Abortion, Every Day (5.23.23)

In the States

South Carolina Republicans are still pushing their 6-week abortion ban; the state Senate is debating the bill today. The good news is that the female Senators in the state who killed the bill via filibuster last time around say they’re going to do the same thing this time.

Yesterday, eight new women joined the lawsuit against Texas, arguing that the state’s abortion ban put their health and lives in danger. The stories are just horrific. Michelle Goldberg at The New York Times wrote about the suit, and mentions something I’ve been writing about a lot here, as well: How anti-choice groups have been trying to blame doctors for the horror stories coming out of the state.

But Molly Duane, lawyer at the Center for Reproductive Rights tells her, “This is not some isolated incident of one doctor misunderstanding the law…This is a widespread, pervasive fear throughout the medical community.”

You can hear from a few of the women who signed onto the lawsuit in this ABC News segment:

Speaking of Texas and patients being mistreated: I wrote last week about a new study showing how Roe being overturned has impacted the standard of care doctors are able to provide patients. Of course, that’s been especially true in Texas, where new stories like the ones in the lawsuit against the state are coming out every day. The public radio station in North Texas, KERA, spoke to Kari White at the Texas Policy Evaluation Project (TxPEP), who co-authored the study:

“It’s another example of the ways in which a variety of pregnancy experiences are being pulled into the dragnet of these abortion bans and compromising health care for people. [Doctors] are being forced to watch their patients get sicker before they can intervene. Some of the clinicians are in tears about their inability to provide care or seeing the very real risk of a patient dying in front of them…as a result of these laws.”

And while you don’t need any more reminders of how little Texas values women’s lives, here you go anyway: the state Senate passed an expansion of postpartum Medicaid coverage, but added in language stating that it’s only available to women who give birth or suffer the “natural loss of the child,” not including “pregnancies that end through elective abortion.”

That means that women who have had to leave the state for emergency care that they can’t get in Texas wouldn’t qualify for the coverage. As Adam Serwer says, the cruelty is the point.

The Montana Free Press has a run-down of what’s happening in the state with the Republican law banning D&E procedures, which are generally used in second trimester abortions. Pro-choice advocates were successful in getting enforcement of the law blocked—which is good news for providers and women in the state:

“A letter signed by three maternal fetal medicine physicians and sent to legislators earlier this year described the banned procedure as generally the safest option for pregnant patients dealing with serious health issues and an important option in tragic circumstances.”

Conservative lawmakers are nothing if not consistently cruel! I’ll keep you updated on this one as I find out more.

In Ohio, pro-choice activists are furious about the upcoming $20 million August special election—a move from Republicans to change ballot measure standards in order to stop voters from restoring abortion rights. Emilyn Lagger, a senior at the University of Toledo, told The Guardian, “I feel like a lot of people are just very angry…It destroys democracy.” Conservatives, however, continue to claim that the effort is simply to protect voters.

The Federalist, for example, claims that pro-choice activists are trying to “deceive” voters “with the help of out-of-state donors and outside groups”—and that Ohio Republicans are simply trying to “prevent the same kind of duplicity from wreaking havoc on their state” that happened in Kansas. It’s a hilariously transparent talking point, arguing that the best way to protect voters is to make it harder for them to have a choice. But sure.

In North Carolina, where Republicans just passed their abortion ban, two Rabbis and a Jewish community organizer have written an op-ed denouncing the law and explaining how it violates their religious freedom:

“For thousands of years, Jewish tradition has embraced a sacred obligation to preserve life and protect and prioritize the health and well-being of the pregnant woman; the new abortion ban does not.”

The Nevada bill protecting abortion patients and providers from out-of-state prosecutions and investigations is heading to Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. If the governor doesn’t take action on the bill at all in the next five days, it will automatically become law.

Lindsey Harmon, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes Nevada said in a statement that “protections for our abortion providers and the patients who come to our state seeking care are a vitally important step in acknowledging the present national abortion access landscape and Nevada’s role as a safe haven state.”

Also a reminder that Nevada Democrats passed a proposal to amend the state constitution to enshrine abortion rights—it needs to pass the legislature again in 2025, and then be put to voters in 2026.

Mississippi has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the country, the least amount of support for parents, and one of the strictest abortion bans nationwide. So you can imagine what it’s like to give birth in such a place against your will. Bryce Covert at In These Times followed a woman in the state who was denied an abortion—and looks at what it means to make your way through a system that doesn’t see you as fully human and seems designed to make you fail. If you read one thing today, let it be this.

Another New Mexico city has been targeted by anti-choice groups seeking to ban abortion via local ordinances in pro-choice states. This time, Mark Lee Dickson is in Gallup, New Mexico, where he’s working to get the town government to create a law prohibiting the mailing of abortion medication.

Meanwhile, a 73-year-old man is facing federal charges for driving into an abortion clinic in Danville, Illinois. Police say his car was filled with containers of gasoline, and that he planned to set fire to the building. Terrifying. By the way, if Danville sounds familiar to you, that’s because the town passed an anti-abortion ordinance earlier this month.

Quick hits:

• Bloomberg on the Illinois bill that would protect abortion providers and patients from out-of-state prosecutions;

• A grand jury indicted the arsonist who attacked an abortion clinic in Casper, Wyoming;

• More on the new abortion rights protections in Colorado;

• And the Associated Press has a roundup of some of the state-level fights we can expect to see this week.

