Abortion, Every Day (6.2.23)

Support for abortion rights takes a big jump...in Louisiana

In the States

We have some good news out of Ohio, where Republicans have been hard at work trying to stop or stall a pro-choice ballot measure that could restore abortion rights in the state. Love to have something positive every once in a while!

You may remember that a couple of months ago, an anti-choice organization sued over the measure in an attempt to block it from moving forward. Cincinnati Right to Life brought a lawsuit that would have forced organizers—already well into collecting signatures—to start over and collect twice as many signatures. Basically, the suit claimed that that the ballot measure should have been two different measures because it states that everyone “has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions”—including to abortion—and that abortion is different than other reproductive decisions. (Insert eye roll here)

But yesterday, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the state ballot board was correct to have the proposed amendment be just one ballot measure and one issue, and that abortion rights advocates didn’t have to start their work all over again. Thank goodness, because activists only have until July 5th to collect the over 400,000 signatures they need to get the ballot in front of voters this November.

Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis said he was disappointed, but that they’re planning on winning the August special election to raise the standards on ballot measures, which will make it harder for voters to restore abortion rights. Naturally, he didn’t say it that way. Conservatives, even if they’re anti-abortion leaders, don’t want to be explicit about the fact that they’re trying to stop voters from having a say on abortion. Instead, Gonidakis said they just want to “see our constitution safeguarded from out of state groups.”

This has become conservatives’ talking point on the issue: Earlier this week Ohio Republicans met with lobbyists where they relayed their strategy of not talking about abortion, but instead focusing on “protecting the constitution from special interests.” (Special interests like…voters?)

Indiana abortion provider Dr. Caitlin Bernard—who was fined by the state medical board last week for supposedly violating a patient’s privacy—may be appealing the decision. As you know, for months Dr. Bernard has been the target of a politically-motivated harassment campaign by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita. Rokita wanted Dr. Bernard’s license suspended or taken away after she spoke up about treating a 10 year-old rape victim from Ohio. The attacks are meant to be a warning to any other abortion providers or doctors who dare to speak up—they’ve been given the very clear message that the full power of the state will come down on them.

Dr. Bernard, for example, was fined for violating HIPAA even though she never mentioned the young patient’s name or any identifying information. The idea that she violated her privacy was just an excuse to punish Bernard for embarrassing Republicans after the story became a viral example of the cruelty of abortion bans. The IndyStar points out that the doctor’s lawyers say that they’re weighing their options, but whether or not she decides to move forward with an appeal may largely rest on whether or not she wants to continue to be in the public eye. (We have to imagine that she’s been on the receiving end of some pretty nasty threats.) No matter what she does, she’s a hero.

I told you earlier this week about how Wyoming Republicans were defending the state’s abortion medication ban, largely by arguing that abortion isn’t healthcare. Yesterday, the state filed another challenge to pro-choice advocates’ request for a temporary restraining order against the medication ban—a ban that will go into effect on July 1st if a judge decides against blocking it. Fingers and toes crossed.

New Orleans Public Radio has more on the study I told you about yesterday showing that the majority of people in Louisiana want abortion to be legal. What’s especially noteworthy, I think, is how big of a jump we’ve seen in support for abortion rights in just a few years. The study, which is done every year by Louisiana State University, reports that 52% of respondents said they believed abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances, up from 46% last year and from 40% in 2016.

Just as interesting (and hopeful) is that opposition to abortion rights fell: Last year 49% of people said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, while this year 44% said the same. Yet another example of just how broad support for abortion rights really is—even in red states.

If you want a reminder that there are amazing people out there willing to help in this nightmare of a moment, check out this local TV segment from Georgia about a former Air Force pilot working with Elevated Access to bring women from anti-choice states to places where they can get care. Come for the activism, stay for the moment where he declares horse feathers. (How have I never heard that saying??)

Michigan Republicans aren’t giving up hope despite all of the pro-choice wins in the state: GOP lawmakers proposed legislation that would amend the state constitution to remove Proposal 3, which enshrined abortion rights, ban abortion medication, ban the advertising of abortion services, and reinstate a 1931 abortion ban. Charming. State representative Neil Friske, who introduced the bills, said, “While unlikely to pass…this pro-life model should be the official Republican platform for life.”

And in Oklahoma, Republicans are pissed off that they’re losing their Title X funds over the state’s abortion ban. Anti-choice states have been losing millions in federal family planning dollars because they refuse to comply with a mandate that anyone seeking care at a federally-funded clinic be given all their pregnancy options— including abortion. (It can even be as an out-of-state option given a state’s ban.)

In response, a group of Republican lawmakers in Oklahoma have sent a letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, demanding the “immediate reinstallation” of the funds. They write that “abortion is not family planning; it is family destruction.” The Republican senators also claim that “Oklahoma’s laws protect women and unborn children from the violence of abortion in the interest of promoting families, keeping Oklahomans safe, and protecting life.” Just a reminder that Oklahoma has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the country.

Maryland is seeking a little over $1 million in state funds to cover the cost of stockpiled mifepristone. The Baltimore Sun reports that the state health department has already obtained enough mifepristone to last 2 1/2 years, in anticipation of the medication being severely restricted or banned. Despite the state’s procurement of the drug, officials wouldn’t answer if they would allow mifepristone to be used if the FDA’s approval is reversed by a court. Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, the deputy secretary for public health services at the health department, told the Sun that “there’s no good way” to respond until a court decision comes down.

