Abortion, Every Day (10.5.23)

No more 'middle grounds'

Let’s get into the thick of it with The ‘Middle Ground’ Myth. In the States, I look at ballot measure updates. In the Nation, I share some new polling on Trump. And in Keep An Eye On, a reminder about the anti-abortion strategy in border towns in pro-choice states.

---

The ‘Middle Ground’ Myth

I wanted to start the newsletter today with an issue that’s coming up again and again both nationally and in the states: the myth of an abortion rights ‘middle ground’ or ‘compromise’. It’s something I’ve been writing about since Roe was overturned: whether it’s politicians like Nikki Haley spouting off bullshit talking points, Republicans calling 12-week bans ‘compromise’ legislation, or the lie of abortion ban exceptions.

Most recently, it’s been a central issue around abortion rights ballot measures—and whether or not to take an incremental approach to restoring abortion rights. (You can guess where I stand.) St. Louis Public Radio has an important piece up right now on how this is playing out in Missouri—where it’s unclear what kind of amendment will end up in front of voters.

The primary dispute (not just in Missouri, but across the country) has been over the notion of ‘viability’. It’s an arbitrary standard, but some campaigns for pro-choice amendments have included abortion restrictions later in pregnancy in an attempt to preempt conservative attacks about supporting abortion ‘up until birth’. As we’ve seen in places like Ohio, though—where the measure headed to voters in a few weeks does include ‘viability’ restrictions—conservatives are making that false claim regardless.

In Missouri, that battle over incrementalism goes even further: Missourians for Constitutional Freedom has proposed 11 measures, some of which restrict abortion after 24 weeks, some of which ban abortion after ‘viability’, and some which include parental consent and a prohibition on public funding for abortion. (One of the petitions has no such restrictions.)

There are also six other petitions from Republican strategist Jamie Corley, who recently formed a group called the Missouri Women and Family Research Fund. I’ve mentioned these proposed amendments previously: Some would only allow abortions until 12 weeks into pregnancy, or would permit abortions for sexual violence victims, but only if they report the attack to a crisis hotline. (Your regular reminder that exceptions aren’t real, nor are 12-week ‘compromises’.)

Corley, however, is framing them as amendments that could actually win, saying, “That is the only way that we are going to expand abortion rights in our state.”

But here’s the thing: Americans’ support for abortion throughout pregnancy has rose dramatically over the last five years—almost by ten points. And a PerryUndem poll this summer showed that voters are actually more likely—by 15 percentage points!—to support a hypothetical ballot measure when it doesn’t include a ‘viability’ restriction. When the poll results were released, Tresa Undem, a co-founder of PerryUndem, told FiveThirtyEight that while even five years ago people supported a viability mandate, today, “People are saying, ‘I don’t want the government involved in this at all.’”

More and more, voters understand that pregnancy is too complicated to legislate.

As Colleen McNicholas, the chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, told St. Louis Public Radio about the fight over Missouri ballot measures: “I think we have seen since the Dobbs decision, that folks are just tired of this being used as a game.”

For Republicans who are dealing with abortion bans’ incredible unpopularity, pretending to soften their position may be the only way forward. That’s what makes pro-choice incrementalism, which allows for the notion that there’s such a thing as a ‘compromise’ on our freedom and bodily autonomy, so dangerous: It plays right into conservatives’ abortion strategy. After all, they’re the ones that need Americans to believe they’re ceding ground!

Once we accept the notion that there’s a ‘middle ground’ on abortion, the GOP will paint anything else as extremism. For example, check out what Gregg Keller, a Missouri-based political consultant, told St. Louis Public Radio:

“You see all these proposals coming out of national Republicans that are really taking some pretty significant steps in the direction of Democrats on the issue. But Democrats won't have any of it because they need to have all of it or nothing.”

Now, we know that the supposed ‘steps’ Republicans have taken are bunk. They’re not actually giving up anything when they add in exceptions that no one can use, for example. And when Democrats give up vital policies—like abortion access throughout pregnancy—the GOP will just lie about it anyway.

All of which is a long way to say: there has never been a better time to fight for the rights we actually want, and the policies people actually need.

Extra credit: Irin Carmon at New York Magazine has a terrific piece on abortion rights incrementalism today.

