Abortion, Every Day (12.14.23)

Woman charged with child neglect for medical marijuana during pregnancy

Click to skip ahead in the newsletter: In Care Denied, more women are coming forward to talk about their post-Roe horror stories. In the States, an Oklahoma woman is being charged for using medial marijuana while pregnant. In the Nation, an absolutely wild story about an anti-choice group paying for women not to have abortions (and then refusing to hand over the money). 2024 looks at how the presidential candidates are handling the abortion news this week. In Stats & Studies, a new report on the 5 most abortion-friendly cities in anti-choice states. And finally, if you missed me on MSNBC last night, check out Abortion, Every Day in the News.

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Care Denied

ABC News spoke to more than a dozen women whose lives were put at risk by abortion bans. I’m gearing myself up to watch the full episode on Hulu—I know it’s going to be difficult. But I really do think that we should bear witness whenever we can. For a glimpse at these women’s stories, Good Morning America has a clip below:

If you can’t take watching—and no one would blame you if that’s the case—you can also read their stories here. Chloe Partridge from Arizona, for example, was forced to carry a doomed pregnancy to term, an experience she said was “absolutely horrible.”

“I had to go in public and have people ask me how far along I was, what the gender of my baby is. And I would answer those questions knowing deep down that she wasn't going to make it, that it wasn't a happy pregnancy, that she was suffering inside of me.”

Torture. What she’s describing is torture. Speaking of state-mandated suffering: Kate Cox, whose story has sparked sadness and outrage around the world, spoke to The Daily about her experience. Same warning here: It’s hard to listen to, but really important.

It’s clear that Cox’s story has hit a nerve with so many Americans—and a lot of those people are speaking out. A Texas couple, for example, has written a column in the Houston Chronicle about their experience caring for a daughter with a deadly condition—and losing her at 5 years-old. It is absolutely heart-breaking and brave:

“We are not advocating about a particular decision. But we are advocating that the decision of what to do when faced with a terminal diagnosis during pregnancy be left to parents…In general, we tend to stay clear of the familiar labels of the abortion debate. Olivia taught us to be pro-humanity. But it was impossible to see humanity in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s legal battle with Cox, as well as the Texas Supreme Court's decision.”

Finally, if you want to read something that captures the fury that we’re all feeling over all of these horror stories, check out New York Magazine’s Sarah Jones.

“These women have revealed a crucial truth: Abortion bans weren’t written for human beings. As written, they strip women of their humanity and reimagine them as vessels. A vessel is not a person. A vessel has no rights. A vessel is only useful as long as it is functional. When it is no longer fit for purpose, it is cast aside; there are plenty more where it came from.”

Whew. Make sure to read the whole thing.

In the States

You’re going to love this. And by love, I mean absolutely hate: In Oklahoma, prosecutors have been arresting women they say used marijuana during their pregnancies—charging them with child neglect. One of those women is 27 year-old Brittany Gunsolus, who used edibles and topical creams during her pregnancy with a recommendation from her doctor.

Gunsolus’ baby was born healthy, and child welfare workers found her home to be safe and loving—yet the district attorney of Comanche County decided to bring her up on felony child neglect charges. The Frontier reports that when Gunsolus’ lawyers pointed out that medical marijuana is the same as any other legal medication, the prosecutor responded that “Gunsolus broke the law because her unborn child did not have its own, separate state license to use medical marijuana.” Yes, really.

As Abortion, Every Day has pointed out time and again: this is what criminalization looks like. The fantastic organization Pregnancy Justice is providing legal help in this case—you can donate to them here.

Now that Issue 1 has been enacted in Ohio, the ACLU and Planned Parenthood have filed an amended complaint in their challenge against the state’s 6-week abortion ban. In a statement, the groups say, “The Ohio Constitution now plainly and precisely answers the question before the court—whether the six-week ban is unconstitutional —in the affirmative.” Essentially: Issue 1 makes clear that the ban is unconstitutional, so let’s get that thing repealed. (You can read the full filing here.)

Since Ohio passed Issue 1, Republicans have been hard at work trying to stop it from being enacted. The Ohio Capital Journal has a timeline of those efforts—most of which have been attacks on democracy. And if you need a refresher on Ohio and what the Republican response to Issue 1 means on a broader scale for the anti-abortion movement, don’t miss Amy Littlefield’s piece in The Nation about the anti-choice “turf war” in the state.

