I wrote today about Rep. Matt Gaetz nasty comments on pro-choice women, and how these assholes are literally laughing while women suffer. Short version? People need to stop acting like this is a political debate, when it’s actually a fight for our lives.
Onto the news…
JD Vance, in addition to arguing that women should stay in abusive marriages, also likened abortion to slavery recently. Charming guy all around!
On the state level, a Wyoming clinic has filed a lawsuit to block the state’s abortion ban that is set to go into effect tomorrow. The suit says that the law—which has exceptions for women’s lives—would make doctors afraid to provide necessary care to patients for fear of being arrested.
In South Carolina, a judge refused to grant Planned Parenthood’s request to temporarily block the state’s abortion ban. (South Carolina Republicans are also trying to pass a law that would make it illegal to give out information about how to get an abortion by the phone or though a website.)
A bill that bans nearly all abortions got one step closer to becoming law in West Virginia, and folks in Tennessee are trying to raise the alarm about the trigger ban there. As is the case in Wyoming, Democrats and medical experts are worried that the state’s one exception to save women’s lives is so broadly worded that doctors will be afraid to treat women who need care.
Everything continues to be the worst in Texas, and if you haven’t read this NPR piece I mentioned in my column today—about the woman whose life was endangered by the state’s abortion ban—you absolutely should. Mothers Against Greg Abbott have putout an excellent ad this week, and what’s striking is how similar it is to so many cases we’ve already heard about.
Not so surprisingly, doctors in Texas say that their phones have been “ringing off the hook” from women seeking to have their tubes tied.
In Kansas, the attorney general is trying to get ahead of criticisms of the state’s abortion ban by claiming that it wouldn’t impact doctors’ ability to provide life- or health-saving care. (We all know that’s not true.) And The Intercept has a good piece on the widespread misinformation in the state from anti-abortion activists and politicians on the special election on August 2nd.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution looks at how local politicians and law enforcement officers in Georgia are trying to buck the state’s abortion ban by making clear they won’t go after cases about abortion—and how more conservative folks there are calling that a “dereliction of duty.”
Meanwhile, pro-choice activists in Minneapolis want the city to provide funding for abortion funds now that so many are seeking care in Minnesota. And women shared their abortion stories at a Planned Parenthood event in Arizona, where more than half of voters oppose the state’s trigger law.
Anti-abortion activists are looking for ways to ban the procedure in New Mexico, where abortion is still legal. Their strategy seems to be a chipping away approach, and they’re planning to start with parental consent laws.
Abortion clinics in Colorado, where abortion is also legal, are concerned about security—threats had already been ramping up against abortion providers before Roe was overturned, and clinic workers only expect that to get worse.
Other states are looking ahead at what might happen as anti-abortion legislation gains steam across the nation: In Montana, for example, the state Supreme Court elections will determine what happens with abortion; and doctors in Massachusetts are gearing up for the possibility that they could be sued for providing care to out-of-state patients.
People are still on the streets protesting: Demonstrators in Indiana gathered in front of the statehouse yesterday as legislators debated the state’s sweeping abortion ban; and in Philadelphia a small group of women participated in a protest performance where they wore tattered clothing and scrubbed the ground outside of city hall. “This is what the people in government take us to be,” one activist said.
Some good news for you, since we could all use it: The last abortion clinic in North Dakota raised a million dollars to move to a spot in Minnesota just 15 minutes away. Which is truly incredible. A rare win.
Artists are also supporting abortion rights however they can right now: National Book Award finalist and NYT bestselling author Erika L. Sánchez has a new book out, Crying in the Bathroom, where she wrote about her abortion; and musicians like Halsey and Margo Price are using their songs and platforms to raise money for abortion funds.
On the less terrific news on music, Coachella’s parent company has been donating some big money to anti-abortion efforts. Also on the entertainment front, I mentioned yesterday that Hulu is refusing to stake ad spots from Democrats about abortion and other ‘controversial’ issues—The Washington Post has a more in-depth story on that today.
Also in The Washington Post—and this is something I missed, sorry about that!—is a great op-ed from Dr. Caitlin Bernard, the doctor who gave a 10-year old rape victim from Ohio an abortion in Indiana. She writes that legislators “will never face my patients.”
“They will never stand in their shoes or hold their hands. They will never know their pain. Legislators are the last people who should be in the business of deciding who gets medical care and who does not.”
There’s also a terrific op-ed in Teen Vogue on why insurance should cover abortion; the Tampa Bay Times looks at how denying women abortions impacts mental health; and The Cut outlines what you should do if a pharmacist denies your medication.
There was also quite a bit of news about the Supreme Court leak today, and backstory on how Justice Roberts was trying to lobby Kavanaugh to not overturn Roe.
Just to end on a positive note, I wanted to just share a bit more about those medical students in Michigan who walked out of a ceremony in protest of an anti-abortion speaker. Obviously, right now pro-choice doctors are more important than ever—especially considering training in how to perform abortion is becoming more and more difficult to get.
My friend who is a doctor (hi, Trish!) told me that this wasn’t just any old ceremony, but what’s called a “white coat ceremony”—something that only happens once in your career. It’s where students/new doctors are welcomed into medicine and take the Hippocratic oath. So, using that moment was an especially big deal and we should be all the more grateful to them for taking a stand.
Per usual: Whew. As always, let me know if I missed anything—and I hope you’re doing alright despite the onslaught of awful.
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