In the States

Speaking of conservatives lying no matter what pro-choicers do: Ohio anti-abortion activists continue to claim that Issue 1, which would protect abortion rights in the state constitution, would allow for abortion ‘up until birth.’ Most recently, a group of Black pastors signed onto a letter opposing the measure, with one of the men telling Fox News that he can’t imagine “living in a state where abortion is allowed up to full term.”

As Ohio voters gear up to decide whether or not to adopt the pro-choice amendment, state public radio station WOSU ran a segment on similar measures that passed in other states, interviewing reporters from Michigan, Kansas and Kentucky. It’s definitely worth a listen:

It looks like one of the doctors being targeted by anti-abortion groups in Wisconsin isn’t even in the state, let alone performing abortions there. OBGYN Dr. Kristin Lyerly says, “I’m delivering babies in Minnesota. I’m not providing any OBGYN care in Wisconsin.” Dr. Lyerly is one of the doctors that Pro-Life Wisconsin filed complaints against with the state medical board this week, after the group’s efforts to get abortion providers arrested were unsuccessful.

As you know, Wisconsin anti-abortion activists are absolutely furious that Planned Parenthood has resumed providing abortion care recently. And since they can’t get prosecutors to go after the doctors providing those abortions, they’re hoping that the Wisconsin medical board will take action.

Pro-Life Wisconsin’s state director Dan Miller says he filed the complaint against Dr. Lyerly because “she’s on record as doing abortions with Planned Parenthood.” He continued, “I wanted to file a complaint against all of (their providers) but I didn't know who all of them were.” These people are such fucking clowns.

And in case you forgot how little anti-abortion activists care about women and girls, this story out of Texas will remind you. Girls Inc. of Tarrant County has been serving their community for nearly 50 years—and has been getting state funding for 15 years. But after conservatives protested and rallied at a county meeting, claiming that the national arm of the organization supports abortion rights and “gender identity exploration”, County commissioners voted to deny the group’s long-standing contract.

CEO Jennifer Limas said they were “certainly disappointed,” and that it’s been a “long-time partnership with the community youth development grant and with other organizations.” The organization was set to get between $115,000 to $200,000. Girls, Inc. plans to try to find alternative funding, but this is just another example of how conservatives are stripping away community resources in the name of ‘life.’

In Kentucky, Republican gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron continues to dig himself into a hole on abortion rights. First, after signing a pledge to criminalize birth control (which Abortion, Every Day flagged and turned into national news), Cameron claimed he would never ban birth control. Then, after Gov. Andy Beshear put out an ad raising the alarm on Cameron’s anti-abortion extremism—featuring a young woman who was raped as a child—Cameron said he’d be open to signing a law with rape and incest exceptions. Then he flip-flopped.

Now, this week, Cameron told a reporter that while he empathizes with the young woman who was raped as a 12 year-old and impregnated by her stepfather, he still supports Kentucky’s abortion ban (which has no exceptions for rape or incest). In response, the young woman who was featured in the ad decided to come forward with her real name and story to speak out:

“Daniel Cameron said himself that he cannot comprehend how traumatic the experience was for me. And he’s right. So I just want to know why he feels so entitled to force victims who have stories like mine to carry a baby of their rapist? It should be their choice.”

Whew. I don’t know how many other ways Cameron can manage to stick his foot in it, but if there’s a way, I’m sure he’ll find it.

After a report from CBS News showing that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin raised over $4 million in just two days this week from a handful of billionaires, Democratic Party of Virginia Chairwoman Susan Swecker responded by accusing the men of “trying to buy an abortion ban in Virginia.”

“They know voters don’t want total MAGA control of state government because that means taking away our rights and freedoms. But, they’re hoping massive, out-of-state dollars can defeat what the vast majority of our people want and give them total control to enact an abortion ban.”

Also in Virginia, Del. Danica Roem, a Democrat seeking her fourth term in the General Assembly, says that she wants to introduce a pro-choice ballot measure. At a recent forum, Roem said Virginia voters should have a direct say on any regulations around abortion.

