This is How They Ban Birth Control

2.27.25

Click to skip ahead: Abortion ‘Trafficking’ has good news and bad news about the bill in Montana. In Fascism & Anti-Abortion Violence, a closer look at what happened at an Idaho town hall. Care Crisis looks at how doctors are being blocked from learning abortion care. In Banning Birth Control, breaks down how an Indiana bill shows Republicans’ strategy to quietly ban contraception. Finally, a Call to Action for those looking to help today.

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Abortion ‘Trafficking’

On Monday, I reported that Montana Republicans had introduced a bill that would criminalize women for ‘trafficking’ their own fetuses—the GOP’s first explicit attempt at restricting women’s right to travel for abortions. The good news? Montana House Bill 609 has been tabled in committee. The bad news: The bill signals more attacks to come, and based on what happened during the bill hearing, everything I warned about on Monday is already unfolding.

For those who need a refresher: HB 609 would target those who leave Montana for an abortion that would be illegal within the state. Because Montana only allows post-’viability’ abortions when the patient’s life is at risk, for example, a woman who discovers at 26 weeks that her fetus has a fatal abnormality could face felony trafficking charges just for leaving the state to get care.

For years, I’ve warned that ‘abortion trafficking’ laws in states like Idaho and Tennessee, which target minors, were never just about teenagers. They were a test run for the rest of us—and now, here we are.

I also warned that HB 609 was likely drafted by a national anti-abortion group using Montana as a test case precisely because of its ‘viability’ limit. By only targeting those seeking post-‘viability’ care, Republicans get an easy messaging spin: “We’re not stopping women from leaving the state—we’re just ending ‘abortion up until birth!’”

Indeed, that’s nearly word-for-word what we heard on Wednesday at the hearing for HB 609.

Derek Oestreicher of the Montana Family Foundation, for example, pointed to Montana’s recently-passed ballot measure as proof that the government does have the right to restrict women’s travel. Oestreicher said, “The state does have a compelling interest in protecting life after viability under the language of CI-128.” That’s right, the anti-abortion argument is relying on a pro-choice ballot measure.

As Stephanie McDowel of Bridgercare told me on Monday, “We are seeing Republicans go after the loopholes that we left in these ballot initiatives.”

A few things stood out at the hearing: Republicans were working overtime to pretend this wasn’t about punishing women. Just look at how bill sponsor Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe framed it—calling HB 609 a “commonsense safeguard to prevent abuse,” insisting “we must stand up for women’s safety,” and claiming it’s about “protecting women and protecting minors.”

In fact, she mentioned minors repeatedly—an obvious attempt to distract from the fact that this bill would criminalize women and girls of any age for out-of-state abortions. Oestreicher, too, kept bringing up teenagers and leaned on one of anti-abortion activists’ favorite new buzzwords: “coercion.”

“The state has a compelling interest in ensuring that women, especially minor girls, aren’t coerced,” Oestreicher said. As you know, anti-abortion activists think they can dodge being called out as misogynist dirtbags by talking about ‘coercion’—as if no woman or girl ever actually chooses abortion. (Remember, they’ve been fine-tuning this messaging strategy for years.)

But for all their faux concern about women’s well-being, emails obtained by the Montana Free Press reveal just how eager they are to punish abortion patients. In an email exchange, Rep. Lukas Schubert repeatedly pushed the legislative attorney drafting HB 609 to make sure the bill would jail women for leaving the state:

“Looks good but yes, let’s make it so that it applies to the pregnant woman if she travels out of state to kill her child through abortion if that abortion is illegal in Montana.”

I really hope whoever runs against Schubert next time around keeps that email on hand. (And I’m sorry, but this guy has a very punchable face.)

All of this is to say: I’m thrilled that Montanans don’t have to worry about this bill—for now. But everything that happened this week is a warning sign that we’re going to see more legislation like this.

HB 609 was just a warning shot. Republicans have opened the floodgates to trap women in anti-abortion states, and they’re not about to stop. That’s why every time one of these bills come up—no matter how unlikely it is to pass—we need to make as big of a fuss as possible. We need to make sure they know that we’re watching.

A side note: Abortion, Every Day broke the news about this ‘abortion trafficking’ bill on Monday. Since then, the story has been picked up by local and national media—NBC, The New Republic, Slate, Jezebel, Ms. magazine, and more. You probably won’t see the newsletter credited in any of those publications, and that’s okay. One of AED’s primary goals is to influence national media and make sure the word gets out. But I can’t do this work without you! If you haven’t upgraded your subscription yet, please make today the day:

Fascism & Anti-Abortion Violence

I want to take a minute to talk about what happened this weekend in Idaho, where a woman was assaulted and dragged out of a town hall meeting. In a now-viral video, Teresa Borrenpohl is pulled from her seat by three unbadged, unidentified men as she screams. They knock her to the floor and even try to zip-tie her hands.

“It was really violent and really traumatic,” Borrenpohl told the Idaho Capital Sun. "My only thought was to maintain my airway. They were forcing me down on the ground. I just wanted to make sure I could still breathe.”

If you’re wondering whether any charges were filed, they were—against Borrenpohl. She was charged with battery. The men who attacked her? They walked away with zero consequences. Turns out they were private ‘security.’ (Who exactly was being protected here? Certainly not women.)

A lot of people are calling this another sign of our country’s descent into fascism, and they’re right. But I want to be clear: this is also about abortion.

