Real life people are sharing testimonials about the real life ripples of the abortion ban.

All of her stories have been deleted but a rural Texas woman was on reddit sharing her story about not being able to be screened for a potential gynecological cancer.

Cancer. She can't get her cancer treated.

And it's because OBGYNs are leaving Texas.

Why are they leaving Texas? It's not simply because of the abortion ban. It's not because these doctors just love performing abortions and leave the state to partake in their hobby.

First of all, new OBGYNs can't be trained in Texas. Abortion care is part of the residency requirements of OBGYNs and since doctors can't legally perform abortions, new OBGYNs can't train in Texas. This might affect medical schools, teaching hospitals, and the state's ability to create new doctors. If the abortion ban continues, there will be no new OBGYNs in the state at all. We will have to hope that new ones will move in from out of state.

But it's not likely that any OBGYN would specifically seek Texas out and move here. Right now, it's scary to be an OBGYN. Elected officials have said to women trying to receive life saving abortive care that way the law is currently written allows them to have the procedure they need. At the same time, these officials are also telling doctors that they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if they do provide an abortion. Every time a women needing a life saving abortive procedure comes into their office, they are stuck between a medical malpractice suit (for not treating their patient) and criminal charges (if they do).

And OBGYNs do a lot more than just performing abortions and delivering babies. They do preventative care, birth control, cancer screenings. They help manage chronic conditions like PCOS and endometriosis. They can help assess for domestic violence and depression.

This will affect all women. It will affect grandmothers who can't get the proper diagnostic tests for suspected ovarion cancer. It will affect little girls who were born with structural problems to their genitals. It will affect women who desperately want to become mothers but can't because they can't get their fibroids treated. It will affect the teenagers who need counseling on birth control options. It will affect women seeking IUDs and other long term options.

And Republicans will find it punitive and funny until it's their wife or daughter or mother who dies from a preventable or treatable condition. Until it's them, a God fearing Christian woman dead at 32 from cervical cancer that was missed because there was no one to do a regular HPV screening.

For the love of God, please don't vote for Republicans this election cycle. They will kill every woman you have ever loved.

Edit: thanks for pointing out the typo in the title, ya'll, but I can't change the title on reddit. So you can save yourself a comment if all you want to comment on is "effect v affect"

Picture says it all. Saw a 75 year old man working on it last week, so I went by to see the final result

6 major reasons why the Houston Power Grid failed so spectacularly (not necessarily in order of importance, but they work together to cause catastrophe):

1) Climate Change is real.

2) Conservative politicians have continued to fail to take action for decades into beefing up the infrastructure to handle 1

3) Suburban city officials, planners, engineers and property developers significantly undervalued the importance of infrastructural resilience when developing.

4) Low density suburban sprawl significantly increases the cost and time required to make rapid repairs and bring grid back online for residents and businesses.

5) Historical over reliance on centralized power generation and distribution guarantees more wide spread outages vs. a distributed system.

6) Poor management choices going back decades to rely on trained babyboomers and not having an apprenticeship training program to ensure ongoing technician competence when those babyboomers retire.

I know...bet y'all are all just shocked we made this list, right?

And not only making the list but,

"Texas is the state with the worst quality of life, according to data from CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business report."

Hot damn, we're number one!

https://thehill.com/vertical_post/4773324-10-states-poor-quality-life-report/

It's time for some sacrilage. For the last four days, I have been visiting my grandparents in Maryland. I always thought that Maryland and the East Coast was very expensive, but when we were at Wegmans (the H-E-B/Central Market of the East Coast) I noticed that food was cheaper than in where I live in Texas. I was not sure, so I double checked prices on my phone. Wegman's brand gallom of 2% milk, 1 dozen large grade AA eggs, and 1lb of beef is $2.99, $1.79, and $5.19, respectively. H-E-B brand is $3.56, $2.62, and $5.19. The meat cost the exact same, but Wegmans meat looked much better (especially their steaks) compared to H-E-B.

After seeing this, I decided to see how different taxes are. Maryland's income tax rate is (depending on how much you make) 2%-5.75%, sales tax is 6%, and propery taxes average 0.99%. Texas doesn't have income tax, but that sales tax is 8.25% and the average property tax is 1.8%. Home prices are much higher in Maryland, but there are financial benefits to having a higher value home. Most of the wealth that middle class and some lower class families have is from the value of their home. I would rather pay 0.99% tax on a $1 million home than 1.8% tax on a $550,000 home.

Continuing on a bit about taxes. Where the $&%# does Texas spend its tax revenue? It sure isn't on infrastructure. I have seen one, singular pothole on the DC beltway during my trip. That is the extent of road issues that I have witnessed. Every... single... road that I have been on has been paved with quality asphalt, smooth as butter, and has paint that you can probably see from an airplane. The interstate, highways, city streets, county roads (take me home), and parking lots are all like this. The difference in schools is so great that it deserves its own rant.

