Abortion, Every Day (10.26.23)

AZ Supreme Court Justice protested outside of Planned Parenthood

Click on section headers to skip ahead in the newsletter: In the States, everything you need to know about the legal challenges to Georgia’s ban. In the Nation, more info on the new Speaker’s anti-abortion history. In The GOP’s Plan to Ban Birth Control, conservatives’ attempts to sow distrust in hormonal contraception seem to be working. An interview with the founder of the Wyoming abortion clinic attacked by an arsonist in Listen Up. And in Texas Travel Bans, the biggest county so far has passed a law to trap women in the anti-choice state.

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In the States

Arizona’s abortion ban is headed to the state Supreme Court soon, but one of the justices is an avid anti-abortion activist. Justice Bill Montgomery has not only been known to protest outside of the state’s Planned Parenthood, but also wrote on Facebook in 2017 that wrote that the organization is responsible for “the greatest generational genocide known to man.”

Planned Parenthood, understandably, filed a motion asking for Montgomery’s recusal—pointing out that his public statements prove that he’s biased against the group. The Justice has refused.

This is total nightmare shit. This ruling will determine whether abortion remains legal in the state up until 15 weeks, or if a ban from 1864—basically a total abortion ban—goes into effect. I’ll keep you updated as I find out more.

I’m sorry to say that Georgia’s Supreme Court ruled to uphold the state’s abortion ban this week. Their ruling struck down a challenge from abortion rights groups who argued that the ban was unconstitutional because it was approved before Roe was overturned. There’s a separate, more substantive, challenge to the 6-week ban that’s still making its way through the courts—in that case, the question is over the right to privacy.

A bit of background: When we lost Roe in 2022, SisterSong and other abortion rights groups sued with the ACLU of Georgia over the state ban, arguing that it violated privacy rights. What’s notable is that Georgia has a really strong privacy protections—which some legal experts say are broader than the right to privacy in the U.S. Constitution. And so the state Supreme Court’s decision this week sends that privacy challenge back to a lower court, where Fulton Superior Judge Robert McBurney will consider the constitutionally of the ban.

Good news, bad news: Back in 2022, McBurney ruled in favor of abortion rights proponents and stopped enforcement of the ban based on their argument that it was passed before Dobbs. But, if McBurney rules in their favor again on the more substantive issue, the case is likely to end back in front of the state Supreme Court—the same justices who just upheld the ban. (Georgia Republicans seem confident that the state Supreme Court will continue to support the ban.)

In the meantime, Democrats in the state want abortion rights to be put directly to voters. State Sen. Elena Parent says, “I have no doubt that if that were the case, that women’s rights, women’s reproductive rights, would be restored.” Unfortunately, there are no citizen-led ballot measures in Georgia—the state legislature has to put proposed amendments on the ballot, and they need the governor’s approval. All of which means: Georgia needs a pro-choice legislature ASAP.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin defended his abortion ban at a campaign stop yesterday, with his usual bullshit about how it’s totally not a ban:

“I think the other side is mischaracterizing it all, and in fact they call it a ban. It's not a ban, it's actually a limit.”

Seeing that sentence paired with yesterday’s Washington Post headline—which parroted the talking point exactly—really turned my stomach. By the way, if you want to know how to write about the Virginia GOP’s attempts to do away with ‘ban’, this piece from The New York Times is a good example. The reporter still calls it what it is—a ban—but explains that Youngkin and other Republicans want to call it a ‘limit’. See, wasn’t that easy??

The NYT article also makes clear that the anti-abortion movement sees Virginia as a test case for pushing a 15-week ban (while calling it anything else). But as Jamie Lockhart, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, told Rolling Stone, “Their ultimate goal is to ban abortion.” We’d do good to remember it.

Tennessee is so hot on opposing abortion and LGBTQ rights that they’re forgoing millions in federal funding in order to keep doing it. You may remember that Tennessee declined $9 million in funding for HIV prevention and treatment—and that the state wasn’t able get more than $7 million in Title X dollars over their refusal to let doctors offer patients mere information on abortion when asked.

Thankfully, the federal government decided to go around the state and gave organizations like Planned Parenthood the money directly. But now Tennessee is suing the federal government, claiming—in the most ironic fucking statement of all time—that the government is “playing politics with the health of Tennessee women.”

Some good news out of Ohio, where voters will decide on a pro-choice ballot measure that would protect abortion rights in the state constitution: Early voting turnout is really strong. Local reports found that early voters are coming out in increased numbers, especially in counties considered Democratic strongholds. Love to see it!

In what I’m sure is completely unrelated news that has nothing to do with the vote on abortion rights: Democrats are trying to figure out how nearly 27,000 voters in Ohio were purged under a directive from Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

Finally, in a reminder that abortion rights are incredibly popular, a new survey in Kansas found that more than half of people in the state believe the government shouldn’t place any regulations on the circumstances under which women can get abortions. More than 63% of respondents also agreed or strongly agreed that women are better suited than politicians to decide whether or not they get an abortion. (I’d like to have a word with that other 37%!)

