Students participating in Teen Age Communication Theatre will attend lobby day this year, a designated event in response to the overturn of landmark Supreme Court case Roe v Wade. 

People all over Texas are partnering with Planned Parenthood to protest Texas Senate Bill 8. SB8 is a bill restricting access to legal abortions after six weeks of pregnancy or after an infant heartbeat is detectable. 

Often called the “Heartbeat Bill,” the restricted access in the state of Texas has caused a 39.7% drop in laboratory abortions, according to research done by the University of Texas at Austin; however, out of state abortions have increased by over 300%. 

This lack of access also causes women to illegally order abortion pills online or receive an abortion from an unlicensed physician, then causing more failed abortions and health problems. 

To protest this, Planned Parenthood has organized a lobby day at the Texas capitol on April 24. 

Lobby day is defined as a day, usually occurring annually, where non-governmental organizations will plan a lobby or protest at government buildings and meet up with federal officials at various levels. 

Scheduled to provide an opportunity for adults and students alike to speak directly to Senators and other government officials, Planned Parenthood hosts rallies all over the country, regularly meeting at government buildings to speak to people in power face to face. 

TACT members and other students alike will use this platform to directly communicate with senators to further their own personal projects and speak with legislators about problems surrounding the enforcement of SB8. One of their main objectives is to advocate for the inclusion of exceptions in the law. 

“We want to work on making more lenience on exceptions. Currently, there is no exception for rape and incest and we want to make sure that is accounted for,” sophomore TACT member, Saxon Moseley said. 

TACT is an advocacy group that uses theater to educate people of all ages around the Dallas community about sex education, reproductive health and various other social topics such as bullying and suicide. 

“Although a lot of people consider advocacy events like this for “adults,” having an outlet to voice opinions as a child is really freeing, it’s really cool to speak with professionals in the field and people who work so closely with these issues,” said junior TACT member, Ava Shipp.