In the states…
The South Carolina Supreme Court is hearing arguments today about the state ban, deciding whether or not the state constitution prohibits a ban on abortions as early as 6-weeks.
Even though Arizona’s abortion ban is currently blocked, access is still an issue in the state as patients are confused about the law and providers struggle to find staff. Doctors are still also banned from providing abortions after 15-weeks, which is having an impact on patients. Medical director of Planned Parenthood Arizona, Dr. Jill Gibson, told the story of an incest victim who didn’t realize she was pregnant until she was past those 15-weeks because of the denial she was in about what had happened. “To not be able to offer her that service is unbelievably devastating,” Gibson said.
In Wisconsin, Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels said, “I will never arrest a doctor,” when it comes to abortion laws. Now, we already knew that wasn’t true—but of course his campaign had to clarify the statement in the most weaseling way possible. A spokesperson said that Michels simply meant that it wouldn’t be the governor who was arresting anyone, but a district attorney: “He’s not a DA or beat cop arresting anyone.” So because he’s not slapping the cuffs on anyone personally, he can say he will never arrest a doctor? Come on.
Georgia’s Republican candidate for Attorney General tried to something similar in a debate last night: Incumbent Chris Carr claimed, “There is absolutely nothing in the statute that would say a pregnant woman would be prosecuted.” (Which of course, doesn’t mean much—women have already been arrested for abortion.) Then he tried to shirk responsibility by saying, “it would be up to the district attorneys to make that determination.” Uh huh. (Also in Georgia: This headline from CNN made me laugh out loud: “Herschel Walker claims he never said 'no exceptions' on abortion. He did, on video”)
Speaking of cowardly politicians…Since Ohio started enforcing its abortion ban—which has resulted in raped children and cancer patients being denied care in the state—Gov. Mike DeWine has refused to comment about the consequences of the law. Fuck this guy.
At MSNBC, columnist Jacques Berlinerblau looks at Florida’s abortion law and what it reveals about how religion has been used to attack human rights:
“For decades, the Christian right has been ingeniously framing, weaponizing and us-vs.-them-ing the religious-secular divide. The ‘us,’ as far as their rhetoric goes, are religious people — all religious people. Of all stripes. Of all theological persuasions. As if ‘religion’ binds together in hand-holding fellowship every pious American from Maine to California.”
In Florida’s Senate debate last night, Rep. Val Demings laid into Sen. Marco Rubio about abortion and it was a pleasure to watch:
In Texas, activists are working hard to get the word out about abortion rights in advance of the midterms. The Texas Tribune reports that while most voters in the state oppose the ban, it’s not necessarily their top issue in the election. And when you consider that Republicans haven’t lost a state race in Texas in nearly 30 years, pro-choicers have their work cut out for them. I’m still holding out hope. (Also don’t forget that we aren’t just talking about the ‘big’ elections—even DA races matter right now!)
Also from the state: The story I highlighted yesterday, about Amanda Zurawski being denied an abortion for so long that she became septic, is getting more media coverage. I just hope her experience stays in the minds of voters.
In Illinois, where there has been a huge influx of out-of-state abortion patients, abortion funds are also seeing an increased demand. From the Midwest Access Coalition (MAC):
“People need to travel further because there are [fewer] states they can travel to…There’s not as many appointments, so people are having to wait longer. That alone just increases their cost of what they need.”
Here’s some more information on the proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the Michigan constitution and some questions it may leave over for the state Supreme Court; a profile of the pro-choice activists in Maryland who aren’t taking anything for granted; and surprise surprise, anti-abortion groups in Kentucky have launched a misleading ad about the ballot measure coming up.
NPR has a great piece looking at what it’s like to be an abortion doula in North Carolina.
And a columnist at The Denver Post in Colorado gets into the nuances of abortion and religion:
I’m against the use of state power to impose the religious beliefs of one group on others. There is no shared societal norm regarding the beginning of life.
In the nation…
This is service journalism: The Guardian highlights what pregnancy before 10 weeks actually looks like. They got these images from the MYA Network, an organization that is trying to counter misinformation about earlier abortions—especially as states ban abortion as early as 6 weeks. The vast majority of abortions happen before the 10th week of pregnancy (about 85%). The pictures above shows what is being removed from a uterus at 6 and 9 weeks: Not a baby, not even a fetus yet—but tissue, a gestational sac, and not even a visible embryo. This is really important to share widely, and honestly I wish they would put these images on a projector every time a politician says that our lives are worth less than what’s shown on the screen. Because in 14 states, these bits of tissue have more rights than you do.
By the way, I made a TikTok about these images and people are straight up losing their shit insisting that it’s fake. It’s amazing how indoctrinated folks are about abortion.
Speaking of TikTok: The Washington Post analyzes what people are watching about abortion on the social media platform.
The Associated Press looks at how abortion bans are impacting medical students, and a new survey showing that over 3/4ths of medical students say abortion access will influence their decisions about where they do their residency.
You know I hate to highlight anything from Fox News, but I think it’s important to talk about how conservative media is framing what’s happening with abortion. After The Washington Post published a piece about an underground network working to ensure women can get medication abortions, conservative media glommed onto one woman’s experience to try to sensationalize, shame, and tap into conservative outrage. And here’s the thing: For all the Republicans saying that they would never prosecute women for having abortions, the right wing media machine is telling us something different. If a woman’s story isn’t as sympathetic as possible—if she doesn’t fit into the narrow model of what women who end their pregnancies are supposed to be like—than she deserves scorn and worse. So don’t let them fool you into thinking that they’d do anything other than arrest us (especially since they already have). Conservative media is making very, very clear what the priorities are.
Planes, trains and automobiles: The Guardian reports on all of the mobile clinics popping up post-Roe; Bloomberg looks at the problems abortion medication startups are having raising money; Ms. writes about state-level initiatives to hold crisis pregnancy centers accountable; and Vanity Fair reports on the first abortion speak out in 1969.
Listen up…
All Things Considered on NPR has a segment about what it’s like to get an abortion as a trans person, whether they live in a state with restrictions or not.
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