Abortion, Every Day (10.18.22)

Content warning: Descriptions of pregnancy loss, illness during pregnancy

In the states…

In Georgia’s gubernatorial debate last night, Gov. Brian Kemp said he wouldn’t seek any new abortion or birth control restrictions in the state, which is an interesting take considering abortion is already banned at six weeks. What I find extra fascinating, and infuriating, is the Associated Press headline about the debate,“Kemp says no new abortion, birth control restrictions,” and the second sentence of their article: “Kemp issued perhaps his clearest commitment yet that he won’t pursue any new restrictions on abortion or birth control…” What? Why are reporters doing the work of Republican PR strategists? This framing makes it seem as if Kemp has turned a corner on abortion (lending credence to the ridiculous broader GOP message that they’re ‘softening’ on abortion), instead of saying that the extreme and horrific state ban in Georgia will stand. Mainstream media needs to do better.

A Texas woman has shared her story with The Meteor about having a pregnancy go terribly wrong—and being unable to get help despite the risk to her life:

“I couldn’t make the decision for myself, we couldn’t make the decision for our daughter, our doctors couldn’t make the decision. They were just as furious as we were because their hands were tied. Had they acted, they would have been charged with a felony. Being told you are going to lose your baby, and you just have to live with it for several days, and there’s nothing we can do, I was left, wanting either to get so sick that my life is at risk or that my baby’s heart stopped beating so it could be over.”

Thank you to Amanda Zurawski for being brave enough to share her story—especially so many others have had the same experience and can’t do the same. I really, really, encourage you to watch the whole interview.

Meanwhile, doctors across the country are screaming their heads off about the consequences of these bans—and how we’re going to see so many more stories like Amanda’s:

Doctors in Illinois protested in support of abortion rights yesterday, and to make people understand the stakes of the midterm election and state Supreme Court seats. (More than half of voters in the state want abortion to remain legal.)

At a press conference last week Florida abortion providers talked about the child incest victims they’ve had to turn away, and even having to coordinate a patient being sent all the way to Pennsylvania for an abortion after she was diagnosed with a severe fetal abnormality that threatened her life. From Ina McDonald, the health manager at the Tallahassee clinic:

“It was difficult, very dangerous, it was a very dangerous pregnancy for her and because we are no longer able to care for patients past the 15 weeks, we wanted to make sure she went to the best hospital we could find for her situation.”

And doctors in Montana are pushing election officials to correct voter information pamphlets about the state’s abortion-related ballot measure. The measure, written by anti-abortion groups, would mandate doctors take “all medically appropriate and reasonable actions to preserve the life” of an infant born alive, including after an attempted abortion. (As you probably know, this is not a thing.) Two physicians’ groups have pointed out that the pamphlet—and let’s be honest, the measure itself—would force doctors to put dying babies through unnecessary and painful procedures, even against a family’s wishes. So if parents have children with conditions that are incompatible with life, instead of being able to hold their babies and comfort them in their last moments, they’ll be forced to watch doctors perform extreme and pointless resuscitation procedures. A true nightmare.

Pennsylvania voters have abortion top-of-mind heading into the midterms; Maine mothers talk about their experiences with later abortion and how a national 15-week ban would have impacted their care; and Wisconsin's Republican attorney general candidate Eric Toney wants prosecutors to be able to cross county lines to go after abortion cases, in case you’re wondering how fucking extreme he is.

New York’s Attorney General talked about having an abortion to Teen Vogue, the first time she’s given an interview about her experience.

Remember when I said (yesterday!) to watch out for Republicans using the word ‘reasonable’ when pushing for a national abortion ban? Well, check out what Ohio Republican Senate hopeful JD Vance said in a debate last yesterday:

“I think it’s totally reasonable to say you cannot abort a baby, especially for elective reasons, after 15 weeks of gestation. No civilized country allows it. I don’t want the United States to be an exception.”

(For what it’s worth, I did a TikTok about this new Republican argument that other ‘civilized’ countries have national bans)

All eyes are on Kentucky and how things go for their ballot measure this November. Republican women are definitely reachable on this issue: One 64-year old retiree told Reuters that she lost a baby to a fatal medical condition and that, “This is personal…Unless you’re in that situation, you don’t know how you really will feel.”

And abortion providers in North Carolina, overwhelmed by the number of out-of-state patients seeking abortions, are asking a state court to allow other kinds of medical professionals to perform abortions. Right now wait times in some North Carolina cities are upwards of three weeks to obtain an abortion. And so Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective filed a motion to block a state law that bans nurse practitioners and physician assistants from providing abortions—even though they are perfectly capable and trained.

In the nation…

New research from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) shows that abortion misinformation is pervasive on social media platforms, from false information about abortion pill ‘reversal’ to false and explicit scare tactics about the health risk of abortions. The report also found that none of the major players—Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok—have comprehensive policies on how to handle abortion misinformation, and that that Meta made over $600,000 from ads containing misinformation. I’m going to take a closer look at the report and give you more updates as necessary, but just this top-line info is pretty disturbing.

Another poll shows that Republicans’ abortion bans are extremely unpopular: Global Strategy Group found that most Americans disapprove of Roe being overturned and three in four Americans overall see abortion rights as being at risk.

Political ads continue along a familiar trajectory, with Democrats putting out ads on abortion, and Republicans putting out ads on crime. (Only one of those things is truly scary.) And President Joe Biden is set to promise at a DNC event today that he will codify Roe if Democrats secure enough seats in Congress for him to sign protections into law.

The New York Times looks at the anti-abortion movement’s attempt to redefine abortion (something I’ve written about here, as well). Here’s what Jenny Ma, senior staff attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, has to say:

“When something sad or devastating happens, you’re always going to hear the anti-abortion movement saying, ‘That is not abortion,’ because they can’t come to terms with the fact that that is also an abortion. You can add all sorts of different words, you can say induced delivery, you can say quote-unquote elective, but it’s the same. It’s all part of how abortion has been stigmatized.”

Rewire looks at how abortion bans are impacting free speech on college campuses; USA Today gets into the same, looking specifically at the University of Idaho and Florida schools that track students’ periods; and Stat News reports that U.S. medical students are now having to travel outside of the country to get the abortion training they need to be competent OBGYNs.

And California Rep. Eric Swalwell released a truly distressing but necessary ad ahead of the midterms to motivate voters across the country:

POLITICO reports that anti-abortion groups want Republicans to stop running from the issue and get into the thick of it. They are pushing the two strategies I’ve written a lot about here: Arguing that a 15-week national ban is a “sensible compromise” on abortion, and claiming Democrats want abortions ‘until the moment of birth’. (Literally, the president of the anti-choice women’s org Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America just said Democrats want to pass a “Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act.”) Those on the left need to get a lot better and handling these.

The Washington Post profiles the groups and women who are risking prison time to illegally smuggle abortion medication to those who need it. Literal heroes:

“I want those politicians to feel powerless,” the nurse said of her decision to join the ranks of the illegal abortion movement. “I want them to feel the same way my patients feel.”

Listen up…

At NPR's Morning Edition, Rachel Martin talks to Democratic pollster Aileen Cardona-Arroyo about Latino voters and abortion; Austin’s NPR station, KUT 90.5 has a segment on what it’s like to date and have sex under Texas’ abortion ban; and NPR in St. Louis looks at clinic overwhelm in pro-choice states. (Thank goodness for public radio!)

You love to see it…

Thanks to an anonymous donor, health care company Stix will be donating free pregnancy tests and morning-after-pills to people living in Oklahoma! Since launching, Stix has already have donated over 650 packages to Oklahoma residents, and if you know anyone who needs one you can request a package here.