Florida abortion rights activists have nearly enough signatures to get a pro-choice ballot measure in front of voters, pending approval from the state Supreme Court on the amendment’s language. (Remember, Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody has petitioned the Court to reject the measure, claiming that the ‘viability’ standard is deliberately misleading.) To support the ballot measure effort in Florida, check out Floridians Protecting Freedom.

More in ballot measure news: Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade announced that she’s going to file a House Joint Resolution to add an abortion rights amendment to the state constitution. Quade, who is also running for governor, said she’s filing the resolution “so voters can finally have their say without the gimmicks and outright lies we’ve seen play out in the courts.”

“The right to reproductive freedom is more important than ever, as Missouri legislators continue to put women’s lives in danger and threaten to jail patients and doctors for providing care. It’s time we put our trust in Missouri families and medical providers to make the best decisions for themselves.”

As you know, Missouri Republicans have spent months trying to keep a pro-choice measure from getting on the ballot.

In Idaho today, a judge heard arguments on a challenge to the state’s abortion ban—a case brought by four women who needed to leave the state for care despite having dangerous pregnancies. Idaho’s ban only allows abortion when someone’s life is at risk—which, as you know, is a ridiculous standard. It requires doctors to sort out just how close to dying someone needs to be before they qualify for care. The women’s lawyers argued that the state constitution implies that women have a right to abortion when their health is at risk:

“They point to the very first article of the state constitution. It says all men have certain inalienable rights, including enjoying life, pursuing happiness and securing safety.”

I’m just gonna let that “all men” sit with you for a second.

The Amarillo City Council in Texas heard from citizens this week about the proposed travel ban ordinance—an anti-abortion policy that’s already passed in multiple counties. (My column on the travel bans here.) The majority of members of the public who came to make their voices heard were in opposition to the ordinance.

Speaking of anti-abortion ordinances in small towns: New Mexico’s Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday over local ordinances banning abortion in spite of state law. Reuters reports that the justices seemed to signal what we know to be true—the local mandates can’t stand. No word on when a ruling will come down, but I’ll keep you updated!

Finally, in Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey says that regardless of what the Supreme Court decides, mifepristone will be available in the state:

“I hope the Supreme Court does the right thing, which is to protect women’s access to needed health care and medication abortion.We’re going to make sure that medication abortion remains legal, safe, accessible and available to people in our state. It’s why we bought boatloads of this earlier.”

Healey procured about a two-year supply of the drug in anticipation of a ruling restricting or banning abortion medication.

Quick hits:

• The Hill with more on the amicus brief filed by dozens of Texas businesses in the challenge to the state’s ban;

• Some info on the competing abortion rights bills in New Hampshire;

• And CNN on the state Supreme Court cases on abortion in Wyoming, New Mexico and Arizona.

In the Nation

A Business Insider investigation revealed the predatory practices of Let Them Live, a group founded by anti-abortion activists—including those with ties to the Alliance Defending Freedom and Students for Life. Apparently the group has been offering women money not to have abortions. But multiple women came forward to say that they were never paid, even though the group used their stories for crowdfunding purposes.

The women say they feel “conned” into having babies they couldn’t afford, and were ghosted as soon as their pregnancies progressed beyond their state’s gestational limit for legal abortion care. One woman said, “They want to post on social media about all the babies they've saved…I don't think they care about the mothers at all."

The investigation revealed that the contracts the women signed forced women to give up “significant health-privacy rights in exchange for relatively small sums of money.” (After the story was published, the group paid $10,000 to the women featured in the story—a tiny fraction of what they were owed.)

The Republican-led House passed the annual defense policy bill stripped of nearly all right-wing provisions today, including anti-abortion and anti-trans provisions. The measure attacking the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy, the same policy Sen. Tommy Tuberville protested in his now-defunct protest of military promotions, was notably stripped from final legislation. The bill has already passed the Senate, so it now heads to President Biden’s desk.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre responded to the news about the mifepristone case headed to the Supreme Court, saying “No woman should be unable to access the health care that she need—this should not happen in America, period.”

