Abortion, Every Day
Abortion, Every Day
Abortion, Every Day (12.9.22)
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Abortion, Every Day (12.9.22)

Abortion bans causing moms to rethink having more kids
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If you missed my column today, I wrote about why we need to stop debating abortion—and just how degrading it feels to have to argue for your own humanity. Please check it out!

In the states…

Love to see good news in Texas! A San Antonio judge tossed a lawsuit filed against an abortion provider by a private citizen—the first case brought under Texas’ ‘bounty hunter’ allowance:

The law, known as Senate Bill 8, allows anyone to bring a lawsuit against someone who “aids or abets” in an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. On Thursday, state District Judge Aaron Haas in Bexar County said people who have no connection to the prohibited abortion and have not been harmed by it do not have standing to bring these lawsuits.

The judge’s ruling doesn’t overturn the law, unfortunately, but it does set a precedent that will make it more difficult for those who have nothing to do with the abortion they are suing over to file a lawsuit. Texas Monthly points out, however, that the ruling doesn’t make clear “what would happen if a plaintiff who was directly affected by the abortion—say, the patient’s partner or the partner’s family—decided to file suit under the law.”

A Wisconsin mother says she won’t have any more children because of the state’s abortion ban. NPR has the story of 31 year-old Kristen Petranek, who recounts having a miscarriage years ago where she ended up needing an abortion to save her health: “That's what saved me…That's why I'm here.” Petranek, who has two children and who wanted more, says once she heard Roe had been overturned, she knew she wouldn’t try to get pregnant again. “It's very surprising and sad to suddenly not be able to plan the family we all wanted,” she told NPR.

Petranek’s story isn’t an anomaly; I’ve read countless interviews with women who would like to have children but simply don’t want to risk it in their anti-choice state—where they don’t know if doctors would be able to save their life if necessary.

Don’t know what to make of this: The petition to get abortion access on the ballot in Oklahoma has been withdrawn. But don’t panic just yet, in a Facebook post, an organizer behind the initiative says that this is a deliberate move to reorganize and have a better chance of getting the signatures that they need for the petition to move forward….I’ll keep you updated as I find out more!

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After their wins in Florida, Republicans are gearing up to further gut abortion rights in the state. Right now there is a 15-week ban, and conservatives are debating amongst themselves whether they want to push for a 12-week ban, a 6-week ban, or perhaps ban abortion altogether. Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani says that a pro-choice ballot measure for 2024 is “being actively explored,” but notes that Republicans are trying to make it harder for citizens to pass ballot measures. As it stands, ballot measures need to have 60% of votes as opposed to a simple majority of 50%, and Republicans in the state want to push it to 66%.

New Hampshire Republicans are doing their best to try to restrict abortion access in the state; they’re working on several anti-abortion bills, one of which would ban abortion at six weeks. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu pooh-poohed the idea that legislation like that would go anywhere in the state, saying, “It's nothing that the legislature should be considering, and it would be dead on arrival if it ever hit my desk.”

One of the biggest problems in pro-choice states has been the overwhelming number of out-of-state patients seeking abortions, and abortion providers’ ability to keep up (or not!). That’s why New Jersey has started a $5 million fund for the newly-created New Jersey Reproductive Training and Education Initiative, which aims to expand the number of providers in the state able to help all of those patients from anti-choice states.

Speaking of pro-choice states looking to do more: I love this op-ed from Washington abortion rights activist Mercedes Sanchez at the Seattle Times. Sanchez, who works for Cedar River Clinics and is a board member of the Abortion Care Network, writes that “Washington has a unique opportunity to set the blueprint for other states across the nation.” Her recommendations include making abortion “legitimately affordable,” decreasing stigma, increasing legal protections, and working towards a “bolder and bigger vision” for abortion rights. Love it.

Quick hits:

  • Indiana abortion provider Dr. Caitlin Bernard has dropped her lawsuit against the state attorney general, with her lawyer saying that they proved their victory in court when the judge agreed that the AG “violated Indiana law by publicly discussing the details of an investigation into Dr. Bernard which he was statutorily required to keep confidential at that stage”;

  • Illinois is an abortion safe haven, but Democrats there don’t want to take anything for granted;

  • Another town in pro-choice Nebraska is looking for ways to ban abortion within the city limits;

  • And a study of a Colorado family planning initiative shows that when women are offered expanded birth control access, they’re more likely to finish college.

In the nation…

What a shocker: Banning abortion hasn’t stopped abortion. Data from the Society of Family Planning shows that while the number of (legal) abortions in anti-choice states have gone down—we don’t know how many self-managed abortions women are having in those states—the number of abortions in pro-choice states skyrocketed, for obvious reasons. Vox has a pretty great interactive map for anyone who wants to check it out.

The anti-abortion activist who embedded himself and friends within the social circles of the conservative Justices on the Supreme Court—eventually leading to Samuel Alito leaking the Hobby Lobby decision—now says Alito wasn’t the only one who knew about his actions. Mother Jones report that in Robert Schenck’s testimony to Congress yesterday, “Justice Thomas commended me, saying something like: ‘Keep up what you’re doing. It’s making a difference.'” Lovely. (Related: NPR has a short segment on Schenck’s testimony as well, if you’d like to take a listen.)

Since Roe was overturned, birth control brands have doubled their advertising budgets. Depressing, but makes sense. What's truly distressing, however, is that a lot those advertising dollars are being spent to dispel misinformation about contraception, which has been on an incredible rise in the last six months.

The Conversation has a piece on sterilization in a post-Roe world, and how the racist history of forced sterilization impacts the way that women feel about the procedure today (and how their doctors talk to them about it). The accompanying video about the U.S.’ history of forced sterilization is also worth checking out:

Quick hits:

You love to see it…

TIME has a profile piece on Mayday—an abortion rights group focused on getting abortion information to women, no matter where they live. Dr. Jennifer Lincoln, who is about to join the group as Executive Director, says “Education is the great equalizer. When you know this, you know how you protect yourself, and that’s true reproductive freedom.” From TIME:

“Two weeks after the last abortion clinic in Mississippi closed, Mayday put up three billboards in Jackson saying ‘Pregnant? You Still Have a Choice’ with a link to their website; after the Attorney General sent them a subpoena asking them to remove the billboards, Mayday added 20 more across the state. When Idaho’s flagship university blocked staff from discussing abortion or emergency contraception, Mayday responded by driving a digital billboard through campus—‘They don’t want you to know this: You can still get abortion pills by mail,’ it read—and parking it outside the football stadium on a Saturday night.

This is the kind of shit I LOVE to see.

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Abortion, Every Day
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Daily audio updates & commentary on abortion in the United States.
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