33 Comments

Forgive my ignorance but how can a state ban a medication that is approved by FDA? And what about Indian Reservations as safe havens for abortion care ?

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My understanding of the NC rule is also that women are defined as any female. So if a 10 yo gets raped by her daddy and no one finds out until after 24 weeks, she is having that baby. It is sick.

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Just jumped in to say the same. Happened on to MSNBC and was thinking, Wow, who is this woman?! We’ll done! This work is so critical

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Just trying to contain my rage and channel it into something productive.....

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Damn that North Carolina Congressperson that switched to the Republican Party in spite of just being elected in a very Democratic district. She gives them a supermajority that can override the Democratic governor’s veto. She should not be allowed to pull shenanigans like this.

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How does it not violate some sort of law... defrauding the electorate... I don't get how anyone can do that.

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Beats me and the bad thing is the Republicans can now gerrymander her district so she can possibly win as a Republican. There is no chance that without a gerrymander, she will be re-elected. She probably was promised this before she switched. A big screw you to the voters that elected her as a Democrat.

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Yeah, you're probably right. She made a deal. It's getting hard enough to vote, and when we do vote, our candidates can just switch parties and then be untouchable. How is this a representative democracy? It's so unsettling.

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The Republican Party is fascist. They don’t want democracy but an authoritarian Christian theocracy. They want control over blue states also and don’t care how they achieve this. I am really looking into other countries right now. I have lived in California but I’m not sure if even California is safe anymore.

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Agree. And me too. I have three teenagers - 2 girls and a boy. I dream of NZ, but if it were easy to go to Canada, I'd start a new life there. If we lose power in 2024, we might have to. I can't imagine what this country will be like. I can't imagine my girls being pregnant here anymore.

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The only problem with Canada is it has a deranged heavily armed southern neighbor.

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This is the last gasp of a dying party. Even gerrymandering can't hold off the demographic tide that's coming. That's why they're doing all this. They see what's on the horizon. As soon as the boomers are gone, Republicans are done.

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Jessica -- great showing on Chris Hayes! You need to become a regular.

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It's even worse. They wrapped in all in "family" talk and threw in sweeteners that Dems won't like voting against, such as access to contraception, family leave, and adoption. They used ugly parliamentary twists to push this through with zero committee work and zero public comment. They are evil people who will only do worse if Mark Robinson, the homophobic, mysoginist lieutenant governor, takes Roy Cooper's place next year. We are so hosed.

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Yeah. Under the current systems of government, your only relief is to elect a Democratic majority to the state supreme court, and unfortunately that will take many years. It's so disheartening to find your statewide elected officials like the governor and the attorney general rendered irrelevant. To be sure, North Carolina has a small Republican majority in most elections, but this would be a prime example of how gerrymandering and constitutional quirks amplify it to eliminate all opposition. North Carolina leans red, but it's not THAT red. I hope Democrats will get angry and fight, even if it's fruitless, and not give up and decide it's hopeless.

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The newsletter today is short but very important. It shows me how the enemy is trying to adapt. They're expecting all of the reporting to highlight the headline number - 12 weeks - and miss all the pernicious details. If they can do the same amount of damage to access but with a different branding, that's what they'll do. It would be nice if they didn't have quite all of the votes for this that they think they have, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Still, time for North Carolina Democrats to throw all of the monkey wrenches they have, because things get real ugly real quick if a Republican supermajority endures.

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We have a new and young North Carolina Democratic Party chair, Anderson Clayton. I am very hopeful!

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Have to see how bad the new maps are, and have to hope that voter anger leads to a strong Democratic showing next year, and that it's enough to break the supermajority. It won't undo what happens this session though.

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Thank you for what you do! Please rest and take care of yourselves. You are essential.

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author

Literal midnight oil, way past bedtime. Jessica deserves extra kudos for the immensely dedicated reporting she put into this one.

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Y'all are wizards. I don't know how you two do this everyday but I'm so glad you do.

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We're counting on the two of you to keep an eye on each other so you stay in good mental and physical health and don't burn out. This country needs you.

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I just finished reading The Turnaway Study by Dr Diana Foster. If you possibly can, I strongly encourage everyone to read this book! Blows holes in the supposed “logic” of all these “restrictions” and patronizing hurdles placed in front of those seeking abortions.

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I read it too, KB and was so glad that they specifically addressed many of these myths that Republicans keep propagating such as “women regret having abortions.” They don’t. They regret giving up children for adoption. In fact , many of the women forced to give birth descend into poverty in order not to give up the child. I was glad to find this study.

I’m still looking for a study that connects Catholic hospitals with our miserable maternity outcome rate.

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I found this NYT article on the subject and there's an ACLU report included in it, too. Not sure if it has what you're looking for but it's enraging nonetheless.

Why Was a Catholic Hospital Willing to Gamble With My Life? https://nyti.ms/3HlaClU

Patients and Physicians Speak Out About Catholic Hospitals and the Threat to Women's Health and Lives

https://www.aclu.org/report/report-health-care-denied

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Laura, thanks so much! I knew of the NYT piece (similar to mine) but not the ACLU report. Thanks so much for this, I’ve been hoping to find something like this for a while now.

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I also did not know this is available in book form. I will look for it through my library system. It galls me to no end when anti-choicers talk about all the "harm" that women suffer when they get to make their own adult decisions.

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I read several articles about the turnaway study after the research came out but I didn't know it was turned into a book. Including it on my list of books for a reproductive justice library. Nearly 300 titles now! Thanks!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ko8IWuWp4u6aeEXij1au-mYFsUFuUlgc12oEJXTv7GY/edit?usp=drivesdk

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