Abortion, Every Day (5.8.24)

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff acknowledges "women are dying" from bans

Click to skip ahead: We start with something rare—Good News on Travel Bans. In the States, Louisiana Republicans voted to force raped children to give birth. In Ballot Measure Updates, a Republican judge is holding up a proposed amendment in New York. In the Nation, the second gentleman wants to get men involved with abortion rights and acknowledges that "women are dying.” In 2024, new polling shows that Trump’s focus on the states isn’t going over well with Americans. And in Stats & Studies, 62% of young people wouldn’t live in an anti-choice state, and a new study on the link between abortion restrictions and domestic violence deaths.

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Good News on Travel Bans

It’s so rare that we have good news out of Alabama so let’s start there! As you know, state Attorney General Steve Marshall—a complete fucking maniac—has been desperate to go after abortion funds who help women leave the state for care. In a court filing last year, Marshall argued that groups that help people get out-of-state abortions are participating in a “criminal conspiracy.” Under Marshall’s interpretation of the law, even telling someone about a clinic where they could get care would be a crime: 

“One cannot seriously doubt that the State can prevent a mobster from asking a hitman to kill a rival because the agreement occurred through spoken word. So too here for conspiracies to obtain an elective abortion.”

If you thought comparing abortion funds to mob hitmen was bad, just you wait: Marshall went a step further, claiming that the state could restrict women’s travel if it wanted to in the same way it restricts the travel of a sex offender. The idea was that if the state has an interest in protecting children from predators, it also has an interest in protecting fetuses from the women who want to end their pregnancies. Really scary stuff.

In response to the legal threats, the Yellowhammer Fund and the West Alabama Women’s Center brought a lawsuit against Marshall in the hopes that the courts would make it clear that no, the state can’t take action against them for helping women.

This week a federal judge allowed their suit to move forward, laying into Marshall in the process. US District Judge Myron wrote in his preliminary ruling that “the right to interstate travel is one of our most fundamental constitutional rights.”

“Alabama can no more restrict people from going to, say, California to engage in what is lawful there than California can restrict people from coming to Alabama to do what is lawful here.”

Here’s what Robin Marty, the operations director of West Alabama Women’s Center, said in response to the ruling:

“For people who are becoming pregnant, they deserve the right to know everything that they could possibly choose to do with that pregnancy, and being cut off from the ability to provide full care to our patients has been horrifying.”

To donate to the Yellowhammer Fund click here. To donate to the West Alabama Women’s Center, click here.

In the States

In less terrific news on travel bans, Idaho is trying to get their law enacted after a judge blocked it for violating the First Amendment. Idaho’s travel ban doesn’t just criminalize bringing a teen out-of-state for an abortion, but helping them get care in any way, shape or form. An attorney for the state went to a federal appeals court, asking them to intervene and claiming that “the law is narrow, and one would think, unobjectionable.” Well, I object—and so does the right to free speech.

Yesterday, Louisiana Republicans voted to force raped children to give birth. That’s not hyperbole. After it was clear that a bill proposing rape and incest exceptions was going to fail, Democratic state Rep. Delisha Boyd added an amendment to the measure that would apply to those younger than 17 years-old. Still, Republicans were unmoved.

Their vote came after hours of emotional testimony from victims and doctors—including an OBGYN who said something that is going to sit with me for a long time. Dr. Neelima Sukhavasi talked about treating a child rape victim who delivered a baby “while clutching a Teddy Bear.” She says, “That’s an image that once you see that, you can’t unsee it.”

Side note: So many of the headlines about this bill have been constructed along the lines of “Louisiana rejects rape and incest exceptions.” I wish that just one publication would publish a headline that tells the full truth: Louisiana Republicans vote to force raped children to give birth.

Arizona lawmakers may have repealed the state’s 1864 ban, but that’s not stopping anti-abortion groups from trying to get the ban enacted anyway. Essentially, the law repealing the abortion ban won’t take effect until 91 days after the end of the legislative session, which comes in June or July. So Attorney General Kris Mayes and Planned Parenthood Arizona are asking the state Supreme Court to hold off on enforcing their decision.

But this week, the head of a crisis pregnancy center, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, is asking the Court to deny that request and enforce the 1864 ban immediately. Given that this is the Court that allowed this ban to be restored in the first place, I’m not feeling super optimistic. But I’l keep you updated as I find out more.

Now that Florida has enacted its 6-week abortion ban, states like Virginia are gearing up to see a huge influx of patients. Anti-abortion groups are, per usual, extremely pissed that people can go to another state and get care. Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation, says, “People don’t want to see commercials that say come to Virginia, you know, visit historic Williamsburg and get your abortion.”

I actually think that’s a terrific ad idea! After all, remember Michigan’s ad campaign last year that sought to woo out of state workers? I still think about this:

Last week, I pointed out that the new “clarifying” guidelines from Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration were actually quite dangerous. This week, Salon spoke to doctors in the state who agree.

Also in Florida: The Hill looks at the uphill battle for Democrats trying to turn the state blue; The 19th on how the state ban will impact Latinas; a doctor writes that the ban forces her to break the Hippocratic Oath; and always read Moira Donegan at The Guardian.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson will sign the bill to end Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood, cutting off vital reproductive health access like STI testing and contraception to the state’s most vulnerable citizens. This comes as Ohio Republicans are pushing legislation that would prevent organizations that perform abortions from getting any state funding—even for services unrelated to abortion. How much clearer can they be that this has never ever been about doing what’s best for women, but punishment?

