Abortion, Every Day (4.26.24)

Will Texas oust a pro-choice DA?

Click to skip ahead: In Conservative Cruelty, Republican AGs don’t want to give abortion patients time off from work. In the States, news from Arizona, Florida, Idaho and more. Attacks on Democracy looks at efforts to oust a state attorney in Texas. In Ballot Measure Updates, Minnesota anti-abortion groups launch a seven-figure ad buy. In Keep An Eye On, more on the danger of abortion reporting, this time out of Texas. In the Nation, some quick hits and a video for you.

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Conservative Cruelty

Republicans are so desperate to punish women who have abortions, they want to prevent them from getting time off to recover.

Earlier this month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers to give workers “reasonable accommodations” related to pregnancy, childbirth or abortion—including time off. The federal law only applies to businesses with more than 15 employees, it doesn’t require them to pay for an abortion, and doesn’t even require paid time off. Basically, it’s just asking employers to be decent human beings. But that’s a step too far for conservative lawmakers, apparently.

Seventeen Republican Attorneys General filed a suit against the EEOC yesterday, claiming that the Biden administration is mandating that employers “facilitate abortion.” Led by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin (both of whom are virulently anti-abortion), the suit accuses the federal government of overstepping their authority, pointing to the fact that the plaintiffs have laws that ban abortions with rare exceptions.

But that’s even more reason that employees will need time off! Think about how many people are having to leave their anti-choice state for care—and not just for ‘elective’ abortions. We’ve heard story after story of women with life- and health-threatening pregnancies being forced to leave their home state for treatment. Abortion bans themselves are responsible for workers needing more time off.

If these Republican AGs only want to allow time off for medically-necessary abortions, how exactly do they think this will work in practice? Will employees be required to prove to their boss that they’re sick enough to need an abortion, and therefore a few days off from work? Will managers have to sort out whether a nonviable pregnancy is reason enough to give someone a fucking break?

This is I get so upset about headlines like this one, painting the very moderate law as “divisive.” Republicans are depending on voters believing that the accommodations are somehow radical or controversial. When the media frames them as such, they’re doing conservatives’ job for them.

In the States

If you missed my email earlier today about Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador complaining about the “aggressive” female justices, make sure to read it below. Just infuriating:

Idaho AG: Justice Sotomayor is "Shameful"

Also in Idaho: The editorial board at the Idaho Statesman slams Republican lawmakers in the wake of this week’s Supreme Court arguments. The board writes “arrogant” Republican legislators don’t care about what’s happening on the ground, where OBGYNs are recommending to patients that they get extra health insurance in case they need to be airlifted out of the state:

“Think about that. Idaho has to airlift at-risk patients out of state to provide medical care, as if the state were some sort of war zone in an undeveloped country. Imagine being an expectant mother having to endure the pain and suffering of having a nonviable pregnancy, and then having to be flown by helicopter to another state just to get the medical care you desperately need.”

In related news, NBC News has the story of an Idaho woman who was denied care.

Two Arizona Democrats have been targeted with an ethics complaint from their GOP colleagues. Why? Because they started a chant of “shame, shame” after Republicans refused to consider legislation to repeal the state’s 1864 abortion ban.

Now that the repeal legislation has made it past the House, however, the Republicans who voted in favor of killing the total abortion ban are facing backlash from their colleagues, The New York Times reports.

If the Senate supports the repeal next week, Gov. Katie Hobbs will sign the bill and Arizona will go back to having a 15-week ban. But as Democratic consultant Stacy Pearson told the Times, even if the repeal passes, “I don’t think you can heal this wound, with female voters in particular…this was going to kill people.”

In the meantime, Gov. Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes have launched a website to keep Arizonans updated on the status of the ban and reproductive rights in the state. (The enforcement of the 1864 ban has been unclear and there’s a chance that the law will be in effect for a short period of time, even if it’s repealed.) From Gov. Hobbs:

“The Arizona Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the 1864 total abortion ban left millions of women and doctors wondering what their rights are when seeking or providing reproductive health care. I’m proud to deliver this comprehensive website to provide timely updates, trusted resources, and a safe venue to seek reproductive health care options.”

