In the states…
Over the weekend, a Tennessee woman shared her story on TikTok of being denied an abortion despite her fetus having a fatal abnormality. She has several videos up about the experience, but this one responding to a commenter took my breath away:
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What these states are doing to women should be criminal. And as more and more of these horror stories come out, anti-abortion groups—of course—are desperate to shirk responsibility. In October, I wrote about how anti-choice organizations and politicians were going to strategically blame doctors because they knew it was just a matter of time before someone died. Right on cue: Louisiana Right to Life is doing damage control after a woman in the state came forward about being denied an abortion for a doomed pregnancy. (You may remember Kaitlyn Joshua’s story—she was denied treatment by two different emergency rooms as she was miscarrying, and doctors wouldn’t even put what was happening on her discharge papers for fear of being investigation.)
A representative from Louisiana Right to Life, Sarah Zagorski, claims that Joshua should have been able to get care: “It was just a gross misunderstanding of the law from the practitioners handling the case, unfortunately.” In fact, the law was doing exactly what it was meant to do. And people like this know it. I find it so completely pathetic and disgusting that these groups would blame doctors for the laws that they themselves wrote.
And in case you had any doubts as just how little they give a shit, please know that a few months ago, Zagorski was asked about all the women’s lives that would be endangered by abortion bans. She responded, “It is a tragedy that Louisiana has high mortality rates among pregnant women. However, legal abortion does not improve these rates.” Monsters.
Some good news out of Texas, where a federal judge ruled that abortion funds in the state likely can’t be prosecuted for helping people get abortions outside of the state. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman blocked prosecutors from going after the funds, or anyone who helps someone get an out-of-state abortion. And while Pitman wrote that the pre-Roe statutes could be construed to criminalize someone who “furnishes the means for” an abortion, he argued that—despite conservative efforts to revive them—those laws had been repealed, and shouldn’t be a problem for abortion funds.
Elizabeth Myers, the lawyer representing the groups, said they were “very pleased” with the ruling, and that the judge made clear any district attorney who tried to target abortion funds would be acting improperly.
Less good news from Texas: I told you last week about a bill in the state that would ban self-managed abortion and repeal the parts of the criminal code that prohibit prosecuting women for abortion. (Remember, abortion is illegal in the state but it’s not illegal to get abortion medication mailed to you or to self-manage an abortion.) A Republican there has filed legislation to make it illegal to ship abortion medication to the state. Well, a reporter at Houston Public Media points out that Rep. Bryan Slaton’s bill could also allow the prosecution of women who use emergency contraception, IUDs, or undergo IVF treatments.
Essentially, House Bill 2709 modifies how a human being is defined in the state penal code, changing the word ‘gestation’ to ‘development’.
That one-word change means that the state could define human life as beginning at fertilization rather than the implantation of a fertilized egg, which—as we’ve talked about a lot here—is a strategic move by conservatives who claim certain forms of birth control prevent implantation, and are therefore abortifacients. Law professor Seth J. Chandler says, “I think there is certainly a strong potential for a prosecutor who wished to do so to use this bill to go after either emergency contraception that worked on un-implanted embryos, or to go after fertility clinics that didn't perpetually preserve the embryos that were sitting in a test tube.”
Houston Public Media reports that Rep. Slaton declined to provide comment.
Meanwhile, a large number of women from the South—mostly Texas—are seeking abortion care in Washington. One Texas woman, called A., shared her story with The Seattle Times; she says she tried to get an abortion in a state closer to home, but clinics in places like Kansas were booked weeks out. The thing that struck me the most about A.’s experience was the level of compassion and care she got from the abortion fund that helped her get there: The Northwest Abortion Access Fund payed for her travel, lodging and abortion. They took her to and from her procedure, and even paid for her breakfast. More from The Seattle Times:
Her arrival in a place where abortion is considered a right, rather than murder, seemed to awe her.
“I went to a different country today,” she said.
She had only talked to clinic staff on the phone, but they had impressed her by taking time to thoroughly explain the surgical, two-day procedure that’s standard for second-trimester abortions. She kept listening for a judgmental tone. Instead, staff told her, “I’m so sorry you have to come this far.”
Stories like this make me feel heartsick—but also so incredibly grateful for the people who are doing this work to make sure as many people as possible can get the care they need.
Far less grateful for Missouri Republicans, who are trying to enshrine their abortion ban in the state constitution. Republican Sen. Mike Moon’s measure would add a line to the Missouri Constitution that says nothing in the document “shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion.” Sen. Moon said, “Let the voters weigh in on this; they will confirm with us that life is precious, and it should not be snuffed out prematurely through abortive actions.” First of all, what a weird sentence. Secondly, I’m not so sure this would turn out the way conservatives would like!
