This morning The Washington Post published an article about Olivia Julianna, the activist who was targeted by Matt Gaetz, and shared that she raised one million dollars. By the time I came to write this, however, she raised another half a million. So this amazing young woman has now raised 1.5 million dollars, and it seems clear that number is just going to go up!
Another update on a young activist: I’m sure you remember Addison Gardner, the 12 year old in West Virginia. I just wanted to share this photo, taken by Kyle Vass from the ACLU in West Virginia. The woman in the background is Rita Ray, 80, who spoke about having an abortion in 1959, before they were legal. Pretty bittersweet (mostly bitter).
The Guttmacher Institute reported yesterday that 43 clinics have stopped operating across 11 states in the month since Roe has been overturned. Naturally, in states where abortion is still legal, clinics are being totally overwhelmed.
In Illinois, for example, there have been waiting periods to get abortion care because of how many women are traveling in from other states. Dr. Erin King of the Hope Clinic for Women says, “We’re seeing patients mostly from Tennessee to Arkansas and Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.” (These states have some of the strictest laws on record.) Clinics in North Carolina are struggling with the same overwhelm; they’re seeing a lot of pregnant patients coming from South Carolina—pro-choice advocates say the number of patients they’re seeing has doubled.
And it’s not just American clinics that are seeing a huge uptick in patients. You may already know about Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, the Dutch doctor known for providing care on a ship she takes into international waters near countries where abortion is illegal. Her group, Aid Access, also provides access to and info about abortion medication. She says she is seeing 1,000 emails a day from women in America who need help.
Republicans in North Carolina are asking a federal judge to lift the block on the state’s abortion ban. It’s unclear how successful they’ll be, but thankfully they won’t have the support of Attorney General Josh Stein, who has said, "The Department of Justice will not take action that would restrict women’s ability to make their own reproductive health care decisions.” (Minnesota’s attorney general has also said he won’t appeal a judge’s ruling that overturned abortion restrictions in the state.) I’ll keep you updated.
Conservative efforts to remove the rape and incest exception from Indiana’s abortion law failed yesterday, which is good. But I can’t help but be depressed that we’re at the point where we’re cheering wins that are still, really, losses.
Activists in Louisiana are distributing the morning after pill for free in New Orleans—and they’re doing it while they still can. They’re (rightfully) worried that the state will come after emergency contraception next. So if you’d like to support these groups, you should check out the Reproductive Justice Action Collective and Gulf South Plan B.
Speaking of Louisiana, more than a dozen doctors in the state have provided sworn affidavits about how confusion over abortion laws have been preventing them from giving their patients the care they need. (You probably remember the horrible story of one woman in the state who was forced to give birth to her dead fetus rather than have a safer, quicker, and less traumatic abortion.) The state board in charge of licensing has advised them to just consult with their lawyers—but just imagine how that hurdle will impact patient care.
In fact, the Los Angeles Times has a piece talking to doctors about this very thing—the fear of legal reprisals and the issue with handing medical decisions over to lawyers. Dr. Rebekah Gee, a gynecologist and former head of the Louisiana Department of Health, said this:
“The scrub tech, the nurse, and the anesthesiologist could all go to jail if they make the wrong call...I went to Harvard and Cornell and spent eight years refining my clinical judgment, and now a lawyer with no medical knowledge is deciding a patient’s fate...We doctors were not trained to wait until she’s nearly ready to breathe her last breath.”
Michelle Goldberg’s latest column also tackles this, specifically the claim by anti-choicers that there’s no problem with the law—and that doctors are just being swayed by liberal media muddling the waters. (Michelle thinks they’re in deep denial over the nightmare they’ve created; I think they’re just liars.)
A poll from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows that most people in Georgia disapprove of the state’s restrictive abortion ban, which is a good reminder that turning abortion back over to the states does not mean state citizens will be getting the law that they want.