Meanwhile, presidential candidates and vulnerable House Republicans spent the week scrambling to justify their party’s stances on abortion, especially after yesterday’s Supreme Court announcement.

Speaking of SCOTUS, NPR’s “Here & Now” has a segment on the Alliance Defending Freedom—the anti-abortion legal group responsible for the demise of Roe—and their attacks on mifepristone.

Finally, for some important reading in light of stories like Kate Cox’s, Women’s Health Policy has an explainer on who decides when a pregnant patients qualifies for an ‘exception’. (Which, as you know, are not real.) The piece also gets into the difference between “reasonable medical judgment” and “good faith medical judgement”—language that Republicans have been messing with in legislation to make it as difficult as possible for doctors to give their patients care.

Quick hits:

• States Newsroom spoke to abortion providers and activists about their fears in light of the SCOTUS/mifepristone case coming down the line;

• Bloomberg columnist Lisa Jarvis on why the Supreme Court should leave mifepristone access alone;

• STAT News on an abortion provider who started traveling to give care post-Dobbs;

• And Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern and Dahlia Lithwick argue that the narrow scope of the mifepristone case could open the possibility for an anti-abortion President enacting a nationwide abortion ban.

2024

The GOP never really knew how to talk about abortion rights, but they sure are mucking it up lately. With horror story after horror story in the news, the Republican strategy seems to be to simply run and hide.

As I reported yesterday, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley tried to pivot by using key words like “compassion,” and now Vivek Ramaswamy joined the fray by simply saying abortion is a states’ issue. “I have been crystal clear on that,” he told NBC. (By the way, Ramaswamy also says that the Supreme Court should repeal the FDA’s approval of mifepristone.)

The only GOP presidential candidate to address Kate Cox’s story head on was Chris Christie, who said, “It seems to me this should have been a pretty easy decision, and the Texas Supreme Court got it wrong.”

It’s wild to see the way that most Republicans simply can’t address this issue head on. (And we know why—they don’t want to admit that Texas’ law worked exactly as intended.) As Ryan Stitzlein of Reproductive Freedom for All told Reuters: “They think this is a messaging issue, where this is actually a policy issue.” There is no talking point that will make people forget about Kate Cox or Brittany Watts.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s reelection team is using the national conversation about Cox’s story to attack Donald Trump and remind Americans that he’s the reason we’re seeing nightmares like these play out. Campaign Communications Director Michael Tyler says, “For folks who are still confused on who to blame, Donald Trump is on the airwaves right now bragging about his role in overturning Roe.”

In a statement, Biden also said that “no woman should be forced to go to court or flee her home state just to receive the health care she needs.” Which is absolutely right! But we need to remember that women aren’t just fleeing Texas: As Erika Christensen tweeted today, if Cox needed care after 24 weeks—she wouldn’t have been able to get care in New York, California, or Illinois.

Stats & Studies

It’s nice to have some good news every once in a while! Abortion, Every Day is excited to share new research from the National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH) that identifies the five most abortion-forward cities in anti-choice states. 

NIRH’s report looks at how these cities are working to counteract abortion bans, using strategies developed by local leaders (like mayors and city councils). They found that the cities with the most effective resistance to state-led anti-abortion agendas were: St. Louis, MO; Cleveland, OH; Austin, TX; Madison, WI; and Columbus, OH.

Some of the tactics used by city leadership included: directly funding abortion and abortion travel; promoting reproductive health “shield laws” and ballot initiatives; fighting criminalization of care; opposing funding for anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers and more. Kelli García, Interim Vice President of Programs and Partnerships, sums it up well: 

“This is a message to elected allies in cities and counties across this country — the power sits with you. We commend allies, advocates, and activists for resisting anti-abortion state majorities, especially in a post-Roe era, and advancing bold and transformative reproductive freedom policies. This is what proactive power looks like.” 

Keep an eye out for more resources from NIRH that detail how local leaders can counteract anti-abortion extremism in their states.

Abortion, Every Day in the News

I was on MSNBC last night talking to Chris Hayes about everything that’s been going on with abortion rights. If you missed it, you can watch below. I’ll also be talking with Alex Wagner around 9:45pm tonight about—you guessed it!—abortion rights.

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Thanks to Abortion, Every Day researcher Grace Haley for today’s In the Nation and Stats & Studies.