Speaking of ballot measures, here’s a local television segment on the effort to get a pro-choice amendment in front of Arizona voters in 2024:

Not done yet on ballot measure news! I told you earlier this week how Colorado pro-choice groups were moving ahead with their effort to pass an amendment that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution and end the state’s ban on public funds for abortions. Colorado Newsline has more on the initiative today. From Karen Middleton, president of Cobalt:

“Colorado has had a long tradition of facing anti-abortion ballot measures and time and time again, those have been rejected by voters. After many years of seeing those, it seems like the right time to affirm protection for abortion in the Constitution.”

Abortion rights activists will need to gather signatures from about 125,000 people, and get approval from at least 55% of voters.

HuffPo has more on the Texas man suing his ex-wife’s friends for allegedly helping her obtain an abortion. As Grace told you yesterday, Marcus Silva tried to weaponize the suit in order to blackmail his ex into having sex with him. He also threatened to upload naked images of her to the internet if she didn’t comply. Feminists have long warned that bounty hunter mandates like the one in Texas would enable abusers—and that’s exactly what’s happening here.

This is telling: The Federalist Society chapter at Tufts University in Massachusetts invited two men to give a talk titled, “Is Abortion Morally Justified in America?” But because you can always depend on young feminists, pro-choice students protested the event. Sophomore Sanya Desai said, “I’m protesting today because I don’t think white men should be making decisions about my reproductive rights.” The president of Tuft’s Federalist Society said they tried to get women to speak at the event but none were available. Which is just about the funniest excuse I’ve ever heard.

Quick hits:

• Andrew Warren, the Florida prosecutor suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis for saying he wouldn’t go after abortion cases, may be running for his old position;

• Texas abortion funds are fighting back against travel restrictions;

• New Jersey Democrats hosted a roundtable on abortion rights;

• And in Fulton County, Georgia, a resolution to allocate $300,000 to the state’s only abortion fund, Access Reproductive Care Southeast, has failed.

In the Nation

A new USA Today poll of New Hampshire Republicans shows that Donald Trump’s abortion stance hasn’t hurt him at all with voters. Over the last few weeks, the other GOP candidates have been hammering Trump on not being sufficiently anti-abortion, pointing to his criticism of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 6-week ban and the way he blamed abortion rights for Republicans’ midterms losses.

But the poll shows that 49% of likely Republican primary voters support Trump, and that 63% said abortion access was not important to their vote—indicating that the attacks on the former president’s abortion position isn’t likely to be very convincing. What’s more, another 35% of Republicans said that protecting abortion rights was very important, or the most important issue to them. Now, this is New Hampshire, of course, but this is exactly what I’ve been warning about: Trump feigning a softening on abortion, or not pretending that he won’t prioritize implementing a national ban, could very well help him win.

Quick hits:

• Ms. magazine on how religious hospitals impact care even in pro-choice states;

• Jezebel speaks to a woman who was denied medication because she was of “childbearing age”;

• ABC News on where the candidates stand on abortion rights;

• And in anticipation of Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Mike Pence visiting Iowa to campaign, the chair of the state Democratic party, Rita Hart, said the men are “too extreme for Iowa.”

Keep An Eye On

I’ve been keeping a close eye on anti-abortion activists’ attempts to pass ordinances in small towns—from travel restrictions like the ones in Texas, to attempted abortion bans in border towns in pro-choice states. The latest town targeted by conservatives is Quincy, Illinois, where the city council is considering adopting an ordinance making the town a “safe haven for the unborn.”

Not-so-surprisingly, Quincy is on the border of Missouri, where abortion is illegal under all circumstances. The mandate would ban abortion providers from working there by making it illegal to ship abortion medication or medical equipment to the town.

This also comes after Danville, Illinois attempted to pass a similar ordinance, which caused a huge uproar in the town. (The building site for a clinic there was also attacked multiple times.)

And remember, this broader conservative effort to ban abortion in small towns in pro-choice states is how anti-abortion activists think they’ll be able to bring a Comstock Act case to the Supreme Court. (More in our Comstock explainer here.)

One final thing to flag on the local level: As I’ve been doing my daily news searches, I’ve noticed that there are an awful lot of announcements about new crisis pregnancy centers opening—new staff coming on to revitalize existing centers. It’s very, very clear that the funding for these groups is hitting in multiple states.