Content warning: Descriptions of pregnancy loss and fetal abnormality
In the states…
You probably remember the Nebraska teenager who was arrested for having an illegal abortion after police went through her Facebook messages. Her mother is also being charged, and now her lawyer is trying to get one of those charges—concealing the death of another person—dropped, because under state law, a fetus is not a person. Just another reminder of how important personhood laws are, and what they will mean for actual real life women and girls.
A woman in Alabama whose fetus was diagnosed with a fatal abnormality wrote about being denied an abortion, despite her case seemingly fitting into the state exceptions. Doctors at her hospital told Alyssa Gonzales, 23, that she would have to leave the state, or wait: “[T]hey suggested I should simply carry the fetus to term and watch it die a slow, painful death before burying it in a child-sized coffin.” Leaving Alabama wasn’t an option:
“I’m sure other women with money could have easily packed up their lives and flown across the country to get the care they needed, that simply wasn’t an option for me. We had no money.”
Thankfully Gonzales was able to get help from an abortion fund, but had to wait weeks after her diagnosis to get care. Despite the initial shame she felt, Gonzales said, “At the end of it all, I knew I couldn’t stay silent.” And I’m so grateful to her for that.
Republican Tennessee Congressman Mark Green is doing exactly what I wrote about today, and saying that lawmakers should create less-vague exceptions to the abortion ban around women’s health. It’s an easy move towards looking ‘moderate’ while not doing very much at all.
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman is already making plans for how to handle out-of-state fugitive warrants for women who get abortions. Cannot imagine a bigger waste of time and energy. And just goes to show that despite Republicans’ messaging that they won’t arrest women, it’s clear that states are preparing for just that. (Also in the state, the Attorney General debate highlighted the contrast of Republican/Democrat strategies of focusing on crime vs. abortion.)
Vermont anti-choicers are doing their best to fight against a ballot measure that would help enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, arguing that it would be “abortion anytime for any reason.” Which actually, to me, sounds perfect.
Abortion providers in Pennsylvania are having trouble keeping up with the influx of out-of-state patients, and struggling with how to help those patients make the trip back and forth. From the Allentown Women’s Center:
“After their procedure, they’re driving back home, they just went through this ordeal, they may have had sedation and then they have to go through a car ride home. Then there’s people who can’t make it. They need transport and they have nobody, so they can’t make it—we’ve heard that a lot. That’s difficult because how do you help them with transportation at this point? There’s funding, but there’s only so much.”
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced a new legislative package aimed to protect and expand abortion rights in the state; New Jersey Republican Frank Pallotta keeps flip flopping on abortion; post-Roe vasectomies are on the rise in Iowa; and a Nevada law professor pushes back against Republican claims that abortion is settled law in the state.
Speaking of the ‘settled law’ bullshit: In the debate for Massachusetts Attorney General, Republican Jay McMahon said the right is already in the state constitution so there’s nothing to worry about. And New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin released an ad saying that the governor “could not change New York’s abortion law.”
In California, a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights has resurfaced a debate over what ‘viability’ means. But doctors warn against having a set cut-off, and Dr. Pratima Gupta, who helped draft the law, say ‘viability’ was left out deliberately: “Every pregnancy is individual and it's a continuum.”
In the nation…
The viral nonsense over what early pregnancy and abortion really look like got a write up if you’re interested. Despite how horrific these last few days have been, I was excited to be called a TikToker ;) Related: The Mya Network who put out those images is under assault from anti-abortion commenters on Instagram. If you have a moment to spare, please go and leave a message of support.
Two Democrats, Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX) and Rep. Sara Jacobs (CA) are asking the State Department’s top lawyer to look at how state laws on abortion do or do not “comply with international human rights and treaty obligations.”
And new polling on young voters of color in battleground states shows that a whopping 87% believe abortion should be legally protected.
The Pentagon will provide leave and reimburse travel costs for troops who need to travel out-of-state to get an abortion (remember that this is only allowed for people who are victims of rape, incest or whose health and life is at risk.) Republicans, of course, are not happy.
In case you had any doubt as to what the anti-abortion movement is really after, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, says that Republicans shouldn’t stop at 15- or 12- week bans: “I think every child should be protected.” But here’s the real nugget in this interview she gave to CBS News: Dannenfelser, complaining about Republicans who are fearful to be full-throated in their support of abortion bans, said that they were moving the anti-choice movement to “the back of the bus.” (Quite an interesting turn of phrase, given the anti-abortion movement’s gross attempts to co-opt the language of racial justice!)
The Guardian has a necessary piece on the impossible hurdles incarcerated women face in trying to obtain an abortion. In addition to state bans and a difficulty getting any kind of care, money remains a huge problem. A lot of incarcerated women are there because they can’t afford their bail—so they certainly can’t afford the increased costs associated with ending a pregnancy from prison. From Corene Kendrick, deputy director of the ACLU’s National Prison Project:
“State prison systems or jails sometimes would force pregnant people to pay for the procedure, sometimes including even the cost of transport or the time to have prison guards with them, which is problematic because normally if an incarcerated person is going off site for any other medical procedure, they wouldn’t be charged for the cost of transport or the time for the guards.”
The Daily Beast says neither party has a coherent message on abortion; The Washington Post has a good round-up of where fights over the state legislature will most impact abortion rights; Pro-Publica looks at allegations that border agents are asking travelers if they’ve recently had abortions; and Planned Parenthood being sued by an ex-employee who alleges pervasive racism in the organization.
I don’t know who did this ad, but wow.
Listen up…
Here’s the 5th part of that public radio series about abortion in Texas—this time about those Republicans who want a rape and incest exception.
And I haven’t listened to this yet, but it’s my plan for tonight: You’re Wrong About’s latest episode is on people’s abortion stories. I’ve heard good things!
You love to see it…
The 19th looks at the young women fighting for abortion rights across the country (always good for a pick-me-up!); and Arena Stage in Washington, DC is putting on an abortion-rights performance, “My Body No Choice”—a play consisting of eight monologues. If anyone in DC goes to see it, let me know how it is!
The Schlesinger Library at Harvard is planning a new exhibit on abortion (it was originally supposed to be tagged to the 50th anniversary of Roe). The Age of Roe: The Past, Present, and Future of Abortion in America has been curated by law professor Mary Ziegler (who I’ve quoted here before), who says, “The exhibit became a sort of meditation on what does it mean that Roe has gone, or in what ways is Roe gone, and in what ways is this sort of preoccupation with it still with us?” It will run through March 4th.
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