Quick hits:

• The abortion rate in California is the highest it’s been in a decade (which is not surprising considering the influx of out-of-state patients);

• A new noise ordinance in Illinois may put a damper on the anti-abortion protests outside of a Chicago clinic;

• The Guardian and Mother Jones with more information on the New York AG’s suit against crisis pregnancy centers;

• And if you can stand it, here’s a video of a New Hampshire Republican defending child marriage by calling girls “ripe” and “fertile.”

Ballot Measure Updates

Just in case you thought attacks on democracy were limited to red states: A New York ballot measure to protect abortion rights has been quashed (for now) by a Republican judge.

Using an excuse quite similar to the ones we’ve heard from Republicans in Missouri, Ohio and Florida, state Supreme Court Justice Daniel J. Doyle said that lawmakers made a mistake with the timing around approving the ballot measure’s language. Essentially, they’re holding the amendment up using a red-tape loophole. Democrats also accused Republicans of forum shopping to get the issue in front of an anti-abortion judge.

Attorney General Letitia James says she will appeal the decision. While abortion is legal in the state, New York Democrats in the state were eager to get the issue in front of voters in the hopes of driving up votes for Democratic candidates.

Quick hits: The editorial board at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at the hurdles that remain now that Missouri abortion rights activists have turned in their signatures to get abortion on the ballot. Catholic bishops in Montana have signed a letter opposing the state’s abortion rights amendment. The Associated Press looks at the ballot measure effort in Minnesota, where Democrats have folded abortion rights into a proposed ERA. And States Newsroom has a really good round-up of the anti-abortion campaigns launched in states where abortion is on the ballot.

In the Nation

This is just terrific: I told you earlier this week that second gentleman Doug Emhoff was organizing a panel with Men4Choice to talk about men’s role in abortion rights. Apparently the panel is going to be part of a bigger push from Emhoff to get men more involved in the reproductive rights fight. Love to see it:

“I’m talking about this with my other dad friends. I’m talking about it with my son. And it’s not just because I also have a daughter. I have a son and we talk about it, about how this is going to impact him and how he’s going to start a family or not.”

It’s so important that men aren’t just watching from the sidelines, and I was really glad to see that Emhoff was partnering with Men4Choice—which is a fantastic organization.

I also want to flag something important that Emhoff said: “This is an issue of fairness to women. Women are dying.” As far as I know, neither President Joe Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris have said publicly that women have died as a result of abortion bans—so this is a big deal. I’m curious to see if it will get the attention it deserves.

I joined Chris Hayes on his podcast this week to talk about what’s at stake this November and beyond when it comes to abortion rights. Definitely give a listen, it was a terrific conversation:

Finally, this piece from Amy Littlefield at The Nation about “the abortion pill underground” is an absolute must-read. Amy always does terrific reporting, but this article, in particular, is fantastic. She looks at the abortion providers in shield states who are mailing abortion medication to people in places with abortion bans—and what that might mean legally for them in the future.

What made my blood run cold was this quote from law professor Mary Ziegler, talking about whether anti-choice states will be able to extradite these doctors in spite of protections in pro-choice states: “I think there’s a real possibility a court is going to say, ‘Well, actually, the banned state can come for you.’” That just makes what they’re doing all the more brave. Read the article here.

2024

Donald Trump thinks that he’s solved his abortion problem by shirking responsibility onto the states. (He’s also been doing exactly what I predicted he would do, and taking credit for pro-choice wins alongside anti-abortion ones.) Trump is desperate to run from abortion rights, which has become toxic for Republicans. He thinks that by focusing on the states, he can avoid some of voters’ post-Roe fury.

But new polling from Navigator Research shows that Trump’s stance isn’t actually popular: 57% of Americans, including 62% of independents, want abortion to be legal nationwide instead of being left up to the states.

In part, that’s because of the nightmare stories that are coming out of states with bans. Rachael Russell, associate director of polling and analytics for Navigator, says, that voters don’t see Trump’s stance as ‘moderate.’ “It’s evident to people that what is happening at the state level is not moderate,” she says.  

Stats & Studies

A new study shows that anti-abortion laws increase the chances that a pregnant domestic violence victim will be killed by their abuser. You may already know that the leading cause of death for pregnant women in America is murder by a partner or ex-partner; it’s a depressing statistic clearly made worse by states that embolden abusers and treat women like second-class citizens.

What’s striking about this research is that it used data from before Roe was overturned. That means the issue is likely to be worse than researchers found. (For more reading on this study, Alanna Vagianos at HuffPost has a piece worth reading.)

A new poll from CNBC/Generation Lab found that 62% of young people wouldn’t live in a state with an abortion ban. Thirty-two percent of adults ages 18-34 said they would “probably not” live in a state with an abortion ban, while another 30% said they would “definitely not” live in an anti-choice state. Forty-five percent of young people also said that they would “definitely” or “probably” reject a job offer in a state with an abortion ban.

This aligns with what we’ve been seeing more broadly: students rejecting colleges in anti-choice states, young professionals steering clear of states with abortion bans, and just a general brain drain from the places that criminalize abortion. From Cyrus Beschloss, the CEO of The Generation Lab:

“These numbers on abortion have gigantic implications for just about every large company in America. Companies must know they’ll be freezing out or at least scaring a large part of the young talent they’re trying to hire when they’re based in one of these states.”

This comes after another study showed that young people are increasingly seeking out sterilization.