Abortion, Every Day (3.28.23)

In the states…

Republicans across multiple states, not content with simply making abortion illegal, are working to enact some pretty troubling legislation to further restrict and punish anything having to do with abortion.

In Wisconsin, for example, Republicans are making moves to propose a “Taxpayer Abortion Subsidy Prevention,” a very dry name for an extraordinarily radical bill. Wisconsin law already bans state money from being used for abortions—what this law would do is ban public employees from even being able to speak about abortion. From the Wisconsin Examiner:

“Under the bill, no person employed by the state, by a state agency or by a local government would be allowed to provide abortion services; promote, encourage, or counsel in favor of abortion services; make abortion referrals either directly or through an intermediary; or train others to perform abortions or receive training in performing abortions.”

The bill also would ban the use of public property for “abortion related activities.” Democratic Sen. Kelda Roys asks, “Could that be public sidewalks? Could it be public streets? Could that be public parks?” And if state employees can’t encourage or train in abortion, doesn’t that mean it would be illegal for the University of Wisconsin’s medical school to send residents out of state for abortion training? The possibilities are endless.

The good news, of course, is that if this legislation goes anywhere, it will be vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers—but it gives us a good sense of what conservative lawmakers want to target next. And as Sen. Roys says, “Just putting it out there creates a climate of fear as people aren’t sure what’s legal and what’s not.”

And then we have Idaho Republicans, who are trying to create a whole new abortion-related crime: ‘Abortion trafficking.’ I’ve reported on this bill before, which classifies anyone who takes a minor out-of-state for abortion care as a trafficker—punishable by two to five years in prison. It’s part of a broader move by anti-abortion activists and legislators to start the slow chipping-away process on interstate travel. (I did a TikTok about how that might work last month.)

What’s also notable is that the bill doesn’t just criminalize taking a minor out of the state for abortion. Anyone who helps a teenager get an abortion within the state would also be guilty of ‘abortion trafficking’. And while abortion is illegal in Idaho, we know that women and girls are having abortion medication shipped to them within the state. Under this law, an older sister or grandma who drives a teenager to pick up abortion medication at the post office could go to prison for five years. The bill passed through the Senate State Affairs Committee yesterday.

Also in Idaho, Republicans have held up legislation that would make period products available in schools (because of course they did.) Republican Rep. Barbara Ehardt called the language of the bill, which talked about menstrual equity, “woke terms.” And Republican Rep. Heather Scott, asked, “Why are our schools obsessed with the private parts of our children?” You guys, I’m so tired.

Florida’s 6-week abortion ban passed its final committee hearing this afternoon and is now up for a Senate vote. (If you missed my interview with state Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book about the probable ban, you can read it here.) If it’s successful, it will be a major blow to abortion access in the South, where Florida has been a sort of safe haven for care—even with its current 15-week restriction. For the sake of understanding the scale of this: There are about 22 million people in Florida—as much as the populations of Greece and Sweden put together, nearly as many people live in Australia. It will be a tremendous loss.

The Kansas Supreme Court is signaling that they still believe—as they ruled in 2019—the state constitution protects abortion rights. A reminder that the Court is considering two abortion-related lawsuits: One that seeks to ban a particular kind of procedure, and another that asks justices to overturn their 2019 decision. This all comes in the wake of a resounding pro-choice ballot measure win, something the Court seems to have top of mind.

Justice Dan Biles called the ballot measure vote “the elephant in the room,” and told the state’s attorney, “We had a vote in August, and it was pretty overwhelming.” Kansas Solicitor General Tony Powell, however, argued that the voters’ decision “doesn’t matter” (a depressingly common Republican position on the notion of Americans having a say on abortion). We’re not likely to hear an actual ruling for a while but it’s nice to have a positive development in the meantime.

Georgia’s Supreme Court is also looking at the state’s abortion ban, which was ruled unconstitutional by a lower court because it was enacted in 2019 while Roe was still precedent. The state Supreme Court started to hear oral arguments today—unfortunately, the law is still enforceable during the appeals process. (Axios has additional background if you’d like to read more.)

Law professor and author Mary Ziegler writes that the lawsuit brought by a Texas man against three women he accuses of helping his ex-wife obtain an abortion is about much more than one state or one case. The man’s lawyer, Jonathan Mitchell, architect of Texas’ bounty hunter law, has broader ambitions—namely, getting the idea of personhood to the Supreme Court. Just as bad is the way he wants to get it there:

“How can abortion opponents operationalize the idea of fetal personhood? Mitchell’s suit offers one answer: expanding the authority of men. Marcus Silva, the plaintiff in this suit, complains that his ex-wife concealed her ‘pregnancy from her husband and decided to kill the unborn child without [his] knowledge or consent.’ He seeks to punish those who helped her in acquiring abortion medication and, by proxy, also punish his ex-wife.”

