Abortion, Every Day (5.16.24)

South Dakota anti-abortion group impersonates gov't in calls to voters

Click to skip ahead: In Attacks on Democracy, a South Dakota group tries to pressure voters into removing their name from a pro-choice petition. In the States, Tennessee’s travel ban raises free speech questions. Anti-Choice Strategy looks at how Texas Republicans are hiding abortion ban deaths. In Care Crisis news, how to warn people about attacks on abortion without scaring them out of getting care. In the Nation, sex ed bills are getting increasingly restrictive. In 2024 news, 17% of Americans blame Joe Biden for the end of Roe. Stats & Studies shows that over half of Black women live in anti-choice states. Finally, in What Conservatives Are Saying, a delightful aside from a radio host on “bloodthirsty” women.

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If you missed my column on the connection between Harrison Butker’s misogynist commencement speech and abortion bans, check it out below:

Men's Rules on Abortion

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Attacks on Democracy

Just when you thought they couldn’t go any lower: A South Dakota anti-abortion group has been calling voters who signed a petition to put abortion on the ballot, pretending to be government officials and pressuring them to withdraw their signatures.

Adrienne Bosma told the South Dakota Searchlight that she got a call from someone who gave the impression of being associated with the Secretary of State’s Office:

“The volunteer asked questions, including whether Bosma knew the petition ‘allows for abortion up to birth.’ Bosma said she challenged the volunteer’s language before the volunteer hung up the phone.

‘I was so mad, I was physically shaking,’ Bosma said. ‘If you’re calling people and harassing them when they’re exercising their First Amendment right, that’s over the line. That’s not OK.’”

Who are actually making the calls? A political action committee, South Dakota Petition Integrity, which was formed by Republican state Rep. Jon Hansen—who also happens to be the vice president of South Dakota Right to Life.

This comes after Republicans, led by Hansen, were able to pass a law that would invalidate the proposed amendment if anti-abortion groups are able to convince (or intimidate) even a handful of people to withdraw their signatures from the petition. Hansen says that he’s been “encouraging” voters to take their name off, “but it’s not coercive.”

On Monday, the Secretary of State’s office put out a release warning South Dakotans “to be aware of scammers…pushing the voters to challenge the Abortion Rights ballot measure petitions.”

How much clearer can they be? Republicans have been doing anything possible to stop voters from having a direct say on abortion–from Missouri anti-abortion activists texting voters that pro-choice petitioners were trying to steal their personal information to Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State colluding with anti-abortion groups to write a biased ballot summary. It’s unconscionable—and it’s proof that they know when people can vote on abortion rights, abortion rights wins.

More Attacks on Democracy: Ahead of a vote on abortion rights, Missouri Republicans are trying to raise the standards on ballot measures.

In the States

Tennessee’s travel ban is headed to the governor’s desk for signing, prompting understandable worries about free speech in the state. As you know, these so-called anti-trafficking laws are written so broadly that someone could be criminalized as a ‘trafficker’ for lending a teen gas money to leave the state for care, or sending them the url to an abortion clinic. Idaho’s near-identical travel ban was blocked by a judge for just that reason: they found it violated the first amendment.

Today, The Tennessean looks at the free speech debate that’s been sparked by the bill—and the vague language conservatives are using to make the law as broadly enforceable as possible. The legislation makes it illegal to “recruit, harbor, or transport” a minor, and experts point out that ‘recruit’ isn’t defined anywhere in the bill or Tennessee code. (Which, of course, is deliberate.)

James Bopp Jr., the general counsel for the National Right to Life Committee—the group that drafted the model legislation—says that “nobody” believes that the word ‘recruit’ includes speaking about abortion or “just posting information.” But it was just a few weeks ago that a Republican legislator threatened Democratic Rep. Aftyn Behn after she spoke about being willing to give teens information about abortion. “That’s what recruitment looks like,” Rep. Jason Zachary said.

And when Oklahoma Republican Sen. Nathan Dahm was asked whether his version of the travel ban would jail someone who lent a teen gas money, he said yes: “It’s no different than if you gave somebody gas money for them to be the getaway driver for committing some other crime or something else like that.”

In other words: of course the language is meant to criminalize speech—or any kind of help.

