In the states…
During the Florida gubernatorial debate, the audience booed and yelled at Gov. Ron DeSantis after he lied about abortion (and didn’t even answer the question about whether he would ban it entirely!)
Abortion was also a hot-button issue in California’s gubernatorial debate, where Republican candidate Sen. Brian Dahle accused Gov. Gavin Newsom of being “extreme.” Dahle has been pretty quiet on abortion in general—which makes sense given he’s anti-abortion and California is overwhelmingly pro-choice. He has been public about not supporting Proposition 1, however, which would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. Also in the state, The Sacramento Bee reports on how Roe being overturned changed the way that Latino families are talking with each other about abortion.
Lawyers for New Mexico Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti have been trying to get a campaign ad pointing out his anti-abortion extremism removed from the airwaves—which is extra ironic considering that the ad’s focus is how Ronchetti scrubbed his campaign website of any mention of abortion:
“He tried to make it disappear,” a narrator says at the beginning of the ad. “But Mark Ronchetti got caught, trying to erase his long record opposing abortion rights.”
This seems like maybe they’re…proving the fucking point?
Here’s some more info on what’s happening with the court battle over Georgia's abortion ban (and if you have the stomach more on Herschel Walker).
And in another one for the no-shit files, Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is still refusing to say whether or not she supports rape and incest exceptions.
LGBTQ+ groups have responded to the horrific Michigan ad that uses transphobia lie about the state’s ballot measure that would protect abortion rights:
A coalition that includes the Human Rights Campaign, Equality Michigan Action Network, and others denounced the ad. “The outright false claims in the anti-Proposal 3 ad paid for by the Citizens to Support Michigan Women and Children are designed to intentionally mislead voters by spreading lies about transgender children, their health care and their health care providers.”
The Louisville Courier-Journal in Kentucky interviewed state candidates on their policy positions, including abortions, if you’d like to check out a brief rundown.
And local stories like this serve as an important reminder that every single race is important, even in smaller districts: Nebraska state senate candidate Rick Holdcroft, for example, isn’t just anti-abortion, but doesn’t believe in any exceptions and is also anti-IVF.
We already know that pro-choice states like Minnesota are seeing an influx of out-of-state abortion patients—many of whom, providers say, are later along in their pregnancy than they would like because of the delay in care. Sean Mehl of Whole Woman’s Health, says, “We're seeing more need for care in the second trimester.” For as much as Republicans claim to oppose later abortions, they sure are causing a lot of them.
I’ve told you about how Louisiana is expanding their list of medical exceptions to abortion after a woman was denied care when her fetus was missing part of its skull. At a hearing on the issue, anti-abortion activists asked the state to actually remove medical conditions from the list, while doctors tried to make them see reason:
“I am here to beg for an expansion of this (list), as well the expansion of legal protection for physicians who are trying to stay within the bounds of this law and this new terrifying legal landscape,” said Dr. Nina Breakstone, a New Orleans-area emergency medicine doctor. “This list as it was written has created an atmosphere of terror among my colleagues.”
The New York Times looks at how abortion is impacting the New York governor’s race; a Vermont OBGYN warns that Republicans aren’t just coming after abortion, but birth control; and NPR reports that abortion rights will play a big roll in New Hampshire’s Senate race.
In the nation…
This is wild: Former EEOC General Counsel Sharon Fast Gustafson—a Trump appointee who was fired by the Biden administration more than a year ago—is sending threatening letters to employers who provide travel benefits for abortion care. Gustafson, again who does not work for the EEOC, claims in her letters to these companies that the EEOC may bring them up on charges of pregnancy, disability, and religious discrimination. The law firm that brought her letters to light point out that Gustafson “is using her former position to intimidate employers who provide or are considering providing a benefit that is otherwise legal under Federal law.” What the fuck.
Speaking of companies’ responses to abortion bans: A new survey finds that 1 in 3 workers are thinking about quitting their jobs because of how their employers handled Roe being overturned. And 44% percent says their employers aren’t doing enough to protect abortion rights.
CNN reports on crisis pregnancy centers and how these deceptive non-medical clinics are getting taxpayer funds that are earmarked for poor families. I know you know how bad CPCs are, but I had to include this because jfc:
Ayla Krueger, a 23-year-old Columbus resident, visited [Ohio crisis pregnancy center] PDHC earlier this month with a friend who was seeking an STD test. She said that during their hour-and-a-half visit, an employee claimed that condoms were only 50% effective, the spread of STDs could only be prevented if people followed “God’s plan” of avoiding sex before marriage, and that if a woman who has an STD gets an abortion, “your STDs travel up your cervix into your organs and could kill you.”
Business Insider looks at how crisis pregnancy centers target people who are looking to get abortions:
The New York Times has a video of a pastor who calls himself pro-life but still supports abortion rights (which most of us would call ‘pro-choice’, I think!); Bloomberg Law looks at how Republican-controlled states’ efforts to limit abortion go against their claims to value privacy and liberty; Axios highlights the fight to get birth control pills available over the counter; and new research shows what we’ve known for a long time—a leading cause of death for pregnant women in the U.S. is homicide. Which means that forcing pregnancy on women can be deadly in more way than one.
And I really appreciate this thread from Renee on how some recent pro-choice ads are framing the issue in a way that isn’t always helpful. (I’ll be interviewing Renee for the newsletter soon and will def be chatting with her about this, among other things!)
Listen up…
Iowa Public Radio gets into the history of abortion laws in the state and how the issue could impact the midterms. The segment comes in the wake of a new poll showing that 61% of Iowans want abortion to be legal in all or some cases.
Minnesota Public Radio also has a segment on abortion access and laws in the state, and how elected officials could potentially roll back abortion rights.
And, you guessed it, more public radio! Here’s an interview with Wisconsin Senate candidate Mandela Barnes on abortion.
What conservatives are saying…
Tucker Carlson continues to be perhaps the most dangerous figure in conservative media: In a rant on abortion last night, the Fox News host accused Democrats of being a “child sacrifice cult.” He said, “It’s the main thing they care about…it’s a religion.” Carlson knows that in the era of Pizzagate, QAnon, and conspiracy theories about child sex rings and Satanism, accusing Democrats of “child sacrifice” is a way to hype up unwell people and put a target on the back of anyone pro-choice.
An Arizona columnist tries to convince readers that it’s Democrats who are extremists on abortion—which has been a huge part of conservative messaging recently (projection, anyone?).
You love to see it…
Dr. Rebecca Gomperts of Women on Waves is one of Glamour magazine’s women of year. Gomperts’ organization helps people access abortion regardless of the law in their state or country:
Her mandate is abortion for whomever wants it, wherever. What a mistake it had been for pro-choice activists to frame an act of basic health care as some rare occurrence or horrible last resort, she thought. The movement should have been frank. Bolder. Or as Gomperts puts it: “We should just have said, ‘No, it’s not difficult. It’s just a decision we make as women. Fuck off. You have nothing to do with it.’”
EDIT: An earlier version of the newsletter asked why Women on Waves wasn’t linked to (given how important it is right now!)—happy to report that it was an oversight that’s being corrected.
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