Just before Borrenpohl was assaulted, the conversation had turned to the end of Roe. Someone in the audience yelled, “Women are dying!” Another shouted, “Doctors are leaving our state!”

That’s when the moderator, Ed Bejarana, snapped at the crowd, telling them to stop “popping off with stupid remarks.” Borrenpohl responded, “Is this a town hall or a lecture?” And for that, she was attacked.

But it’s not just the topic of conversation that makes this about abortion—it’s what else was happening in the room. Just look at the makeup of who was on stage:

As Borrenpohl was being assaulted, Bejarana mocked her: “Look at this little girl over here, everyone… she spoke up, and now she doesn’t want to suffer the consequences.”

To recap: A stage full of white men were spewing bullshit about abortion, and when a woman pushed back, they had private ‘security’ assault her.

And this isn’t happening in a vacuum—Trump’s administration is signaling to anti-abortion extremists that they can harass and attack clinics without consequences, while Republicans work to strip protections from providers. It’s all connected, and we need to see it for what it is. It’s vital that we’re making all of those connections.

Right before she was attacked, Borrenpohl said “Women deserve a voice.”

Care Crisis

Let’s stick with Idaho for a minute, where a new bill would end the state’s decades-long relationship with the University of Washington. UW’s WWAMI Medical Education Program has helped train Idaho doctors since 1972, but Republican Rep. Dustin Manwaring says that the university doesn’t adhere to “Idaho values.” Translation? UW trains doctors to perform abortions.

Manwaring claims Idaho needs its own “state-run medical school” and says UW “elected not to sign an amendment to the contract with Idaho, restricting the use of Idaho state funds for abortion.” But according to UW’s Vice Dean, the university doesn’t use Idaho funds for abortion care or training in the first place.

Of course, the funding argument is just a distraction. The real issue here—the one Idaho Republicans refuse to address—is that the state is in a full-blown healthcare crisis. Since Roe was overturned, the state has lost close to a quarter of its OBGYNs and half of its maternal fetal medicine specialists. As a result, several hospitals have shuttered their labor and delivery wards and the state’s already-stark maternal healthcare desert has widened.

Abortion training is now a major hurdle for medical students and residents, especially those training to be OBGYNs. If they live in anti-abortion states, they have to travel to pro-choice states just to learn basic, necessary care. That often means paying for flights and hotels out of pocket—and learning a vital procedure in less-than-ideal conditions.

All of which is to say, it is a really big deal that Republicans want to end this longstanding partnership with UW. The bill is waiting for a full state House vote, and you can watch a few Idaho doctors interviewed about the bill in a local television segment here.

Banning Birth Control

One of the reasons some people don’t believe that Republicans are banning birth control is that they’re imagining some sweeping bill that says contraception is now illegal. But that’s not how it works.

In the same way that conservatives chipped away at abortion access before making their final blow against Roe, Republicans are slowly eroding contraception access. And just as they did with abortion, they’re targeting the most vulnerable first, hoping no one will notice or care.

What’s happening right now in Indiana is a perfect example. In January, Republicans introduced House Bill 1169, claiming it would expand contraception access for low-income Hoosiers by creating an “Access to Birth Control Program” under the state health department. Sounds innocuous enough until you realize how legislators are defining ‘birth control.’

When first introduced by Rep. Jim Lucas, the bill would have covered hormonal birth control, IUDs, condoms, and more. But in the last few weeks, Republicans have struck all mentions of condoms, IUDs and other long-acting contraceptives from the legislation. What’s more, they’ve added in requirements that the program would promote and teach “fertility awareness,” aka the ‘rhythm method.’ (Here’s the original bill, and here’s the current one.)

If this sounds familiar, it’s because they’re taking a page right out of Project 2025, which calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to replace birth control programs with “fertility awareness” and marriage promotion programs.

This isn’t even the first time Indiana Republicans have pulled this shit! There was a bipartisan push in the state last year to increase birth control access for Medicare recipients—but after pressure from anti-abortion groups, Republicans stripped out any language referring to IUDs. At the time, Republican Rep. Cindy Ledbetter said that the bill was changed because “we are a strong pro-life state.” (The implication, of course, is that IUDs are abortifacients.)

It was Rep. Ledbetter who led the charge to change this year’s legislation, as well. She told the Indiana Capital Chronicle the addition of ‘fertility awareness’ was “respectful of faith,” because “we have a large Catholic population in Indiana.”

Let’s be clear: This is a deliberate strategy. Republicans are pushing bills that look like they support contraception while quietly redefining what birth control is—and codifying those false definitions into law.

This is how they ban birth control—not with a single sweeping law, but little by little, under layers of bureaucracy and misleading bills. They don’t need to outlaw contraception outright. They just need to make it harder and harder for people to get.

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Do a deep dive into the conservative assault on contraception with some extra reading:

The GOP’s Plan to Ban Birth Control (Part I)

The GOP’s Plan to Ban Birth Control (Part II)

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Call to Action

A terrific organization is in danger of shutting down: All Options offers
”unconditional, judgment-free support for people in all of their decisions, feelings, and experiences with pregnancy, parenting, abortion, and adoption.” The group is asking for support and donations as they try to keep up their programs—like the All-Options Talkline at 1-888-493-0092.

So if you’re looking for a way to make a difference today, donate here.