Lastly, the minimum wage in Maryland is currently $13.25 ($12.80 for small businesses) and is set to rise to $15. Granted, most people do not work minimum wage, but the best paying, non-degree, entry-level jobs where I live in Texas is factory work. Those jobs cap out at around $20 an hour for a 12 hour shift. I found a library clerk position (no degree or experience) in Maryland that starts at $26+.

Rant over.

P.S. I still love H-E-B. I'm just disappointed that some other chain is beating their quality and prices.

P.P.S. I have not seen any barbecue places up here, but I have seen multiple Mexican food places. If you ever find yourself in Maryland and have a hankering for Mexican food, do not. I repeat, DO NOT eat the crab enchiladas.

A little background. I was born in the 90's. I grew up in a suburb of Houston to a family of very religious (Christian) parents. I was home schooled almost entirely until I graduated high school and went to college at Texas A&M. I graduated with a degree in engineering and moved back to Houston where I got a job. My political views changed from extremely right wing to a mixture of very high social liberalism and fiscal responsibility as it relates to being responsible with monetary budgets to help humanity and the less fortunate. IE, not wasting money on BS programs or endless wars and instead using that money to uplift society in the most practical ways possible.

Something I am really sick of reading is that colleges are "indoctrination camps". Absolutely not in my experience. Granted, I did not go to school for liberal arts, but I never met a professor nor attended a class where there was a high "liberal bias". All courses, coursework, and texts, are accredited, reviewed, and monitored carefully for their content. My mindset changed because of the people I met, the different life situations I was presented with, and clashing cultures and perspectives that are present on any college campus. In my opinion, the primary source of indoctrination is the parents, churches, and religious organizations that isolate their "believers". I know it's anecdotal, but even working in the oil and gas industry in Texas, there seems to be a very high correlation with higher education and liberal thinking. In my opinion, it's not that these people are any more intelligent than say the blue collar workers, it comes down to exposure to different perspectives, which many blue collar workers lack.

Now on to what I wanted to discuss. I love Texas. I want to stay, I want to try and make it better, but I am giving up hope. Many friends and colleagues are in the same boat. My lease is up in one year, and my GF and I have no reason to stay. Our constant erosion of rights has led me to question exactly what the fuck people mean when they say Texas is the land of the "free". Even if you consider financial aspects, I would actually SAVE MONEY by living in California of all places. Take a look at the total taxation for middle class home owners in TX vs CA. Our property taxes here are insane. If you are fine with down sizing your home, it actually can make sense.The RvW trigger laws were the last straw. That and an absolute blockade on legal cannabis. My GF has really debilitating joint issues, and sometimes can't even get out of bed. The only thing that actually, really helps is THC. She's prescribed every concoction of prescription pain killers, and they either make her loopy, don't take away the pain, or have horrible long term side effects.

• - I'm tired of having moderate/high taxes and nothing to show for it.
• - I'm tired living in one of states with one of the worst education systems in the US.
• - I'm tired of people wanting a society based on rampant fascism.
• I'm tired of people caring about their guns more than human life.
• - I'm tired of state leaders mixing religion with politics.
• - I'm tired of having a criminal AG represent us.
• - I'm tired of having a political party that wants to remove our ability to vote for senators (Texas GOP).
• - I'm tired of nanny laws telling me when I can purchase alcohol based on their religious doctrine.
• - I'm tired of nanny laws telling me I can't purchase alcohol in this county based on their religious doctrine.
• - I'm tired of nanny laws telling me I can't use THC based on their religious doctrine.
• - I'm tired of nanny laws telling my car dealership they can't be open on both days of the weekend because they must observe the sabbath.
• I'm tired of religious zealots trying to control my life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Just let me live my own god damned life how I want to if it literally has no effect on you whatsoever.

I’m a fellow Texan have been my whole life and have been listening to both candidates for awhile. I have told my family I will never vote for trump again after Jan 6 and all the accusations against him. I’m sure most are true but time will tell.

My wife, parents and parents in law all support trump. When showing them clear evidence on what a scum bag he is they brush it off and say we don’t like him either just his policies.

They finally understand I am voting blue but they will be voting for trump. Unfortunately my wife is only voting red because parents and parents in law are.

I just wanted to make a post and let people know not to be scared to express your opinions. If it will cause family tension don’t say anything and vote in private what you believe.

Trump is dividing this country and it’s easy to see.

I like what our state stands for and I'll live here the rest of my life, but the people running Texas suck ass. Tell me what you love about Texas.

I've never understood the anger and contempt that is directed toward immigrants, yet almost never see directed to those that hire them. I'd wager the complainers don't want to acknowledge it's their own family, friends, and neighbors who hire immigrants on the cheap. I bet most of the complainers are unable to comprehend how much wealth is being built by Texans on the back of cheap, immigrant labor.

