In the states…
In Texas, where a former City Council member in Austin sued the city for allocating $150,000 to abortion funds, the state Supreme Court sent the case back to the trial court and vacated all previous lower court rulings. (Essentially they’re saying that the lawsuit needs to start fresh because Roe was overturned.) The money budgeted for abortion funds were earmarked for logistical funding—like travel and childcare—to get around state law banning taxpayer money going to abortion services.
If you missed the top story from yesterday’s newsletter about Arizona prisons forcing pregnant incarcerated women to induce before their due date I published a quick TikTok about it:
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Virginia Delegate Terry Kilgore went on a conservative radio show this morning and said that Gov. Glenn Youngkin would be introducing a 12-week abortion ban: “I think the governor is going to come forward with a bill, maybe 12 weeks—I’m not sure how the other side is going to play that—but 12 weeks, that seems very reasonable.” Just as a reminder, Youngkin as tried to position himself as moderate even as he’s pushing abortion restrictions and budgeting money for the Department of Corrections to jail women and doctors who would be arrested under his ban.
North Dakota’s abortion ban is currently blocked, but that’s not stopping Republicans in the state from planning more anti-choice legislation. State Sen. Janne Myrdal says they will introduce a bill to “clean up some inconsistencies and language in the different parts of the code,” but won’t have “substantial changes” to the blocked law. The ban not only would make it a felony to perform an abortion, but in the cases of rape, incest and a woman’s health or life, doctors would have to prove that those exceptions are real in court. It sounds like Republicans want to address that affirmative defense issue but leave the rest of the extreme ban in place.
Tennessee has perhaps the strictest abortion ban in the nation. Abortion isn’t just completely banned, the state has zero exceptions—not even one for women’s lives. Doctors who need to perform a live-saving abortion must break the law and then later prove why the abortion was necessary. It’s called an ‘affirmative defense’ mandate—essentially guilty until proven innocent. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that this state that hates women so much has abysmal numbers around women and political representation.
In fact, while more women than ever are serving in other state legislatures, Tennessee is moving backwards with women in political positions. The upcoming session will see the least amount of female representatives in 25 years. Debbie Walsh, director of the Rutgers University’s Center for American Women in Politics points out that only 14% of the legislature is made up of women, which “means that women’s voices are not being heard, they’re not part of the debate, [and] they’re not part of policy conversations.” But of course not all women have other women’s best interest at heart. From newly-elected State Sen. Charlane Oliver:
“It’s not enough just to be a woman in the legislature. We need more women who are pro-choice, who are pro-health care, who are pro-human rights, who are willing to speak up against injustice.”
Anti-abortion activists in Georgia have their eye on banning abortion medication—because while the state bans abortion after 6 weeks, the law doesn’t explicitly ban medication abortion or criminalize women who have the pills mailed to them.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave his swearing in speech today without explicitly mentioning abortion or future restrictions, but hinted as much by saying he’ll enact “more family-friendly policies to make it easier to raise children” while keeping Florida “a law-and-order state” and “never surrender[ing] to the woke mob.”
Michigan legislators are working to enact abortion rights protections that are now enshrined in the state constitution. Democrats will move to repeal or rework any legislation that conflicts with the new amendment, including a 1931 total abortion ban, the state’s 24-hour waiting period and a parental consent law. Majority Leader Winnie Brinks said, “If we need additional clarity to implement the intent of that, we will take a look at what bills are necessary.”
In Kansas, NPR points out that voters defeating an anti-choice ballot measure won’t stop Republicans from trying to enact abortion restrictions:
“The rejection of the state constitutional amendment rules out a total ban that neighboring states have enacted. But lawmakers could try to pass a moderately more restrictive ban—like dropping the current 22-week ban to 15 weeks—to see if the Kansas Supreme Court would allow it.”
In his inaugural address on Tuesday, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers reiterated his support for abortion rights, saying that women should have the “freedom to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions without needing permission from politicians.” Evers, who has promised to veto any abortion bill that doesn’t fully overturn the state’s ban, also said, “We must restore the freedoms that Wisconsinites had until June 23, 2022, the day before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade…And I believe that together we will.”
Meanwhile, Democratic leaders in Minnesota say they’re prioritizing codifying abortion rights into law—even as Republicans claim that it’s unnecessary “political theater” because the right is protected in the state constitution. (Republicans will say over and over again that abortion is protected even as they work every day to dismantle it.)
New Hampshire lawmakers are also battling it out on abortion. While Republicans have proposed supposed ‘heartbeat’ bill (there is no heartbeat because there is no heart that early) to limit abortion, state Rep. Amanda Elizabeth Toll wants to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. Toll says her abortion as a teenager was pivotal to giving her the life that she has now: “I think it would have been very difficult for me to go to school and to achieve my career goals and to have children when I was ready, and that determined the course of my entire life.”
Quick hits:
The Ohio Capital Journal profiles the likely next state House speaker and his deeply unpleasant views on abortion;
Now that the Arizona appeals court ruled that the 1864 abortion ban cannot be enforced, Gov. Katie Hobbs says calling a special session to overturn it is no longer necessary;
Looking back one year after a Tennessee abortion clinic was destroyed by arson;
And I’m sorry but this graffiti on an anti-abortion billboard in Oregon made me laugh.
In the nation…
Anti-abortion groups are pissed over Trump’s comments blaming Republicans’ extreme anti-choice positions for their midterms losses. One prominent anti-abortion activist said Trump was “way out of line,” while a representative from Students for Life said, “If you do not have a strong pro-life stance, you are not a true conservative.” A Fox News contributor described the comments as the former president “betraying the pro-life cause.”
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America also shot back in a statement, saying that “those who adopt the Ostrich Strategy on abortion lose”—a reference to the group’s belief that the Republicans who lost weren’t radical enough on abortion. They also said, “We look forward to hearing that position fully articulated by Mr. Trump and all presidential candidates,” which is as about as close to a call-out as you’ll get from this group. Speaking of cowards trying to appear strong, former Vice President Mike Pence tweeted his support of the organization’s statement with a “well said.” Pence is working hard to position himself as the one potential presidential candidate who is fully and unapologetically anti-abortion.
Also on SBA Pro-Life America: They told The Washington Post that they’re targeting Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Nebraska.
Quick hits:
The American Data Privacy and Protection Act, which would protect people’s personal info (more important than ever post-Roe) could be reintroduced this session;
The Los Angeles Times editorial board looks at the last year in abortion rights and what’s ahead for pro-choice activists (lots of ballot measures!);
And Slate gets into the history of contraceptive sponges and why they keep disappearing from the market.
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