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Texas abortion law could send women across borders

By WTOP Staff

PAUL J. WEBER
Associated Press

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Crossing borders is a part of life in El Paso in far West Texas, where people may walk into Mexico to visit family or commute to New Mexico for work. But getting an abortion doesn’t require leaving town.

That could change if a federal judge upholds new Texas rules that would ban abortions at 18 clinics starting Sept. 1, including only one that offers the procedure in El Paso, where one of the toughest anti-abortion laws in the U.S. has come under particular scrutiny at a trial ending Wednesday in Austin.

Without any abortion providers in El Paso, women there would face a 550-mile trip to the nearest place in Texas to legally terminate a pregnancy. Attorneys for the state point out that women wouldn’t really have to drive that far: They could simply go to a clinic 15 minutes away in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.

Opponents of the new rules say that argument shows the goal isn’t to protect women, as supporters contend. New Mexico — which one anti-abortion group mocks as the “anything goes” Wild West of abortion access — does not require the same new standards that Republican Gov. Rick Perry approved in 2013 in the name of protecting women’s health. It also doesn’t require the pre-abortion sonograms that Texas began mandating in 2012.

“It’s hypocritical to say they want to protect women, to say that they want women to have a safe abortion and then take away the clinics and make the women go to another state. How do you care about the women of Texas? They don’t care,” said Gerri Laster, who ran what had been a second abortion clinic in El Paso before it closed in June because of other new mandates.

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel is not expected to immediately issue a ruling after closing arguments Wednesday, but he’ll be on a tight timeline.

The law would leave just seven abortion facilities in Texas, all of which would be in major cities and none in the western half of the nation’s second-largest state.

The seven facilities that will remain already have operating rooms, sterile ventilation systems and other hospital-style standards that abortion providers are required to meet under the new Texas law. Outraged abortion clinic owners say they can’t afford to make those upgrades, which they criticize as unnecessary.

But one notable clinic isn’t in a fury: the last one left in El Paso.

That’s partly because the company behind Hilltop Women’s Reproductive Clinic also owns the one in Santa Teresa. Gloria Martinez, the administrative nurse at the El Paso clinic, said that office will say open and simply refer women across state lines for the procedure.

Martinez said business has dropped the past four years. As the trial got underway in Austin last week, very few women came through the doors.

“You don’t see the phone ringing off the hook,” Martinez said.

Nearly 2,200 abortions were performed in El Paso in 2011 — about 3.1 percent of all abortions in Texas that year. State attorneys pointed that out in court while making the case that nearly 9 of every 10 women in Texas will still live within 150 miles of an abortion provider.

Texas is proposing that New Mexico is an option for El Paso women, even after a federal judge in Mississippi ruled last month that a state can’t shift obligations on constitutional rights — in this case, abortion access — to its neighbors. Texas says its situation isn’t comparable to Mississippi because, unlike there, the law wouldn’t remove all abortion services in the state.

“At most, some patients may choose to travel out of state for convenience,” the state wrote in court documents.

Laster said closing her clinic, Reproductive Services El Paso, removed the city’s only abortion provider that gave women financial assistance for a procedure that costs around $530. Abortion providers say if they’re lucky, the border women choose to cross will be into New Mexico — and not into Mexico to buy drugs that allow them to undergo dangerous self-abortions.

“It’s not as easy as the Legislature makes it look,” Laster said.

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Llorca reported from El Paso.

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Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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