Nashville’s NPR station points out something similar: 80% of people in Tennessee think abortion should be available in some circumstances, but the state’s trigger law set to go into effect on August 25th bans abortion even in cases of rape and incest. Even the provision for the life of the pregnant person is extremely narrow: Abortion would only be allowed if there will be a “substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.” (Again, how are doctors supposed to interpret that?)
In Kansas, where there is an August 2nd special election to decide whether the state constitution will continue to protect abortion rights, the Susan B. Anthony List (a national anti-choice organization) has invested over $1 million in the fight. Tensions are rising in the state, with protesters being threatened with arrest if they demonstrate too close to county courthouses, and complaints over churches that serve as polling stations posting signs in support of the anti-abortion measure.
Remember my column about how Republicans are trying to argue that some abortions aren’t really abortions? Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt claims the anti-abortion amendment to the state constitution won’t affect treatment for ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages because they shouldn’t be considered ‘abortion.’
I’ve spoken a lot about the various things cities across the country are doing to support abortion access—like resolutions to decriminalize or prohibit city funds from being used to investigate abortions. Well, The Guardian has a good article up about what progressive cities in Texas are up to on this front, and how they’re trying to limit the harm of the state’s extreme and dangerous law.
Also in Texas, The Dallas Morning News talks to different women about their opinion on abortion (I continue to be horrified by anti-choice women, I don’t care how ‘nuanced’ their take is.)
Last week I told you about how conservatives were trying to get the Michigan judge who blocked the state’s abortion ban removed because she represented Planned Parenthood in the 1990s. he has refused, saying one of their arguments “borders on frivolous.” Good for her.
Democrats in Virginia are campaigning on abortion rights, which is great—the more we talk about it the better. But I can’t be the only feminist irritated that this is what it took for Dems to make abortion a central part of their messaging. For so long we’ve been told we need to have a ‘big tent’ mentality on abortion and be more moderate...now they give a shit?
On to national news:
Speaking of Democrats and their messaging on abortion: A new poll shows that while the majority of Americans are upset about Roe being overturned, there is not a ton of enthusiasm for voting in the midterms. Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, says, “Is the discontent with Democratic Party leadership and policies generally so deep that those most affected by the court decision … still plan to sit out this election?...I struggle to wrap my head around this disconnect.” (I may write a column on this.)
The Biden administration issued guidance yesterday to businesses and health insurance providers reminding them that limiting coverage of birth control violates federal law. Unfortunate that the memo is necessary, but both the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor report an increase in complaints since Roe has been overturned from women who have been denied contraceptive coverage.
Lawyers representing 15 major cities have sent a letter to the Biden administration, asking them to ensure that federal agencies won’t help enforce state-level abortion bans. (Their worry is that without clear guidance from the White House, federal law enforcement could work with officials from states where abortion is banned.)
Justice Alito continues to be a piece of shit, mocking world leaders who were (correctly) horrified at the SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe; Bloomberg looks at how those whose employers help them travel for an abortion may end up with a tax bill; Jezebel talks to activists who are concerned about the potential for criminalizing speech about abortion, medication abortion in particular; and USA Today examines the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s policy on pregnant athletes and how abortion comes into play.
Television writers, show-runners and creators have signed onto a letter sent to top executives and multiple entertainment companies, demanding specific protections for employees around abortion access. “It is unacceptable to ask any person to choose between their human rights and their employment,” the letter reads. It also asks that companies stop any political donations to anti-abortion politicians and candidates.
More on entertainment and politics: Here’s a great interview with the filmmaker who made the viral abortion ad in Texas. My favorite bit:
“Through filmmaking and storytelling, if we can get our message across, what we stand for, that we're not that different, we're not that extreme, we want the same things—a happy and healthy family, good jobs, a good economy—if we can get back to that, we'll be in a better place overall. It's just a matter of getting us all together with one voice and saying, ‘Enough is enough.’”
If you don’t remember the ad, here you go:
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