Florida’s 6-week abortion ban will go into effect on May 1st, impacting millions of women in the state and across the region. As McKenna Kelley of the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund says, “Florida was the last man standing in the Southeast for abortion access.”

I just want to flag something in this piece fromThe Tampa Bay Times that looks at how abortion rights groups are bracing for the law. Republican state Rep. Mike Beltran told the publication that he would support a ban on travel for abortions if it wasn’t for the fact that it would be challenged in the courts. So for now, he’s supporting legislation that stops employers from helping workers leave the state for abortion care.

“I don’t think we should make it easier for people to travel for abortion. We should put things in to prevent circumvention of the law.”

Let’s be clear about something: A Republican lawmaker is admitting that he wants to legally prohibit women from leaving the state. But his quote is treated as an aside because that’s how normalized it’s become to treat women like they’re not full citizens and human beings.

At least some Florida politicians are talking about abortion with the urgency it deserves. Democratic state Sen. Bobby Powell says, “People are going to die….That’s what it’s going to lead to for the women in the state of Florida.”

The abortion rights group Free & Just is running a new ad in Wisconsin, Texas and Nebraska tied to the EMTALA case argued in front of the Supreme Court this week.

In better news…

In Arkansas, Planned Parenthood says that their vasectomy clinic has been wildly successful. Emily Wales, CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, says that in a state where people in rural areas are feeling the strain of reproductive health care deserts, the vasectomy services are a way for patients to feel like they “can exercise some control.” She also says they’re seeing more and more male patients who want to bear some of that contraceptive load and make “their partners’ lives easier.”

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly rejected funding for anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. Last year, the state gave $2 million to a “Pregnancy Compassion Awareness Program”—money that went to a nonprofit led by former U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Huelskamp was responsible for the misleading text messages that went out to voters in 2022 about an anti-abortion ballot measure. The messages told voters to “Vote YES to protect women’s health,” which actually would have removed abortion protections.

The Kansas Reflector reports that Gov. Kelly rejected extending that funding, saying it would be “inappropriate to provide taxpayer funding for unregulated pregnancy crisis centers that have no medical credentials.” Indeed!

Some good news out of Nebraska: Thanks to an effort by the Women's Fund of Omaha, there are now two emergency contraception vending machines publicly available in the city. The most recent was placed in an Omaha, Nebraska bar. Jo Giles, executive director of the fund, says, "We believe this is the first public space for emergency contraception in our country.” Incredible!

Finally, in New York, Democrats and Gov. Kathy Hochul are establishing a $25 million fund for nonprofit groups that offer abortions—money meant for those seeking care, especially those who need care but are underinsured or uninsured. Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas says the money is established in the law, which means the funding is codified. “It sends a strong message to our communities and pregnant people that New York is and will continue to be a beacon of care for people who need access to abortion care,” she said.

Quick hits:

• Utah Republicans are trying to avoid a vote on IVF, well-aware of the potential backlash;

• A Texas judge has tossed a lawsuit by anti-abortion groups against San Antonio and the city’s “Reproductive Justice Fund;”

• An Oregon Republican who voted with Democrats on abortion is facing a GOP challenger;

• And the Miami Herald looks at Hispanic support for Florida’s Amendment 4.

Attacks on Democracy

Republican attacks on democracy don’t stop at ballot measures and passing abortion bans against voters’ wishes. One of the other tactics Abortion, Every Day has been tracking is legislation that would allow for the removal of district attorneys who decline to prosecute abortion ‘crimes’. Because remember, these are elected officials—put in place by voters who want them to use their discretion when deciding what cases to pursue.

We’ve already seen Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis oust a state attorney who said he wouldn’t go after abortion cases; now we’re seeing something similar go down in Texas. The Austin Chronicle reports on Travis County District Attorney José Garza, who is danger of being ejected from office. What’s wild about this case—and Texas law—is that anyone in the state can petition for the removal of a district attorney.

I don’t need to tell you how dangerous that is: We’ve already seen the way that the state’s bounty hunter law has empowered abusive men to harass and attack their ex-partners. In this case, though, the petition against Garza was brought by Martin Harry—a Republican district attorney nominee that Garza beat back in 2020. Charming.

