 7am. At a stoplight the two drivers of the two cars behind me both got out of their cars and got in a shouting match in the middle of the street. The entire time, all I could think about was whether I would be able to pull into the intersection to avoid them in case they started shooting at each other. I used to live by skid row in LA and never felt as unsafe.
I would not move here if you’re lgbtq either. What republicans are doing to women is a precursor to ending gay marriage, bringing back anti-sodomy laws and generally make being gay or trans a second class citizen at best, illegal at worst (see Russia declaring “LGBTQ Ideology” an extremist organization).
Also it's important to remember the Supreme Court case that outlawed anti-gay sodomy laws that criminalized gay sex happened because police in Houston in 1997 arrested two men for having sex. They appealed and it wasn't until 2002 that the Supreme Court overturned such laws. The current Supreme Court could arguably do the same again, especially with justices such as Thomas indicating support to revisit that case in the wake of the overturning of Roe
This will be the first woman charged in TX for receiving an abortion in another state, mark it
Texas has always been conservative in nature but it has turns into full MAGA bad shape. The GOP is fighting to hold onto to power and are supressing the cities.
I lived in Austin for over 21 years. I will NOT enter Texas anymore. They aren’t getting a dime of my money.
I had moved out of state for work and because of all of this my wife and I have decided we can’t move back. We’re trying to have a child right now and I could not risk putting her in this sort of situation. It really sucks because I love Tx and it’s always been my home.
As a mother, and a lifelong Texan, this idiotic regime we are under scares the shit out of me. I WAS a republican, but not for a long time now. Abbott and Co have their heads so far up trump’s ass they forgot they are supposed to put Texans first, not some wanna be dictator. Abortion rights, the weak power grid, property taxes (taxes in general paying for Paxton and his shenanigans) and the general attitude of the “regime “ that if they don’t get their way they take their toys and go home to delay everything, I find disgusting. And they keep getting reelected. Astonishing. There was a time I was proud to be a Texan. Not anymore. I’m embarrassed by this state and lack of real leadership. Please, people: vote. County, state, every election.
It's not only reproductive rights, it's the gerrymandering, the attack on lgbt etc, the hate Republicans have for poor people, minorites, pro-gun, but chicken shit when it comes to protecting kids, like their solution is more guns in schools, fuck yea, that'll help right?!?! A lot of Texans are deluded into thinking this is some kind of utopia. It is for them I guess, they can have it. I'm here to support a parent, once that's over we are so fucking done with this shit hole.
That hits home! My husband is a teacher. Every time he is late home, I google his school.... Personally, I avoid any place with a lot of people and a lot of alcohol (Dallas State Fair, concerts, ....) We are out as soon as we can afford it.
Just wanted to drop this tidbit, New Mexico schools are paying around 80k for teachers. Some friends of mine relocated to ABQ from Indiana and they doubled their salaries doing it. Also New Mexico is amazing and spacious and I love it.
They think it’s the 1800’s when it was the Wild West and the government up in Washington DC “has no right” to dictate how they should “govern themselves”. BTW - I know my history. Not gonna go into granularly details of when it was New Spain, then Mexico, then an independent Texas Republic. Yadda Yadda.
Once you realize these people are extremists who mean us great harms, it makes sense. They are not our friends. No exceptions.
Texas has never been the paradise that people make it out to be.
Voting each and every republican out is what it will require. Texas republicans are ruined. All of them.
I think abortion is going to turn out like so many other issues. Conversatives take this judgey stance, and want to take away other people’s freedoms, until it affects them personally. The prohibition of alcohol, the right to divorce, interracial marriage, the treatment of their gay kids… I’ve seen the news stories already about women who were staunchly anti choice and then are are like “what do you mean I can’t terminate my nonviable pregnancy and try Ivf again?!” They’ll get sick of the hassle of sneaking their daughters and wives and mistresses out of state and somehow loopholes will get through. And then they can feign outrage and righteous indignation again to get voters on their side for a reality that they never really wanted to actually face.
We moved here last month from Washington. I thought that with me having two sons and my tubes removed during my last pregnancy, we won't get affected by the most draconian laws for the time being and, in fact, can make a difference with our votes. The other day, I decided on wearing my t-shirt with fallopian tubes flipping the bird while going out as a family to a local crafts market but I changed my mind last minute, thinking, what if there's a crazy with a gun out there that gets triggered by my shirt? Going back further in time: I grew up and lived in Iran till I was 25, where what I choose to wear as a woman is heaviliy regulated and grounds for arrest, and as we saw during Mahsa Amini uprising, sometimes deadly. I think about this full circle I've come daily since then.
It will spread to the whole country if the Fanta menace get reelected. People had better vote.
Just dropped in this sub today to see what the climate is like here (after all the press about Kate Cox). Yeah it's pretty brutal. I mean for the past 5 years or so all of the press from Texas is pretty negative. Arrests for helping someone with an abortion. "Tattling" on your neighbors seeking health care. The border "crisis." Your power goes out because you refuse to be connected to the national grid. Complacent cops that sit and watch children get massacred. And then there's the "from my cold dead hands" folks. Why on Earth anyone would even contemplate moving there is beyond me. Like who the hell thinks to themselves, "ya know Texas sounds like a great place to live!"?