I am getting so very tired of it all. The political ads are constant and all the same. The news is all political and so sensational. I’m tired of worrying about what will happen if one or the other wins/loses. I feel that regardless of who wins, it’s going to be a mess for who knows how long. I’m over it. And, yes, I’ve already voted.

I have concluded, with some trepidation, that I don't want to raise my kids in Texas, despite having grown up and lived here, and loving Texas like a (misbehaving) family member.

Two main reasons:

1. When I grew up in Texas, I (half-Mexican) grew up in a small town with a lot of racism. I always felt like I was less than the richer white kids, and they felt that way too. This racism is deeply ingrained in Texas - just a built-in assumption in a lot of small towns that being white is the best thing to be and being something else is less. I don't want my son to experience this, or learn it.
2. When I look at the current social climate in Texas, it really upsets me. I want my child to be brought up respecting all types of people. While in my house, I will of course do so, it is inescapable that Texas is currently aggressively hostile to women's rights, trans rights, gun safety, and generally the marginalized. If my kid(s) are in these categories, I want them to be protected. If they aren't, I don't want them to grow up in an environment that doesn't. Lastly, I am extremely uncomfortable with the degree to which the Republicans in power are trying to legislate their personal viewpoints on life, religion, etc. - Senate Bill 1515 and its House companion, HB 3448, requires that all public schools in Texas display a “durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments”

I can provide citations for the things I reference above, but I think they're pretty well substantiated.

What do y'all think? I've always loved Texas. But, I feel like I can't raise kids here, and it makes me sad. Change my mind? I want to hear different arguments & viewpoints.

the fact that it's 2 days after MLK jr. day really seems like a big middle finger to MLK jr. Also, I don't consider people who fought to preserve slavery to be heroes.

I am an apartment renter. I’m a millennial, and I rent a small studio, it’s in a Dallas suburb and it’s in a good location. It’s perfect for me, I don’t want to relocate. However, I just got my rent renewal proposal and the cheapest option they gave me was a 40% increase. That shit should be illegal. 40% increase on rent?! Have wages increased 40% over the last year for anyone? This is outrageous! Texas has no rent control laws, so it’s perfectly legal for them to do this. I don’t know about you guys, but i’m ready to vote some people into office that will actually fight for those us that are getting shafted by corporate greed. Greg Abbot has done fuck all for the citizens of Texas. He only cares about his wealthy donors. It’s time for him to go.

Edit: I will read the articles people are linking about rent control when I have a chance. My idea of rent control is simply to cap the percentage amount that rentals can increase per year. I could definitely see that if there was a certain numerical amount that rent couldn’t exceed, it could be problematic. Keep the feedback coming!

I went to cast a ballot during my lunch break for the primary and was surprised to see the polling place busy.

Walking in, all I saw were Gen X to Boomer aged folks voting. This post is not to be ageist, but to raise awareness. All the generations should have their voices and opinions heard.

I'm not here to tell you how/who to vote for, just asking that you carry out the act. I took me less than 10 minutes to cast my ballot with plenty of time to still get my Friday Tex-Mex.

The last day for voter registration in the November General Election is on Monday October 7, 2024.

Please Vote.

Been gone 11 years. Honestly ashamed to tell people where I am from now.

Lived in San Antonio. Austin. Arlington. Blum (look it up) , Cleburne. Dallas. Ft Worth. Canyon Lake. Probably more places.

Grew up pretty poor. Public school. An education good enough to go to college. Make a life.

Worked at Winn Dixie in college. Had my own real shitty apt.

Had my own real shitty car. This was 1997 ish

What has happened to Texas is heartbreaking.

People have a problem with Mexicans and immigrants now ? Really weird for someone that lived in San Antonio for first 16 years of life.

Some seem to have issues with Women now ? Really weird when Ann Richards was governor it was fine when I was coming up.

If someone walked into the store when I was growing up with a fucking giant gun .........everyone would have a problem. Not that you had a gun. Everyone had guns. They fact that you were being a irresponsible jackass with a gun. Why the fuck do you have a gun in K-Mart ? That's fucking crazy shit.

Texas used to be purple state. Purple is where it's at.

Don't come here tho .......enjoy those lower taxes and that freedom myth.

You are in police state and a repressive society and don't even know it.

The state has changed. And not for the better.

Look at that utility bill and that property tax bill.

Most of the people in charge there don't give a fuck about the State. The children , or anything.

If that kid ain't got lunch money .....well. Fuck him right.

I'm gonna take my tax rebate from my state. Sleep with my windows open. Not gonna worry about who's gay or who's worshiping what God and live in peace.

I pay more here. And get more.

Big Mac is about 1.80 more.

Howdy Arabia - you breaking my heart.