Abortion, Every Day (4.11.23)

In the states…

In the wake of conflicting rulings on abortion medication, pro-choice states are responding in different ways. Let’s start with my home state of New York, because it’s really pissing me off right now. New York City’s Health Department tweeted that they’d be shifting to a misoprostol-only protocol if the ruling stands. And Governor Kathy Hochul says she’s working to protect misoprostol, but stopped short of saying anything about mifepristone—the drug that is actually in danger right now. It seems as if New York leadership is waiting on guidance or a move from the White House: Hochul said in an interview, “we'll have to wait and see what happens after the Biden administration.” Why in the world would the state adhere to a sham ruling? What happened to being leaders on abortion rights?

One good thing coming out of New York is that the Attorney General Letitia James filed an amicus brief in opposition to the ruling. AG James said, “The decision to halt the FDA’s longstanding approval of mifepristone was clearly misguided and not based on science or medical research.” (Fun fact: Abortion, Every Day is cited in that brief.)

In California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom has been trying to lead the charge on abortion rights, the state announced that it stockpiled misoprostol. Again, it is mifepristone that they need! A release from the governor’s office says, “while California still believes Mifepristone is central to the preferred regimen for medication abortion, the State negotiated and purchased an emergency stockpile of Misoprostol in anticipation of Friday’s ruling…” This language is so wishy-washy: you believe mifepristone is central to medication abortion? Come on. This is just a way for them to get around saying what is really going on: they don’t plan to dispense mifepristone.

Meanwhile, Washington did the right thing and stockpiled mifepristone; and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced that they did the same. Smart, brave, correct decisions. And in Arizona, Attorney General Kris Mayes made clear that mifepristone remains legal in the state—specifically because of the separate Washington ruling that Mayes joined in order to protect mifepristone in Arizona.

Some more state responses to the Texas ruling: Connecticut Attorney General William Tong called it “just total bullshit” that “reflects this ongoing deep-seated, abiding, pervasive, pernicious misogyny in our law.” Pennsylvania political leaders assured citizens that medication abortion remains legal in the state, with Gov. Josh Shapiro launching a website to give people information about their reproductive rights and where to obtain an abortion.

Doctors in Kansas and Minnesota say that they’re prepared to move to a misoprostol-only protocol if necessary, while in Virginia, Gov. Glenn Yougkin continues to be the meh-est. He responded to a question about the ruling restricting mifepristone by saying, “I don't have much of an opinion other than that’s a judge’s ruling.” Compelling stuff.

Iowa’s Supreme Court will hear arguments today about the state’s currently blocked 6-week abortion ban. Also in Iowa, I reported yesterday that the state will no longer pay for rape victims’ morning-after pills—last night Rachel Maddow had a segment on the (incredibly cruel) new policy:

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards wants to add rape and incest exceptions to the state’s abortion ban—something we know are exemptions in name only. This comes right around the same time a new poll in the state shows that the majority of likely voters want abortion to be legal. Not only did nearly half of the respondents identify as ‘pro-choice’, 53% said they would support a constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. That is a big fucking deal and part of the reason Republicans are working so hard to stop pro-choice ballot measures: they know that when abortion is put directly to Americans, even those in red states, they vote to make it legal.

You probably remember the asshole in Texas who is suing three of his ex-wife’s friends, claiming they helped her obtain an abortion. Central to Marcus Silva’s claim is that his wife ended her pregnancy without his knowledge. But NPR did a little digging and found out that very likely wasn’t the case—and that Silva did know she was (allegedly) ending her pregnancy. Hopefully his weakens his lawsuit.

In Montana, a judge has denied a motion from abortion providers seeking to block a law banning a specific abortion procedure, calling the move “premature.” Martha Fuller, president of Planned Parenthood of Montana, said the law would put patients’ lives at risk:

“Providers should be able to use their medical training, judgment, and expertise to provide the care that is best for each patient—without political interference or fear of criminal prosecution.”

Over the weekend, Sen. Lauren Book spoke about Florida’s recently-passed 6-week abortion ban and being arrested while protesting the law:

Also in Florida, check out this South Florida Sun Sentinel piece about the way that state inspectors have been targeting abortion clinics with absurd penalties for improper paperwork or “lack of documentation.” Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani says, “This is called administrative burden.” She says that targeting the clinics with fines “is designed to push providers out of existence.”

The last bit of state news is a doozy. You may remember that North Dakota passed a law requiring sex education classrooms to show a video of an ultrasound and a “computer-generated rendering or animation showing the process of fertilization and every stage of human development inside the uterus.” Guess who is providing that fetal development video? Fucking LIVE ACTION—one of the most extremist anti-abortion groups in the country. Live Action sent out an email to its supporters today, telling them the news that “the model video for schools to use to educate students [is] none other than an unbranded version of Live Action’s Baby Olivia video!”

Here’s the thing: Not only is this group completely radical, they are known for producing deceptive videos; that’s their whole thing! In fact, a former leader at the organization lost a $2 million judgement after releasing deceptively-edited videos targeting Planned Parenthood. This is what these people do—and now children in North Dakota are going to be victims of their misinformation and lies. (You can watch the “Baby Olivia” video here: It’s made to look as if it’s an ultrasound video or images of an actual fetus. It’s not.) Thanks to Abortion, Every Day reader Robin for the heads-up.