In the Nation

Doctors are continuing to leave states with abortion bans: NPR reports on the “medical brain drain” that’s happening as a result of abortion bans, and looks at the study I flagged last month from the Association of American Medical Colleges. The group found a broad decline in medical school seniors applying for residencies in states with abortion bans—with a particular decline when it came to OBGYN residencies. There was a decrease in applications for OBGYN residencies across the board, but the decrease in anti-choice states was more than twice as large as those with no bans.

There have been reports that President Joe Biden was considering not moving Space Command headquarters to Alabama because of the state’s abortion ban, instead leaving it where it is in Colorado. But Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said yesterday that the decision has nothing to do with abortion: “There is nothing in that decision criteria about state laws, that might be about abortion or gay rights. That is not part of the decision criteria.” That’s too bad, because it should be.

And you may remember that last month I wrote about Tennessee losing millions of dollars in federal Title X funds because they refuse to comply with a mandate that says anyone seeking care at a federally-funded clinic be given all their pregnancy options, including abortion. Today, CNN looks at how this a problem facing multiple states, where facilities are struggling with how to adhere to both state and federal laws. Texas law professor Kimberley Harris says, “The federal regulation might require me to provide counseling and provide information…But if you’re telling providers that they may lose their license, or they might go to jail, or they might face a huge fine? Rightfully, they’re going to be concerned.”

Quick hits:

• Jill Filipovic at Ms. magazine on how abortion bans endanger women’s lives;

• USA Today on Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s ridiculous hold-up of military nominations and promotions over the DoD’s abortion policy;

• How colleges are adjusting to new rules requiring that they provide students with abortion medication;

• And The Daily Beast on ‘abortion pill vigilantes’ who are bringing the medication into the U.S. from Mexico.

2024

The anti-choice movement knows that Americans hate their abortion bans—so they’ve been working hard on their messaging to convince voters that the restrictions are actually totally reasonable. In a hilarious/terrifying continuation of that strategy, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is working with Kellyanne Conway to train Republican candidates on their anti-abortion talking points. Because of course they are.

Conway is best known for her work with Donald Trump—framing his misogyny as ‘locker-room talk’ and defending him in the media against multiple allegations of sexual assault. But before her work with the former president, Conway was known for advising Republican men on how to sound less sexist. Ten years ago, for example, she was part of a team trying to get conservative lawmakers to stop saying stupid things about rape. All of which is to say, she’s always been an all-around nightmare of a person who helps misogynists trick voters.

In a statement to The Hill about her new gig, Conway said, “Pro-lifers must be clear, crisp, compelling and, yes, compassionate in saving lives and appealing to hearts and minds.” Compassionate! That’s a fucking joke.

She continued by making clear that her advice will be for candidates to support a federal ban:

“States’ rights are essential, but leaders in Washington also must support our first freedom, the right to life. More than 70% of the country agrees that abortion not past the first trimester, e.g., 15 weeks, is reasonable, yet 100% of Democrats insist on abortion, anytime, anywhere, anyone. They deny science, sonograms and sensibility.”

So much going on in just a few sentences! Conway hit on something I warned about recently: Conway didn’t use the words federal abortion ban, but instead said the country “agrees” on a certain limitation. Just last week, SBA List also refused to use the word ‘ban’, instead calling it a “national consensus.” And in a press release yesterday about Sen. Tim Scott’s presidential candidacy, the organization called it a “national standard.”

And Conway’s lie about abortion up until birth is expected, the line about Democrats denying science and sonograms is interesting. It aligns with what we’ve seen in terms of the anti-choice movement’s renewed focus on fake data and science—and makes me wonder if that’s going to be a new talking point, as well. Definitely something to keep an eye on.

Meanwhile, beware of Trump framing himself as the moderate on abortion: He gave an interview today where he talked a lot about abortion ban exceptions and how important they are: “If you don’t have the exceptions, it’s very, very hard—and I think that’s been proven—it’s very, very hard to win an election.”

This is why it’s vital that we ensure Democrats are talking about the fact that EXCEPTIONS AREN’T REAL. We can’t let conservatives claim that they’re conceding something or compromising by adding in exemptions that no one can use.

Listen Up

Virginia Public Radio has a segment about a clinic in Bristol—a town on the border of Virginia and Tennessee—and how their landlords are trying to force them out after pressure by anti-choice groups.

The Cap Times has an interview with Wisconsin state Sen. Kelda Roys about abortion rights in the state.

What Conservatives Are Saying

Being disgusting per usual! A new policy paper from the conservative Heritage Foundation on abortion has quite the interesting—and telling—bit of language in it. The group looks at the connection between marriage, abortion and welfare and the content of the paper is their usual nonsense, but they’ve shifted away from decrying teen pregnancies: Instead, they’re criticizing the “non-marital teen birth rate.” Do you feel like you need a shower? I sure do!

That’s right, conservatives aren’t worried about children becoming pregnant so long as they’re married. (This lines up with Republicans refusing to vote for child marriage restrictions—they want to make it easier for rapists to make ‘honest women’ out of little girls.)