Also in Texas: I told you earlier this year about Republican efforts to punish any district attorneys who refuse to prosecute abortion cases, essentially pushing legislation that would fine DAs for each case they declined to take on. Today, The Texas Tribune goes into detail on the issue, pointing out how it’s not just an attack on abortion rights—but prosecutorial independence.

In Danville, Illinois, anti-choice activists and politicians are protesting the possible opening of an abortion clinic in the area. State Rep. Adam Niemerg said, “There seems to be a sinister effort to bring abortion clinics to parts of Illinois that are overwhelmingly pro-life, just to make some sort of point.” (In fact, it probably has more to do with the fact that the town is right on the border of Indiana, whose abortion ban could be unblocked at any point.)

The Montana Sexual and Reproductive Health Collective points out that 75% of Montanans oppose changes to the state constitution’s right to privacy, which protects abortion—yet anti-choice bills continue to make their way through the legislature.

And just flagging this once more: Alabama Republicans want to give anti-abortion centers $10 million a year—this comes after telling reporters that they’re also seeking to “streamline” the adoption process. Anti-abortion centers often have relationships to Christian adoption organizations.

Quick hits:

• Anti-choice groups in Ohio continue to run deceptive ads about the pro-choice ballot measure set to be in front of voters in November;

• Colorado wants to regulate anti-abortion centers;

• Abortion protections in Minnesota are awaiting a Senate vote;

• More on the woman arrested for setting fire to a Wyoming abortion clinic;

• The Albuquerque Journal has a round-up of their abortion coverage in New Mexico;

• And more on Texas doctors leaving the state over its abortion ban.

In the nation…

If you missed Rebecca Traister’s New York Magazine cover story about how abortion wins elections—and why Democrats need to behave as such—you need to get on it right now. It’s the reality check and call to action I think a lot of people could use at the moment. Traister gets into Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s aggressive and unapologetic abortion stance, for example, and just how successful it’s been:

“At the Michigan State of the State, she did not treat abortion as Democrats often do, as if it’s slightly icky and private, damp and sad. She did not cordon it off in its own dolorous corner separate from all the rousing stuff about creating a mighty Michigan economy. Rather, she led with it…States with anti-abortion and anti-trans laws, she told her audience, ‘are losing talent and investment because bigotry is bad for business.’”

She also writes about Biden’s less-than-enthusiastic defense of abortion (and how it’s not exactly meeting the energy of the moment), and the need for an abortion rights agenda that treats the issue like the winner it is. One person who worked with the administration told Traister, “I am so sick of people talking about a 30-year plan for abortion. I want to have a two-year plan for abortion.” YES. Make sure to read the whole piece.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama continues to hold up Defense Department nominations and promotions in protest of the department allowing service-members to have abortions in (extremely) limited circumstances. Today, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin responded by accusing Tuberville of impacting military readiness:

“Not approving the recommendations for promotions actually creates a ripple effect in the force that makes us far less ready than we need to be. The effects are cumulative and it will affect families, it will affect kids going to schools…it’s a powerful effect and it will impact our readiness.”

Quick hits:

• Democrats are calling on the Biden administration to crack down on insurers who continue to deny coverage of contraception without cost-sharing;

• The Los Angeles Times has a column on how anti-Obamacare laws are now being used to protect abortion rights;

• POLITICO gets into the fight between the Biden administration and Democratic Attorneys General, who are suing the FDA to loosen restrictions on abortion medication;

• And The Philadelphia Inquirer looks at the high rate of premature births in the U.S and possible connections to abortion rights.

Listen up…

Thanks to an eagle-eyed reader for flagging this interview with Hunter Lundy, independent gubernatorial candidate in Louisiana. Lundy is on the governing board of the extremist group, the National Association of Christian Lawmakers—profiled in the Rolling Stone last month as one of the leading groups turning hate into policy. (With an eye specifically on abortion: Texas Senator Bryan Hughes, who helped get the bounty hunter bill passed, is also a member.)

In the interview, Lundy says that he disagrees “with the issue of autonomy of the body” (!!!) and lies about abortion, claiming that “the women that go through abortions, 70 percent of them have mental illness later in life.”

If you’re in Louisiana or know someone who is—make sure they know what this guy is all about.

You love to see it…

ELLE magazine has a profile and interview with Oriaku Njoku, the newly-appointed Executive Director of the National Network of Abortion Funds:

“Our responsibility is to support our members to fund abortions and build power for a future where all of us can experience reproductive justice and our collective liberation. I believe it’s going to happen. But it’s going to take time, and it’s going to take regular-degular-ass people. It’s going to take all of us.”

Couldn’t agree more.

And I loved this Teen Vogue column from Minnesota Sen. Lindsey Port, who chairs the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, on the state’s pro-active abortion rights agenda. This is the kind of shit we like to see!