Texas took the lead among Republican states last September in making abortion illegal once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. Now, some fear the state may be emboldened to go further.

A leaked opinion last week from the U.S. Supreme Court suggested the landmark ruling making abortion legal nationwide is about to be overturned.

Diana Gomez, advocacy director of Progress Texas, said with the Roe v. Wade decision hanging in the balance, other landmark decisions, such as same-sex marriage, could face the same outcome.

"Overturning Roe is setting a terrible precedent in terms of overturning our civil rights," Gomez contended. "What's coming next, and they gave a preview into marriage equality, interracial marriage, so many other things that deal with privacy and that are decisions that we should be making on our own."

The Supreme Court opted not to intervene to prevent the six-week Texas ban from taking effect last September, setting up other GOP-led states to adopt copycat laws in anticipation of Roe v. Wade being tossed out.

Planned Parenthood and other reproductive justice groups are planning nationwide rallies for this Saturday, May 14.

Assuming abortion laws are returned to state control, Gomez fears Texas lawmakers will next go after birth control pills and other contraception methods to prevent fertilization.

"It's terrible that the far-right, anti-abortion Republicans really want to limit our access to health care, and that includes birth control," Gomez asserted. "It's a lot about controlling us and taking away our bodily autonomy."

A poll released by CNN over the weekend found 66 percent of respondents do not think Roe v. Wade should be completely struck down.

In Houston, thousands of people turned out at an abortion-rights rally organized by Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke.

Source: Texas News Service