When Arizona lawmakers voted to repeal the state’s 1864 abortion ban, you may remember that I mentioned something interesting about one of the Republicans who voted with Democrats: Arizona Sen. Shawnna Bolick is married to one of the state Supreme Court justices who voted in favor of the 1864 law. This week, the Associated Press reports on that odd connection, and how Bolick has been taking heat from some of her Republican colleagues.

Don’t get it twisted, though: her vote was not done out of some kind of moral reckoning! The three Republicans who voted to repeal the law did so in response to pressure from national GOP leaders and Donald Trump, who were afraid of how the 1864 ban would impact the 2024 elections.

The repeal legislation won’t go into effect until 90 days after the end of the legislative session—so there’s been a court battle over the 1864 ban being enforced for a short period of time until the repeal goes through.

Quick hits:

• Bloomberg looks at how abortion providers in pro-choice states are stepping up to help patients from Arizona and Florida;

• Illinois Planned Parenthood has launched an app where patients can get abortion medication;

• Ohio Democrats are pushing for contraception protections;

• And Kansas is opening a new abortion clinic to meet out-of-state patient demand.

Anti-Choice Strategy: False Maternal Mortality Data

If you’re a long-time reader, you know that one of my obsessions is the way that conservatives are messing around with data. From fabricating abortion ‘complication’ rates to legislation crafted to collect pregnant women’s personal information, Republicans are hyper-focused on using data to further their anti-abortion agenda.

And maternal mortality has always been at the top of their list. Since Roe was overturned, anti-abortion groups and lawmakers have worked to sow distrust in maternal death numbers—a move to preemptively dismiss the death rate increase they know is coming.

Some states, like Idaho, have even disbanded their maternal mortality review committees entirely. Last month, I told you that Texas’ maternal mortality task force was being prevented from reporting on deaths “pertaining to voluntary or therapeutic termination of pregnancy.” Why would an anti-choice state not want to report on deaths related to abortions? Because that would also mean reporting on deaths caused by abortion bans.

Abortion itself is safe, but doctors expect to see deaths due to patients ending their pregnancies in dangerous ways, or because of delays in abortion care. Republicans are desperate to keep those deaths from voters.

This week, the Austin American-Statesman points out that the exclusion of abortion cases from the task force’s numbers goes against recommendations from the CDC. The current guidance also prevents the task force from reviewing cases like Amanda Zurawski’s, the Texas woman who went septic after being denied an abortion.

Care Crisis

Professor Carrie Baker, author of the forthcoming book, Abortion Pills: U.S. History and Politics, has an op-ed today in The Sacramento Bee along with Texas-based reporter, Roxanne Szal. The two take California Gov. Gavin Newsom to task over his ad on the right to travel in Alabama. (You may remember the spot, it features a teenage girl who has been shackled to a hospital bed, unable to leave the state for an abortion.)

Baker and Szal point out that telemedicine abortion is available in all fifty states:

“Women don’t need to cross state borders and travel hundreds of miles for abortion healthcare; they can get on their laptop or pick up their phone and order abortion pills from California clinicians.”

From Newsom’s ads, they say, you’d never know it. Telehealth has been playing an increasingly vital role in post-Dobbs abortion care; a new study this week found that 8,000 patients a month are having abortion pills mailed to them in anti-choice states. Baker and Szal also note that many people don’t have the ability to travel out-of-state for care for money or logistical reasons.

“We urge Newsom to start telling women their full range of abortion options and stop telling them they have to travel for early abortion care,” they write.

The op-ed is also a good reminder of a bigger issue that comes up around pro-choice messaging: Making sure that raising the alarm doesn’t turn into fear-mongering. The truth is that it can be a difficult line to walk; we want to make sure that people understand just how dire these attacks are, but we also have to do so in a way that doesn’t scare people off from getting care.

In the Nation

In news that will surprise no one, new data from SIECUS, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, shows that Republicans are going after sex education in a major way. Right now, almost three-quarters of bills on sex education are restrictive—limiting whether and how students learn about sex, contraception, relationships and more. Only 22% of 2024 bills are pushing comprehensive sex education.

CNN reports that the most common kind of anti-sex ed bills are those that focus on parental consent and oversight, which aligns with the broader conservative ‘parental rights’ trend. Some legislation would require parental consent for the classes, while others—like this bill in Kentucky—would require school administrators to out LGBTQ students to their parents. There’s also been an increase in bills allowing parents to sue schools and school districts, which is something we’ve seen in the legislation requiring anti-abortion videos be shown in public school classes.

