Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade this summer – and in the lead-up to next week’s Midterm elections –, Texas abortion laws remain the center of controversy as state-by-state regulations continue to cause uncertainty around reproductive rights.
Between the overturning of Roe v. Wade and Texas’ already incredibly limiting laws on abortion rights, the nearest locations for some pregnant Texans to get an abortion might now be 1,500 miles round trip—a 23-hour drive.
In response, Brian Moore, a creative at Anomaly, developed a new game, “Abortion Bus,” designed to support Fund Texas Choice, a non-profit organization that pays for Texans’ travel to abortion clinics, and highlights the extraordinary lengths pregnant Texans have to travel for an abortion.
Inspired by Desert Bus, “the very worst video game ever created” according to The New Yorker, and the subsequent fundraiser Desert Bus for Hope, Abortion Bus serves to show the struggle that pregnant people in Texas now face. It will consist of a 23-hour live stream happening on Thursday, November 3rd, and shows the journey certain individuals must make now to access healthcare.
“Lives are at risk. Not just in Texas, but everywhere in the United States. Texas has the distinction of having the longest travel (23-hour round trip drives!), so we targeted them to try and make an immediate impact. Fund Texas Choice specifically helps pregnant Texans and we couldn’t be more excited to be supporting FTC and giving them the money and attention they deserve,” Moore tells Reel 360 News.
By observing the journey, or parts of it, the game aims to instill empathy in its viewers, educating them and providing a platform for people to donate to Fund Texas Choice, ensuring safe abortion access for Texans. The game will also be available for viewers to download and play. Watch below:
REELated:
“Your zip code shouldn’t determine your access to healthcare, but Texas lawmakers argue the opposite. Politicians shouldn’t be able to play legal ping-pong with procedural issues and diminish our constitutional rights. Abortion and practical support funds shouldn’t have to fill in the gap for Texans to access the basic healthcare that every person deserves…but we do, all the time. We know our communities, composed predominantly of BIPOC individuals,” Anna Rupani, Executive Director at Fund Texas Choice.”
Rupani adds, “We know how to support those communities because Texas’ leaders – in a state that has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in this country – are not doing it. No one should be prevented from accessing abortion care because of where they live or how much money they have.”
A non-profit organization, Fund Texas Choice pays for Texans’ travel to abortion clinics. The organization was formed in response to the passage of Texas House Bill 2, which closed nearly 75% of over 40 Texan clinics in 2013 and 2014.
The closures primarily occurred in rural and low-income areas of the state, necessitating cost-prohibitive, time-wasting, and geographically-difficult travel for groups already facing financial obstacles to abortion. Last September, Texas’ six-week abortion ban SB8 went into effect and put abortion providers and anyone who assisted a pregnant person at risk of civil liability.
Fund Texas Choice
After Roe was dismantled, Fund Texas Choice and its partner funds were forced to pause practical support operations due to the threat of civil AND criminal liability now present due to Texas’ pre-Civil War laws and the “trigger ban”, which went into effect 30 days after the Supreme Court’s devastating decision.
Fund Texas Choice is continuing to serve pregnant people seeking abortion-related services and information in compliance with the law to the best of their understanding and is currently a plaintiff in Fund Texas Choice v. Paxton, a lawsuit against the state and Attorney General Ken Paxton, aiming to restore the Constitutional rights of travel, free speech, and association. If Fund Texas Choice wins their lawsuit, they will be allowed to resume practical support at full capacity.
The person behind the idea, Brian plays with technology to create art and products that comment on popular culture, society, and technology itself. Back in 2016, he launched The Voter Suppression Trail in partnership with The New York Times. Other past work includes Human Record Player, which made folks spin around to listen to Weezer’s new track, and Hypetags, live price tags for sneakers. You can check out a library of recent projects here.
“People don’t talk about abortion nearly enough, so my hope is to raise as much money and awareness as possible to make it clear, even from my perspective as a man: every person’s body is solely their choice. Everyone should be agreeing with and supporting the right to an abortion, full stop,” concluded Moore.
CREDITS:
- Brian Moore
- Mike Lacher
- Melissa Wood
- Michelle Yee
- Michael Gobo
- Will Millar
- Kimberly Van
- Andrew Puzzuoli
- Adnan Aga
- Anomaly
- Fund Texas Choice
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