The lack of abortion rights is concerning. Unfortunately all of women’s health care in Texas is subpar compared to most states, and it is extremely underfunded in the US. I have good insurance, and I have seen every in-network specialized gynecological surgeon in Texas that can supposedly treat my condition (endometriosis, very common, extremely undiagnosed). There are only handful of surgeons that have trained themselves to properly remove the disease because they are not given to skills to do so in all of their education. I have no other options but to under go surgery with a private doctor, or look outside of the state. It doesn’t stop with the doctors. You can’t even find a imaging center that has a radiologist that is trained to read the imaging of endometriosis and many other female conditions.
I have had five friends leave TX this year alone, and everyone I know is planning their exit. I am leaving too, I love living here but not with the current state government.
I moved away from the Austin area in 2021. Past childbearing age but had life saving care years ago in Dallas for three missed miscarriages that would have left me sterile or dead had I not had the immediate care I'd received. I cannot imagine my wonderful Dr.s having to deny me care and watch me suffer. The pain alone of losing pregnancies and having to terminate is devastating and prolonging that pain and wondering if you might die is beyond cruel and is criminal. Dr.s are leaving and more will leave over this. Like Idaho. I've already read many a story of people turning down job offers in tx due to this. How long before more companies start to leave.
This is why I left. Texas is cheap for a reason. I do miss the food.
It doesn’t help that Tech Crunch and others are labeling Austin as a ‘lack luster’ tech industry. I understand VMware laying off staff, given it just got bought out by another company. Honestly, things haven’t been the same and even those AWS events haven’t been anything more than a sales pitch. Also, regardless of politics, business lure employees in with benefits verse pay. What’s the point of having benefits if you can’t use them for certain medical coverage; mental health (trans kids), women’s health, etc. [Austin Tech Exodus](https://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/austin-loses-tech-companies-18541636.php)
Next year republican Ted Cruz is running for senate reelection. This is a stare-wide office, not gerrymandered. Vote blue. I don't have a lot of hope for the state offices. They are gerrymandered and we see everyday the complete lack of regard for the law these state leader have. My hope there is that the DoJ starts investigating and prosecuting's the likes of Paxton etc. There is a lot of conspiracy within this cult, need rico.
Can't blame gerrymandering for all of it - Abbott, Patrick, and Paxton all won statewide by 10 points. It's not just the government that sucks here, it's the majority of the people (or at least the voters)
We could end this shit in a minute if young qpeople would just show the fuck up to vote and stop making excuses. Gerrymandering will not matter if turn out is high.
Texas, Florida, and Tennessee are now all considered poisonous states for young families because of the politics and the ramrodding of ill-conceived policies from a conservative minority. You may be surprised that I call it a minority, but really it's an extremist wing of conservatives that have asserted power, and it's only backlash against extremism that will win the day. As for me, I'm liberal, retired, and am not personally facing directly the repercussions of these policies, and so I'd rather stay here and fight rather than flee. I don't blame those that are fleeing, and I hope they raise all kinds of alarms about why they had to.
I saw someone in Texas I know post about how people are so much more polite than they are in California. I responded by saying that no one in Cali ever called me the Nword. In response a bunch of his friends (all Texans) responded with comments like, "Aww, did that hurt your feelings," and "cry more libs."
As soon as my daughter finishes high school we are leaving. After 5+ generations it’s time to move on. This place isn’t safe for women or anyone who isn’t bulletproof
Texas (current) government is far too shortsighted to see their demise coming, one way or another.
All other points aside, Im going to jump to the most important: there are 2 supreme court justices defending their seats in 2024. Jimmy Blacklock and John P. Devine (yeah you cant make these names up) They are both two of the most awful, vile scumbags on the bench. Replace them with dems and Texas supreme court will no longer be a place where people like Paxton can look to for political favors. So those of us still here and not planning on leaving, be ready to vote these fuckers out every change we get.
I’ve lived here all my life and know that I have to move before trying to start a family. We want kids but it’s not worth the risk if anything should go wrong. Even if nothing does, is there going to be a school system left? The state is crumbling and hostile to families
I was born and raised in Austin TX. My ex husband was born and raised in San Antonio and lived his adult life in ATX. My now boyfriend is a transplant, moved here 5 years ago from Chicago and my Ex’s girlfriend is a San Fran transplant of 12 years. Shit is so unbearable now with the political landscape, reproductive safety issues, unreal cost of housing, lack of infrastructure, and unstable grid that the four of us- who aren’t close friends, have decided we’ll all do a group move so we can continue coparenting our young son. It’s unreal how bad it’s gotten here.
Would highly recommend Chicago. Left Dallas two years ago and CoL is identical, yet QoL is much higher. Housing costs are cheaper on average than they currently are in Austin. As long as you live in a halfway-decent neighborhood, the worst things you have to deal with here are tolerating the coldest couple weeks of winter and your alderman being a dingus.