What kinds of sex ed bills are we seeing less of? Those that teach kids about consent and violent relationships. Alison Macklin, policy and advocacy director of SIECUS, tells CNN that sex ed isn’t just about sex and contraception, but life.

“We’re teaching basic core concepts of decision making, speaking up for oneself. Then as the person develops, and as they mature, we start to add in more sexual content.”

Quick hits:

• Stat News on the study showing that telehealth abortion is safe and effective;

• Healthcare Across Borders (HCAB), Take Back the Court Action Fund, and UltraViolet Action are calling on Congress to repeal the Comstock Act;

• Bloomberg Law looks at how different states are trying to limit or restrict travel for abortion care;

• And if you missed my conversation with Chris Hayes, check out my interview in his podcast here.

Stats & Studies

A new report shows that more than half of Black women of reproductive age live in a state that has an abortion ban or restrictions. Published by the National Partnership for Women & Families (NPWF) and In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, the report shows that more than 6.7 million Back women between 15 and 49 years old live in anti-choice states.

What’s more, nearly 2.7 million of Black women living in these states are economically insecure—and we know that abortion bans disproportionately impact those who are low-income. The report also looks at the connection between abortion restrictions and maternal morality, which is demonstrably worse for Black women, who are three times more likely to die in childbirth as compared to white women.

Jocelyn Frye, president of the NPWF, tells NBC News, “Black women are often the bellwether of how well things are working. So when we fix things for Black women, we fix them for a lot of people.”

Read the full report here.

2024

If you missed this New York Times/Siena College poll, I’m jealous of you. When voters were asked who they thought was most responsible for the end of Roe and abortion rights, 17% said President Joe Biden. I’m going to put aside my absolute horror for a moment, and try to take on pollster Celinda Lake’s attitude: “This group is a pickup opportunity for Democrats.”

The problem, Lake says is that Donald Trump has “intentionally kept it vague” on abortion rights. Many voters don’t actually know or understand what his position is, because he’s worked hard to come across as moderate even as he brags over “killing” Roe. The good news is that Lake says, “when we show voters his statements in his own words, that is enough to persuade them.”

But this isn’t just about voter confusion or Trump manipulating messaging and the media—this is a Biden problem. I cannot tell you the number of comments and emails I’ve gotten—from young people, especially—who tell me that they blame Biden because the end of Roe happened “on his watch.” Some don’t understand that it was Trump who empowered conservatives on Supreme Court, others simply feel that Biden didn’t do enough to establish other federal protections for abortion rights.

Whether that point of view is fair or unfair, Biden hasn’t been doing himself any favors. Because voters aren’t reading his policies as much as they are listening to what he says. And what they hear is what we all hear: the president is clearly uncomfortable talking about abortion, even having a difficult time saying the word at all.

Do you know who is comfortable talking about abortion? You guessed it! And even though we know Trump is lying, that’s not something that all voters will glean. One Wisconsin Republican, Christine Valenti (no relation), told the NYT that she found Trump’s recent comments on abortion reassuring. As for Biden?

“He doesn’t say much about it anymore. He’s our president, but he doesn’t say a lot, period, about anything.”

Still, voters broadly prefer Biden over Trump when it comes to abortion (I sure fucking hope so!) and we have some time for the Biden Administration to hit even harder on abortion rights. As I’ve said so many times before, it’s vital—especially given numbers like these—that Biden does more than just blame Trump for the end of Roe, but offers a clear, proactive plan for what comes next.

What Conservatives Are Saying

There’s nothing quite like a conservative podcast host talking about abortion. Thanks to Media Matters for bringing us this gem from BlazeTV's Steve Deace, who argues that abortion isn’t losing elections for Republications:

“You have been told that the 2022 midterms were lost because this massive influx of single women, bloodthirsty to kill their children more than ever after what happened with Dobbs, turned out in droves for Democrats. Here's the thing. That is true, but that's…what you're not being told is that has always been true.”

Deace goes on to say that the problem is that these “bloodthirsty” women are single to begin with. “The number one determiner of how you will vote is not race, it's not socioeconomic status, it's whether you're married,” he says. “It’s your marital status.”

I actually found this quite telling. After all, we’re in a moment when Republicans want to do away with no-fault divorce—not just forcing us to keep pregnancies we don’t want, but forcing us to remain in marriages we don’t want. (Did you know that the legalization of no-fault divorce brought women’s suicide rate down by 20%??)