Glad to see the Kansas news. Anti-choice activists don't need to necessarily make abortion illegal if they can make it very hard to get. This was a flaw in Roe.
Something we all need to keep sight of and push back on are the increasing attacks on hormonal birth control. I know Jessica has addressed this but I see a scary narrative getting traction. Yesterday New York Times columnist Jessica Grose wrote about “Why we need to talk more openly about birth control side effects” which is perfectly true. Doctors have dismissed women’s concerns and experiences and we do need to address this. BUT. Anti-choicers are taking advantage of this to spread misinformation and scare women away from the most reliable forms of contraception. The comments were full of people talking about their terrible experiences with hormonal contraception or how they would never try it - and many women do have bad experiences, they aren’t for everyone, and we do need better options - but relatively few of us were pushing back recounting how well they work for millions of women. There was an alarming amount of misinformation and way too much pushing “natural” birth control (rhythm). There was a general narrative of big pharma and the medical establishment pushing something unnatural on women, which sounds compelling because women do have reason to be skeptical of the medical establishment. We need good talking points to push back on this narrative whenever we encounter it.
I feel like that's demonstrating to me that the right and the left can find common ground when they get far enough away from the middle, and that's very worrisome. I agree with everything you said - there definitely is a big problem with doctors infantilizing women, and medical research and the industry is still geared way too much to men, so it is very important to always be skeptical. But I think those on the left can take the narrative of 'big pharma' and the 'medical establishment' too far, to the point where it's not that different from the right-wing conspiracy theories. Every woman should be listened to, but as you say this method also works very well for millions of women, so I don't think it's helpful to poison the well. Anyway I'm just posting this because I get increasingly concerned that there are too many people on our side of the political divide who are behaving in an illiberal way that ultimately is going to end up making things worse, at a time when we're in such grave danger, and I thought this was a good illustration of that. Thanks for the post.
I think a campaign to educate people on women's reproductive cycle and the role that hormones play is highly suggested for variety of reasons. The application of hormones is also part of how medical abortion works. Hormones, how they work and how we manipulated them is something that should be more popularly understood.
Typo; it should say 'newly elected speaker Mike Johnson', which I bring up only because to have any success at all in next year's election, we will need Republicans held accountable for their elected officials. There are plenty of horrors around the country at the state level, and we should be calling attention to them every chance we get, but we also need Republicans in Washington scrutinized too. Every single House Republican (save one who was absent) voted for this guy, and if we do our job getting Americans to know him, I don't think they're going to like him much. They chose him because he's supposedly so 'polite' and 'civil', but he has always advocated for policies that would turn America into a theocracy, and while of course I wouldn't use that word (far too academic for the voters we need to reach), once voters learn his views on everything, and especially if and more likely when that's the way he runs the House, I don't think they'll approve. We have our work cut out and unfortunately he has just about the most generic name possible; most Americans right now would probably say, 'who tf is Mike Johnson?' But this election CANNOT just be about President Biden; if it is we almost certainly lose. We have got to make it crystal clear exactly who these Republicans are. TL;DR we CANNOT let them slip this past the American people.
I keep trying to do my part, but I’m frustrated tonight. I’m not going to get into it, but if the US turns into a fascist theocracy, I can say after my experience today it will be specific business sectors’ fault. As well as so much of the electorate who can’t be bothered to care.
Yeah. Free markets are supposed to work against intolerance and bigotry, but most business doesn't operate in a free market, and works very hard against being made to do so. When historians from future generations are sifting through our wreckage, (if there are future generations), following the money is going to be a big story.
Glad to see the Kansas news. Anti-choice activists don't need to necessarily make abortion illegal if they can make it very hard to get. This was a flaw in Roe.
Something we all need to keep sight of and push back on are the increasing attacks on hormonal birth control. I know Jessica has addressed this but I see a scary narrative getting traction. Yesterday New York Times columnist Jessica Grose wrote about “Why we need to talk more openly about birth control side effects” which is perfectly true. Doctors have dismissed women’s concerns and experiences and we do need to address this. BUT. Anti-choicers are taking advantage of this to spread misinformation and scare women away from the most reliable forms of contraception. The comments were full of people talking about their terrible experiences with hormonal contraception or how they would never try it - and many women do have bad experiences, they aren’t for everyone, and we do need better options - but relatively few of us were pushing back recounting how well they work for millions of women. There was an alarming amount of misinformation and way too much pushing “natural” birth control (rhythm). There was a general narrative of big pharma and the medical establishment pushing something unnatural on women, which sounds compelling because women do have reason to be skeptical of the medical establishment. We need good talking points to push back on this narrative whenever we encounter it.
I feel like that's demonstrating to me that the right and the left can find common ground when they get far enough away from the middle, and that's very worrisome. I agree with everything you said - there definitely is a big problem with doctors infantilizing women, and medical research and the industry is still geared way too much to men, so it is very important to always be skeptical. But I think those on the left can take the narrative of 'big pharma' and the 'medical establishment' too far, to the point where it's not that different from the right-wing conspiracy theories. Every woman should be listened to, but as you say this method also works very well for millions of women, so I don't think it's helpful to poison the well. Anyway I'm just posting this because I get increasingly concerned that there are too many people on our side of the political divide who are behaving in an illiberal way that ultimately is going to end up making things worse, at a time when we're in such grave danger, and I thought this was a good illustration of that. Thanks for the post.
I think a campaign to educate people on women's reproductive cycle and the role that hormones play is highly suggested for variety of reasons. The application of hormones is also part of how medical abortion works. Hormones, how they work and how we manipulated them is something that should be more popularly understood.
Thanks for the great reporting.
Typo; it should say 'newly elected speaker Mike Johnson', which I bring up only because to have any success at all in next year's election, we will need Republicans held accountable for their elected officials. There are plenty of horrors around the country at the state level, and we should be calling attention to them every chance we get, but we also need Republicans in Washington scrutinized too. Every single House Republican (save one who was absent) voted for this guy, and if we do our job getting Americans to know him, I don't think they're going to like him much. They chose him because he's supposedly so 'polite' and 'civil', but he has always advocated for policies that would turn America into a theocracy, and while of course I wouldn't use that word (far too academic for the voters we need to reach), once voters learn his views on everything, and especially if and more likely when that's the way he runs the House, I don't think they'll approve. We have our work cut out and unfortunately he has just about the most generic name possible; most Americans right now would probably say, 'who tf is Mike Johnson?' But this election CANNOT just be about President Biden; if it is we almost certainly lose. We have got to make it crystal clear exactly who these Republicans are. TL;DR we CANNOT let them slip this past the American people.
I keep trying to do my part, but I’m frustrated tonight. I’m not going to get into it, but if the US turns into a fascist theocracy, I can say after my experience today it will be specific business sectors’ fault. As well as so much of the electorate who can’t be bothered to care.
Sadly this is true, I know some small business owners who would sell us out for those (temporary for them, permanent for the rich) trump tax-cuts.
Yeah. Free markets are supposed to work against intolerance and bigotry, but most business doesn't operate in a free market, and works very hard against being made to do so. When historians from future generations are sifting through our wreckage, (if there are future generations), following the money is going to be a big story.