In New Jersey, however, Gov. Phil Murphy says that he’ll go “go down with the ship” when it comes to providing mifepristone if the FDA’s approval is reversed. This echoes something he said last month on MSNBC when asked if he’d allow mifepristone to be dispensed regardless of a court order: “Everything is on the table.”

Also in New Jersey: I wrote a little this week about how anti-abortion centers aren’t just in anti-choice states—but everywhere. Today, POLITICO looks at the centers in New Jersey, and how they’re standing in the way of the state becoming an abortion safe haven. There are more than 50 anti-abortion centers in the state, and Democrats are trying to further regulate them. But a bill ensuring they can’t use deceptive advertising to trick women failed to make it to a full vote, POLITICO reports, and hasn’t gotten a committee hearing.

Quick hits:

• New Hampshire Democrat Cinde Warmington announced her candidacy for governor by focusing on how she would codify abortion rights;

• The New Yorker has more on the ballot measure fight in Ohio;

• Milwaukee NPR on how a mifepristone ban could impact those in Wisconsin;

• The woman accused of setting fire to an abortion clinic in Casper, Wyoming is set to appear in federal court today;

• An anti-abortion protester is suing Colorado over their clinic buffer zone, arguing it violates her free speech;

• And Rolling Stone on the Oregon Republicans ‘boycotting’ over abortion rights legislation;

In the Nation

Yesterday, we found out that Meta and Walmart both rejected shareholder proposals asking the companies to look into users’ data privacy concerning abortion issues. Today, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, followed suit: Bloomberg Law reports that investors voter today against a proposal asking for a report on privacy risks caused by law enforcement requests for abortion-related data. Shitty.

A group of United Nations-appointed experts say that abortion bans in the U.S. “puts millions of women and girls at serious risk.” The experts, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, also pointed out that the bans have led to violations of international human rights law.

“Abortion bans in 14 States have made abortion services largely inaccessible and denied women and girls their fundamental human rights to comprehensive healthcare including sexual and reproductive health. The experts said the bans could lead to violations of women’s rights to privacy, bodily integrity and autonomy, freedom of expression, freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, equality and non-discrimination, and freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and gender-based violence.”

Sounds about right. Two things that I especially appreciated about the experts’ findings: 1) They specifically point to abortion ban ‘exceptions’ and how they are are “unworkable in practice.” 2) They highlight the increase in harassment and threats against abortion providers and clinics, and how it’s created a chilling effect even in pro-choice states.

The New Republic has an excerpt of a new book, “Saving Democracy,” by David Pepper—an it gives us an important reminder about local and state election: A lot of the Republicans authoring abortion bans have been running unopposed! Pepper points out that unopposed GOP legislators in Texas and Mississippi were the architects of anti-abortion laws—as was the author of Ohio’s 6-week ban that was responsible for a 10 year-old rape victim having to leave the state for care.

“Still, no opponent. So, even as toxic abortion bans turned American politics upside down in 2022, the state-level authors of those bans returned to their offices without even opposition. Not a single mailer, or phone call, or knock on a door explained to constituents back in their districts what they had done.”

Whew. This is going to fuck my head up today!

Quick hits:

• The Associated Press looks at the division among religious leaders on abortion;

• Reckon on the “false promise of abortion exceptions” (you know I’m obsessed with this topic);

• A Vogue essayist on what happens when your date asks if you’ve ever had an abortion;

• CNN is asking people to share stories of how their lives have changed since Roe was overturned;

• And a writer in Newsweek explains how “the anti-abortion movement taught me to view pregnancy with horror, dread, and fear.”

Stats & Studies

We knew vasectomies were on the rise in the wake of Roe being overturned, but whew these are big numbers: A new study shows that vasectomies rose by 30% in the three months after Roe fell. The research from Komodo Health also showed that vasectomies increased by nearly 40% in states with anti-abortion trigger laws.

2024

Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis was in New Hampshire campaigning yesterday, and he didn’t mention abortion once. The New York Times reports that even when an audience member approached DeSantis to ask directly whether he would support a less stringent abortion restriction, the governor dodged the question—instead pivoting to what he wants to do to “help new mothers.”

And when local television station WMUR asked DeSantis about whether he’d push for a national ban, he dodged once more:

“You're not going to have Iowa and New Hampshire end up being the same. You're not going to have Pennsylvania and Georgia being the same. So we understand that. But I think we want to protect the rights of states to be able to make those judgments, particularly states that are protecting life.”

What the fuck does that even mean?? Obviously, DeSantis knows that New Hampshire voters wouldn’t be too keen on an abortion ban, something Republican House majority leader Jason Osborne told The New York Times “would go over like a lead balloon.” Still, he’s going to have to address the issue if he makes it to the general election. (Though Republicans are already trying to set the stage for an interesting argument: Osborne said, “I think abortion is one of those issues that should not be talked about in a presidential campaign.”)

And in disgusting, yet expected, news: Trump gave an interview on Fox News where he claimed that Democrats are “killing a baby in the seventh month, eighth month, ninth month, or even after the baby’s born.” This is the kind of rhetoric that gets people killed, and I really wish mainstream media would be better on calling him (and anyone else who says something like this) out on it.

Extra reading: Vox has an explainer on all of the Republican presidential candidates and where they stand on various issues, including abortion.

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