Texas students held campus walkout for 'on demand' abortion

Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) at Texas State University (TXST) held an on-campus walkout to advocate for abortion access.

The event was organized in collaboration with San Marco Abortion Activists (SMAA), a group dedicated to “fighting for abortion rights in San Marcos, TX.”

On Aug. 25, Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) at Texas State University (TXST) held an on-campus walkout to advocate for abortion access.

YDSA at TXST posted a photo of the gathering on Twitter the day of the event, which showed five people holding the YDSA flag in front of the “Fighting Stallions” statue on campus. The post asserted the chapter was advocating for “Free Abortion. On Demand. Without Apology.”

The event was organized in collaboration with San Marco Abortion Activists (SMAA), a group dedicated to “fighting for abortion rights in San Marcos, TX.” 

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“The protest in total had about forty students present,” Abigail Milam, SMAA founder, told Campus Reform

Campus Reform reached out to Jayme Blaschke, TXST Senior Media Relations Manager, for comment.

“Texas State University is a public institution that supports the free exchange of ideas which includes legally protected speech, freedom of inquiry and freedom of dissent,” he said.  

The walkout was advertised on Twitter on Aug. 24, and encouraged students to “[w]alk out of class or walk out of work” to protest the “enactment of the Texas trigger law,” which went into effect the day of the demonstration. 

The law, which prohibits abortion in the Lone Star state with few exceptions, establishes civil and criminal penalties abortion providers could face for violating the text.

[RELATED: Pro-abortion students protest end of Roe]

“We just felt that it was necessary to disrupt the status quo the day that the trigger law went into effect, to keep the conversation going, and to remind everyone that people are still fighting for abortion rights in our communities,” Milam told Campus Reform.

Multiple protests were held across the country in response to its enactment. Texas, however, is only one of nearly a dozen states that implemented trigger laws following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June.

Campus Reform reached out to YDSA, the San Marco Abortion Activists, and Texas State University for comment and will update accordingly.