Abortion, Every Day (7.21.22)

Quite a lot going on today, but the short version is: lots of state updates, some national news, bigger investigations to check out and the rare bit of good news. Hope you’re staying cool out there. x

I wrote today about the Republican strategy on birth control, which boils down to: ‘Just call it abortion'. Seriously though, the thinking behind all this is super nefarious and you should check it out.

A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that Georgia’s  6-week abortion ban could go into effect—not so shockingly, all the judges on the panel were appointed by Republican presidents. In response, Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for governor, said the law is going to endanger women: “For the next 16 weeks we’re going to hear story after story—just like we’re hearing in Texas and in Indiana and in Ohio—of women forced to make draconian choices because the governors of those states don’t trust them.”

North Dakota’s abortion ban is set to go into effect on July 28th, unless a motion by ​​the Red River Women's Clinic to block the law is successful. Meanwhile, Republicans in Indiana are arguing for a ban with limited exceptions after a 10 year-old rape victim traveled to the state for an abortion. They’re hoping that including the exceptions will make them seem moderate in comparison to other states. Sen. Sue Glick said, “Being pro-life is not about criminalizing women.” (The law would absolutely criminalize women.) 

A Republican candidate for governor in Michigan is taking the opposite approach, and has argued that there should be no exceptions for rape, incest or health. And because there’s never just one asshole these days, a video just came out showing Republican candidate for Minnesota Lt. Governor, Matt Birk, giving a speech about abortion in which he says women “always want to play the rape card,” and complains that legalizing abortion promotes a culture that “tells women they should have careers.” They’re not even hiding it even more.

Something that should be on your radar: Republicans in Texas are working to criminalize traveling out of state for an abortion. They’re lying about it, obviously, saying that Democrats are just fear-mongering—but companies in the state who announced they’d support employees’ travel for abortion care have gotten letters from the government threatening criminal prosecution. 

In Ohio, Attorney General Dave Yost is asking the state supreme court to dismiss a lawsuit that challenges the state’s 6-week abortion ban. At the same time, a woman in his state has come forward to come talk about ending her pregnancy because of a severe fetal abnormality, and to save her life. (She spoke anonymously because she’s afraid of her community and church response.) Here’s what she says: “Forcing someone to have to have a stillbirth is cruel...It’s torture. How can you make these laws when you have, probably, never even been in the room with somebody who has delivered a dead child, or a child that’s going to die?”

Planned Parenthood in Arizona is in a legal battle with the state attorney general over their trigger law, which would ban all abortion unless the person’s life was at risk. And while abortion is legal in Alaska, women in rural areas are still facing challenges to finding care. 

In some more positive news, public universities in California are going to offer medication abortion come January, over a thousand people protested for abortion rights in Las Vegas, and a New Hampshire newspaper has a nice pro-choice editorial from a local mom. 

I told you yesterday about how the Boise city council passed a resolution banning city resources from being used to prosecute or investigate abortion. Well, other cities are trying to find similar ways to help. The Austin city council passed a resolution decriminalizing abortion, and the Nashville Metro council passed a resolution to extend health coverage for city employees that need to travel for abortion care. 

On the national front, the Biden administration is working on ways to protect the rights of migrant minors, while disability rights groups are working for abortion access and against ableism. 

Guttmacher has a really interesting report out about looking at the history of interstate travel and abortion, while The New York Times is looking into what constitutes a medical emergency in states where abortion is only allowed to save a woman’s life. (Related: apparently anti-choice groups are starting to use new language, calling abortions necessary for health and life, “separating a mother and her unborn child.” Ew.)

NPR spoke to IVF patients who are worried that the new laws will impact their ability to get treatment, and Mother Jones investigates the bullshit Republican messaging that we are all going to be just fine in a post-Roe world.

POLITICO examined the kind of online legal battles we can expect to see around digital privacy, which is good timing: Democratic senators are raising the alarm about certain kinds of school software that could be used to surveil students seeking abortions. 

USA Today has more on what anti-choicers are up to next, focusing on the split in the movement over what the next best steps are—whether it’s a national ban, blocking interstate travel or what kind of exceptions to have in their sweeping abortion bans. And speaking of the anti-abortion movement, a former right-wing religious leader is talking about the behind-the-scenes lobbying efforts around the Supreme Court and abortion, and how the language in Alito’s opinion closely mirrored the rhetoric of the group he used to be a part of. 

Earlier this month, I told you about multiple cases of people being denied birth control prescriptions—and even condoms—at Walgreens pharmacies. Well, now there’s an online protest, #BoycottWalgreens. Seems about right.

If I missed anything, feel free to leave it in comments and I’ll make sure to include it in tomorrow’s roundup.

All in Her Head takes no ads and relies solely on reader support. To support independent feminist journalism & commentary sign up for a paid subscription.