In the states…
In Indiana, the religious freedom lawsuit against the state’s abortion ban continues on—even as state attorneys claim the case has no validity because the women that the ACLU brought the suit on behalf of aren’t pregnant yet. (You may remember that Indiana’s argument against the lawsuit also amounts to ‘women are being hysterical’.)
In Michigan’s gubernatorial debate last night, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Tudor Dixon got heated over abortion rights. As has been the case with so many Republicans who are fearful of the polls showing opposition to abortion bans, Dixon promised that despite her anti-abortion views, she would “always respect the will of the voter” when it came to the issue. In response, Gov. Whitmer said, “this is a candidate who still denies the outcome of the 2020 election.” So much for the will of the voters!
Also in Michigan, a man known for making videos calling abortion ‘genocide’ has pleaded guilty to arson after setting fire to a Planned Parenthood in the state.
Two Republicans in the South Carolina Senate have written an op-ed criticizing their colleagues and the House version of the state’s abortion ban, which they say could make contraception illegal:
“There is a discernable legislative intent here to protect a fertilized egg, which means the use of Plan B and IUDs would be illegal because they sometimes work by ‘killing’ a fertilized egg through preventing its implantation in the uterus.”
They also point out that the legislation could even impact the birth control pill. You know how I feel about Republicans who are suddenly shocked by the horror of anti-abortion legislation, but I am glad that there are state lawmakers making plain what the intent of these laws are.
Kentucky is seeing new activists formed every day because of the state’s abortion ban: 35 year-old Leah Martin was happily pregnant when she found at 12 weeks that a chromosomal abnormality meant her baby wouldn’t survive. “My doctors were crying with me...but essentially said, 'Hey, we can't help you. With the ban on abortion in Kentucky, you have to go to a different state.’” She ended up in a hospital emergency room because of the stress, but then something lucky happened: A judge blocked the ban and she was able to get the care she needed. Since then, Martin has gotten involved in state’s referendum campaign: “It is not in my nature to be knocking on doors...But some things are just too important.”
Texas organization Mothers Against Greg Abbott put out an ad yesterday that’s likely to make you feel sick to your stomach—because it’s not just shocking, but distressingly accurate.
The Idaho Medical Association is trying to soften the blow of the state’s abortion ban by passing resolutions to help patients get the care they need. (The association represents nearly 4,000 Idaho physicians and their resolutions inform what kind of advocacy they do.) The group’s biggest concerns were protecting access to contraception and opposing any legislation that would restrict it; protecting patients with pregnancy complications whose doctors are too afraid to act; and helping rape and incest victims access care in the face of a state exception that mandates patients file a police report.
YIKES. In audio obtained by Vanity Fair, New Hampshire’s Republican Senate nominee Don Bolduc says disposing of frozen embryos (a normal part of the IVF process) is “a disgusting practice.” When asked about a law that would ban or criminalize discarding embryos, Bolduc replied, “I am not going to say no.” Lovely. (As a reminder, some states are already talking about criminalizing IVF doctors.)
Yindra Dixon, the Board Chair for Planned Parenthood Votes Nevada, writes in an op-ed that voters can’t trust Republican U.S. Senate candidate Adam Laxalt when he claims he wouldn’t support a federal ban—and that voters need to understand that the state is “not immune” from abortion rollbacks just because it’s currently legal.
Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania has seen an increase in patients since Roe was overturned. A spokesperson for the organization said, “With the ban in West Virginia and throughout our country, these extreme laws that are stripping the freedom of individuals to govern their own bodies, we are only seeing an increase in western Pennsylvania.” This is why pro-choice states need more abortion funding, more doctors, and more flexibility on who is allowed to perform abortions.
California is expected to pass Proposition 1—the ballot measure that enshrines abortion rights in the state constitution. Polling shows that at least two-thirds of voters support the amendment, which would say the state “shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives.”
New York Attorney Letitia General James sent a letter to state law enforcement (including district attorneys, county sheriffs, etc) reminding them that not only are abortion rights are protected for New Yorkers, but for visitors as well. The letter noted that New York won’t help other states in pursuing criminal cases against abortion providers or patients, and asked law enforcement to get familiar with repro rights laws and issues.
Georgia’s race for Attorney General has abortion front and center. “This isn’t a partisan thing,” says state Sen. Jen Jordan, running against incumbent Republican Attorney General Chris Carr:
“This is about the ability just to not be treated as a second-class citizen, not just to be treated as a vessel for someone else’s use. This is about women in this state and their ability just to be equal to men.”
TIME has a piece on the all-female gubernatorial race in Oregon and how abortion is playing a role there; the Concord Monitor looks at how the candidates for governor in New Hampshire feel about abortion; and a politician from Long Island, New York, is standing by his comments comparing abortion to slavery. Of course.
In the nation…
We knew this was coming: According to USA Today, both CVS and Walgreens have updated their company policies to allow pharmacists to deny people medication at their discretion if they suspect someone of trying to self-manage an abortion. These are the country’s two largest pharmacies, and they’re putting the lives and health of women at risk. Already, people have been denied vital medication that has nothing to do with abortion—but these policies will now further empower extremist pharmacists who want to withhold medication from women depending on their own personal whims. What if a pharmacist believes birth control is abortion? Or has personal biases that impact which women they question about their medication? A total nightmare.
As midterm voting has begun in some states, the White House is eager to keep the national conversation on abortion, the Associated Press reports. And while Republicans are claiming that Dems’ focus on abortion is desperate, the truth is that it’s necessary—and working. Democratic pollster Celinda Lake pointed out the surge in voter registration among young women, and said that abortion is “one of the clearest distinctions between the candidates.”
Not that you’d expect anything different, but in a recent interview with Fox News, former Vice President Mike Pence said he would like to ban abortion “in all 50 states.”
Vogue has an article on the acompañamiento model of abortion activism; Healthline gets into how women with rheumatoid arthritis have been denied their medication in the wake of abortion bas; and Tablet has a very cool history of a Yiddish play on abortion that sat in a drawer for nearly a century before it was discovered.
NPR looks at the often forgotten story of Jane Roe, the woman behind the Supreme Court case. And Cosmopolitan highlights the five most important midterm races that matter for abortion rights.
Listen up…
KNKX, public radio for the Northwest, has a short segment on whether or not abortion will play a big role in the midterms out there.
Former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards gave an interview to CBS News about the impact of Roe being overturned and what the decision means for the midterms: “People across the political spectrum are saying, actually, that's—regardless of my own personal feelings, I don't think government should be making those decisions.”
You love to see it…
Couples getting married these days are using their weddings as a way to raise money for abortion rights—creating registries that donate to abortion funds and organizations instead of asking for dishes and food processors. Love this. (When Andrew and I got married, we did something similar around raising money for marriage equality.)
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