Ballot Measure Updates

An anti-abortion group in Minnesota has invested in a seven-figure ad buy in the state, kicking off with a television ad that claims a pro-choice ballot measure would enshrine ‘abortion up until birth’ in the state constitution.

In truth, the measure is an Equal Rights Amendment that likely won’t be on the ballot until 2026. There’s been some debate in the state legislature over the language of the ERA and how explicit it should be about protecting abortion rights. As it stands, Minnesota doesn’t legislate pregnancy; so pro-choice lawmakers understandably don’t want to introduce restrictions into the proposed amendment. From DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman:

“I would just say that Minnesotans are really clear about this issue. They understand that abortion is health care and the decision on whether to have an abortion procedure is between a woman and her doctor.”

And that’s the thing: The absence of abortion restrictions isn’t ‘abortion up until birth’, it’s the recognition that there is no safe or ethical way to legislate something as complicated as pregnancy. It’s also what Americans want: 81% of voters don’t want the government involved in abortion at all.

The Washington Post has a piece on the ballot measure effort in Arkansas, where activists are pushing an amendment to protect abortion rights through 18 weeks after fertilization. The group collecting signatures, Arkansans for Limited Government, is facing both anti-abortion sentiment in the state, and disagreement from other abortion rights groups who think the amendment doesn’t go far enough.

Sarah Standiford, national campaigns director for Planned Parenthood Action Fund said the measure “is not strong enough and expansive enough to deliver the access it should.” Volunteer Veronica McClane told WaPo, “I’m afraid that some people think that we’re a lost cause. We are fighting every single day…and we need help.”

Keep An Eye On: Abortion Reporting

You may recall that there’s been a whole lot of controversy over abortion guidelines from the Texas Medical Board. The board issued rules that doctors said were unhelpful; they didn’t offer any real guidance on when and under what circumstances physicians could legally offer care. When I wrote about the new rules last month, I pointed out some really troublesome language:

“The guidelines also mandated that doctors document what kind of ‘diagnostic imaging, test results, medical literature, second opinions, and/or medical ethics committees’ were used to determine an abortion was necessary. It also noted that physicians should document ‘whether there was adequate time to transfer the patient, by any means available to a facility or physician with a higher level of care or expertise to avoid performing an abortion.’

Again, we’re talking about women’s lives and they want doctors to take the time to do imaging, get consults and even transfer a patient rather than just give them the care they need. They are enshrining, again and again, how little they care about it.”

This week, the Texas Tribune reports that this language is causing a lot of understandable worry among doctors and lawyers. Rachael Gearing, an attorney who represents OBGYNs says, “It’s basically saying, ‘Well, you should have passed your patient off to someone else who would have held out longer and wouldn’t have done the abortion.’”

And remember, doctors who violate Texas’s abortion ban could face $100,000 fine and up to 100 years in prison. Not only do doctors have to figure out if a woman is close enough to death to warrant care, but they have to ensure that they’re taking close enough notes, compiling overwhelming documentation, and preemptively preparing for a legal defense when they should be thinking about patient safety.

This kind of abortion ban bureaucracy and reporting is something I’ve been warning about for a while now. Whether it’s that Indiana’s AG wants to make abortion reports public records, or the sketchy abortion ‘complication’ reporting law in Texas, Republicans are using data and documentation as a way keep patients and providers in line.

In the Nation

• A new poll from The Economist/YouGov found that most Americans would support federal protections for abortion rights;

• Mother Jones points out that Catholic hospitals have long been doing what the federal government warned about at the Supreme Court this week;

• Ms. magazine on the lie of ‘life of the mother’ exceptions;

• Slate says that Idaho attorney Joshua Turner irritated Justice Amy Coney Barrett;

• And Democracy Now! spoke to Karen Thompson, the legal director of Pregnancy Justice about the EMTALA Supreme Court case and its consequences. (Video below) By the way: If you needed yet another reason to become a paid subscriber, Karen was actually in the AED live-chat during the oral arguments. Joining the community here means talking to very cool people!