Quick hits:

• Jezebel writes that North Carolina Republicans are rolling out the red carpet for Tricia Cotham, the former Democrat who switched parties in order to give conservatives the votes they needed to ban abortion;

• New Jersey just launched a new website to help people find out where they can get an abortion in the state;

• Texas Public Radio on reporters’ experiences traveling to Mexico to buy abortion medication;

• And learn more about Maine’s new slate of abortion rights laws.

In the Nation

Yesterday, the Republican-led House elected Rep. Mike Johnson, former Alliance Defending Freedom attorney, as the new Speaker of the House. If you want a sense of where Johnson stands on abortion, read Law Dork or check out this now-viral clip of him suggesting that women should be forced to give birth to more “able-bodied workers” to stimulate the economy. (In another, he asks an abortion provider if she supports abortions while “a child is halfway out of the birth canal.”)

So as you can imagine, the anti-abortion movement is thrilled. 

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, says the organization is excited to see him lead the pro-life movement in this “new era” and “to working closely with him…” Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins also voiced her excitement for working “alongside” the Speaker towards defunding Planned Parenthood and delivering a national 15-week abortion ban. (Hawkins and her group also want to outlaw birth control.)

Meanwhile, Democrats are targeting vulnerable Republicans for their support of Johnson—and highlighting his attacks on abortion rights, gender affirming healthcare and marriage equality. Both President Joe Biden and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also criticized Johnson’s legislative history today.

Senate Democratic leaders are working on a bipartisan resolution to temporarily bypass Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s block of military promotions over the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy. Given the Israel-Gaza crisis, stopping Tuberville’s block on nominations and promotions has taken on more urgency, as hundreds of military positions remain empty. Nine senior military positions in the Middle East command have also been caught up in the gridlock, including two picks for the Joint Chiefs and officers leading U.S. forces in the Middle East.

Quick hits:

• A group of Senators are asking the Department of Defense to offer an over-the-counter birth control option for service members;

• Dobbs has inspired women who’ve had abortions to run for office;

• And more on the George W. Bush Institute pressuring Republican House members to reauthorize PEPFAR, the highly successful global AIDs program.

The GOP’s Plan to Ban Birth Control

For as long as I’ve been publishing Abortion, Every Day, I’ve warning about conservatives’ cultural campaign against hormonal birth control. It’s not a coincidence that at the same time abortion rights are being decimated, there’s a sudden influx of TikTok and Instagram ‘influencers’ spreading misinformation about hormonal birth control and urging viewers to use ‘natural’ contraceptive methods. (It’s also happening at the same time that we’re seeing a sudden online interest in what I call ‘aspirational housewifery’.)

In January, for example, I reported a study showing that YouTube influencers were And in February, I pointed out that data showed a decrease in oral contraceptive use, even as Plan B use increased. Now Axios reports that doctors are seeing more and more women quitting hormonal birth control.

All of this is part of the broader war on contraception: Conservatives are taking advantage of very reasonable concerns young women have about their reproductive health to push disinformation—and using feminist rhetoric around medical sexism to do it!

It was just this summer when a speaker at a major conservative conference for young people urged the women in the audience to “ditch hormonal birth control.” (Women could also take selfies in a mirror that said “birth control is so last year.”) And remember when the conservative women’s mag Evie ran a piece claiming that hormonal birth control gives women’s bodies a response that is indistinguishable from PTSD?

This terrifies me. Meanwhile, KFF put out a policy brief this week reminding us just how few states actually have measures in place to protect contraception. (Check out their map, in particular—which is a great image to share on your socials if you want to spread the word.)

Related: Part I and II of AED’s series on the GOP’s Plan to Ban Birth Control.

Listen Up

Slate spoke to Julie Burkhart, founder of Wellspring Health Access in Casper, Wyoming, about the arson attack against her clinic and violence against providers.

Texas Travel Bans

There’s no real way to articulate just how bad this is. The biggest Texas county so far, Lubbock, has passed an anti-abortion ordinance banning out-of-state travel for abortion. Let’s be clear: Republicans are trapping women in anti-choice states.

Three other Texas counties recently passed similar ordinances, which anti-abortion activists are calling ‘anti-trafficking’ laws. Amarillo was also considering a travel ban this week, but the city council says they need more time to “review” it.

The travel bans can’t be criminally enforced, but would allow citizens to sue someone who helps a patient leave the state for care. The point is to instill fear and shame—and to scare people out of supporting each other. (I wrote about this a bit in my column about abortion and snitch culture.) From Autumn Keiser, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas:

“Texans already live under some of the most restrictive and dangerous abortion bans in the country, yet anti-abortion extremists continue to push additional unnecessary, confusing and fear-inducing barriers to essential healthcare.”

The truth is I find this deeply fucking terrifying. Remember, this isn’t just about targeting people who help someone leave the state—these laws will eventually go after patients themselves. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has already made the legal argument that the state would be justified in restricting out-of-state travel for abortion if they wanted to. For more, read my column on travel bans from last month:

You're Not Overreacting

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Thanks to Abortion, Every Day researcher Grace Haley for writing In the Nation today!