Quick hits:

• Louisiana is pushing tax credits for those who donate to anti-abortion centers or adopt children;

• The Dayton Daily News in Ohio has an explainer of Republicans’ push for a special election on ballot measure votes and what it has to do with abortion;

• And Whole Woman’s Health is trying to spread the word to Texans that they can come get care in their New Mexico clinic.

In the nation…

Will abortion be the issue that saves democracy? Because people are pissed and Republicans are running scared. Their silence over the abortion medication ruling is just the latest indication that conservative lawmakers can see the writing on the wall. The New York Times reports that Republicans are struggling to find a way forward, with legislators like Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina arguing that they’re losing voters because “we keep going down these rabbit holes of extremism.” Mace says Republicans need to show “that we have some compassion, we can show the country our policies are reasonable.” But here’s the thing, the policies aren’t reasonable—we’ve seen that the recent push for exceptions, language changes in legislation and faux Republican ‘compromises’ don’t do anything to increase care for women or decrease the suffering abortion bans cause. And voters can see that.

The Associated Press has more information on the Justice Department’s appeal of the Texas ruling, and their separate request for more information from the federal court in Washington who issued a conflicting ruling. If that sound confusing, it’s because it is. And that’s the point. As Jennifer Dalven, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Reproductive Freedom Project, said, “There will be significant confusion and chaos as providers try to provide the best care they possibly can for their patients.” Through every court case, every ban with bizarre and vague language, conservatives are hoping that we will be so overwhelmed and confused that it will be impossible for us to move forward.

Related: U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says he’s confident that “ultimately, we will prevail in court”—though that ‘ultimately’ doesn’t make me feel all that confident.

At The Washington Post, columnist Monica Hesse writes that “the feminists were right all along” on abortion:

“The banning of mifepristone says that those seeking abortions should suffer, maximally. That they should not be allowed to retreat to their apartments, that they must walk through the gantlets of protesters. That even when the suffering could be prevented, the suffering will not be prevented. There will be no heating pads, no movies, no private rituals of grief or celebration. The suffering is demanded. The suffering is the point.”

This is exactly what I was getting at in my column last week. The reason they went after abortion medication, specifically, was because it made women’s lives and decisions easier: “Our ability to end a pregnancy with just a few pills—safely, privately, at home and without shame—was too much for them to take.” (No, I’m not above quoting myself.)

Glad to see the attack on abortion medication getting widespread media coverage, even at places like the TODAY show—which actually had a not-too-bad overview of some of the legal issues.

If the ruling against mifepristone stands, access to reproductive health care services of all kinds are likely to decrease. Already, we’ve seen a huge impact post-Dobbs; and a new study bears out exactly how bad it’s been. Research published this week shows that 45% of women experienced at least one barrier to reproductive health care in 2021. In 2017, that number was 35%. And nearly 19% of women reported at least three barriers in 2021, up from 16% in 2017.

In related news, we have new research from #WeCount showing post-Roe abortion rates. The biggest takeaway was that over 66,000 people were unable to receive a legal abortion in their home state between April and December 2022. The states that saw the biggest reduction in abortions were Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, Arizona, and Louisiana. (Not all of those states had total bans, but abortion restrictions.) The states with the biggest increases in abortions won’t necessarily surprise you, either; they’re the places most likely to see patients traveling from anti-choice states. #WeCount saw the biggest increases in abortions in Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Colorado and Michigan.

The fact that Florida and North Carolina are on that list is really important. We’ve been talking a lot here about how the 6-week ban in Florida and the possible total ban in North Carolina (now that Republicans have the votes to override a veto) will decimate the South’s abortion access. This research further solidifies that fact.

We also know it will be the most marginalized among us who will be hardest hit by a reduction in abortion access. This piece, for example, looks at what the fight over abortion rights means for Native communities—who are disproportionately hurt by restrictions. D'Arlyn Bell, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a scholar at the University of Kansas, says, “We see abortion bans as a perpetuation of colonization because it is just another example of taking away bodily autonomy and autonomy in general.”

Quick hits:

• Forbes reminds us of all the polls and studies showing just how popular abortion rights are;

• CNN has a piece on what might happen should abortion medication go to the Supreme Court;

• Talking Points Memo on how the anti-mifepristone ruling could impact other drugs and vaccines;

• And doctors remind us that mifepristone is also commonly used to treat miscarriages.

Keep an eye on…

I’ve been writing a bit about the move in anti-choice states to “streamline” the adoption process and terminate parental rights—and the link that has to the anti-abortion movement and their relationship to evangelical Christian adoption agencies. (In short, it’s a racist clusterfuck.) We’ve seen moves out of Alabama and Tennessee to make it easier for the state to take people’s children from them, and now we’re seeing a similar move in Florida.

Republicans there have advanced legislation to implement baby boxes in the state, which most people don’t know allow the state to terminate parental rights. That means people in their most desperate moment, would be unaware that by using the boxes they may never be able to get their babies back—there have been cases of women spending months to years in court battles trying to reclaim their parental rights.

Today’s hate read…

Not that anyone needs to be more pissed off than they already are, but I’ve written before about the conservative women’s magazine Evie—a publication backed by Peter Thiel and that created an app to collect data on women’s periods. They’re all about spreading misinformation about contraception, and today is no exception: they’re running an article that claims hormonal birth control gives women’s bodies a response that is indistinguishable from PTSD. Yes, seriously. This is all part of a broader conservative effort to sow distrust in contraception, something I am seeing more of every single day.

Thanks to researcher Grace Haley for her help compiling Abortion, Every Day.