Americans overwhelmingly want legal access to abortion, and when the issue has been put directly to voters they make that very, very clear. That’s why pro-choice groups in Ohio, for example, are hard at work right now to get abortion on the ballot. MSNBC had a segment on that move yesterday, when they interviewed Lauren Blauvelt of the Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom Coalition:
Arizona’s abortion restrictions are having the exact impact that conservatives hoped for: Clinics in the state are beginning to close. From Eloisa Lopez, executive director of the Abortion Fund of Arizona and Pro-Choice Arizona:
“With less clinics, we're looking at longer wait times, we're looking at people against the time clock of 15 weeks. Will clinics even have availability? It's just shrinking that ecosystem of access.”
Quick hits:
More on the over 1,000 doctors in North Carolina who are urging lawmakers not to enact any more abortion restrictions;
Nebraska Republicans are trying to pass legislation to offer tax credits to those who donate to anti-abortion centers;
Tennessee activists are rallying in Nashville today to call for rape and incest exceptions;
And Tennessee’s governor is proposing $100 million in funding for anti-abortion centers (aka crisis pregnancy centers).
In the nation…
I never watched 19 Kids and Counting, and I don’t know that much about the Duggar family—other than the fact they’re extremists and part of the Quiverfull movement. (Kathryn Joyce has a great book about this community, which is all about misogyny, patriarchy, and having as many babies as possible to win future religious and culture wars.) But I know the family is radically anti-abortion, so I was interested in the news that Jessa Duggar Seewald had a life-saving abortion—which, of course, she’s calling a miscarriage.
‘Abortion’ is not something that has a flexible definition: It’s a medical intervention to end a pregnancy, that’s it. But conservatives have been trying to rebrand abortions for a while now: Both because it ensures those on the Right can get the care they need without seeming like absolute hypocrites (which they are), and because it allows them to classify women as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ by redefining abortion as an intention. From a column I wrote back in July:
“‘Intent’ is also telling, because it reveals how conservatives split women into two groups: Those who are deserving of care, and those who aren’t. Women who otherwise wanted to be pregnant, adhering to traditional gender roles, deserve an abortion. Those who didn’t want to be pregnant, shunning their proper ‘place’, are just murderers. (It’s the same reason that we don’t see the same outcry over IVF: ‘Good’ women who want to be moms get a pass.)”
Also, good on publications like Parade for calling the abortion an abortion. The anti-abortion movement may make up their own definitions, but that doesn’t mean the media has repeat those lies. I also appreciated this thought from Imani Gandy (whose podcast you should absolutely listen to).
I told you about the Democratic Attorneys General who filed a lawsuit last week against the FDA for increased access to abortion medication: They say the agency has imposed unnecessary and onerous restrictions on mifepristone, which has been long proven safe. Stat News has more on the lawsuit, and the AGs who additionally filed an injunction to stop the FDA’s restrictions on the medication while the case is heard.
In related news, Vice President Kamala Harris met on Friday with reproductive rights and health leaders about conservatives targeting abortion medication. You can watch her remarks below, where she said “this is not just an attack on women's fundamental freedoms; it is an attack on the very foundation of our public health system.”
I missed this last week, but eight people have been charged with violating the FACE Act after forming a blockade at a Michigan clinic to prevent patients from getting care. The Department of Justice announced the charges last Wednesday. The ‘activists’ not only tried to keep women out of the clinic, but told police officers, “You can arrest us, you can do whatever you want, but I will be back, wherever there is a clinic open.”
And while the World Health Organization reports that most countries are seeing their maternal mortality rate decrease, the United States is one of a minority of nations whose numbers are going up. This data, of course, was taken before Roe was overturned—so we know it’s only going to get worse. In the meantime, we should be ashamed. I know I am.
Quick hits:
The Washington Post has a must-read profile on Matthew Kacsmaryk, the anti-abortion judge who will decide whether to ban mifepristone (for the entire country, not just anti-choice states);
MSNBC on last week’s poll showing massive support for abortion rights and how conservative attacks “could help spur more sweeping change”';
The 19th looks at the hurdles involved in collecting abortion data;
Stateline gets into the anti-choice strategy of banning or restricting abortion in towns within pro-choice states;
Salon on what the increasing number of older women getting pregnant means in a post-Roe world;
And IVF patients are worried about abortion bans impacting their care;
Listen up…
All Things Considered at NPR has a segment about the lawsuit that Democratic Attorneys General filed against the FDA seeking to increase access to abortion medication; and the Montana Free Press has a podcast conversation about what’s happening with abortion rights in the state.
A rant…
So, I appreciate the sentiment here but this really is the bare minimum. If you’re going to take the time to create a showy graphic and tweet as if you’re saying something incredibly exciting and strong, perhaps the substance should actually be…exciting and strong.
Keep an eye on…
Conservatives trying to rebrand a federal abortion ban as an ‘abortion window’. Yes, seriously. If this sort of thing wasn’t so dangerous, I’d find this article hilarious: The writer really thinks they’ve done something by coming up with a new term for run-of-the-mill abortion restrictions. As silly as it is, this is the exact kind of thing we need to watch out for.
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