Abortion, Every Day (9.20.22)

Content warning: This newsletter contains a description of a fetal abnormality

In the states…

I spoke to a woman in Tennessee today who was told by her state rep that her IVF doctors could be sent to prison if they discarded any embryos—a common practice in the IVF process. In Tennessee, abortion is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Sara Chambers said, “It’s hard for people to fathom that this is actually happening. This is real, and it’s happening right now.” Speaking of Tennessee, here are how prosecutors in the state are reacting to the ban.

An Indiana judge will consider whether to block the state’s abortion ban after hearing arguments yesterday. Owen County Judge Kelsey Hanlon said she would issue a ruling “expeditiously.” Meanwhile, those working in the state on foster care and adoption say the ban is going to hurt an already-strained system. Shannon Schumacher who works in family services says, “There aren’t enough resources. There isn’t enough money. We know this. We know the same people who voted the legislation are also the same people who can give more resources to the problem.”

Also in Indiana, Indiana University is having to send medical students/residents out-of-state to Illinois for their training in abortion, because the law prevents adequate training in their home state:

Illinois is having to pick up Indiana’s slack in more ways than one because of the abortion ban. A doctor has written an op-ed for the Chicago Sun Times about what Indiana’s abortion ban means for Illinois abortion providers—namely that they expect to see an additional 20,000 to 30,000 extra patients travel to the state for care. Dr. Erica Hinz says she regularly sees patients who have traveled hundreds or thousands of miles just for a 3 minute procedure or to be prescribed pills that they should be able to get in their home state: “No one should have to travel for this care, and this patchwork system is not sustainable.”

The Texas Tribune has yet another heartbreaking story about a woman denied critical care because of the state abortion ban. Twenty-seven year-old Lauren Hall found out that her wanted pregnancy was not viable—her fetus was developing without a skull or a brain—and was forced to travel to Seattle for care. Hall, who was raised in a conservative Christian family and had to make her way protesters yelling that she was a ‘baby-killer’, described meeting the doctor who would provide her abortion:

“She just put her arms around me and took my hand and she was like, ‘I know you don’t want to be here, but you’re in good hands. We’re going to take care of you, and you’re going to be OK,’” Hall remembers. “It was just the most tender moment,” she said. “And it just occurred to me that the people I’ve been told my whole life are going to hell for their actions were the most kind and angelic individuals through this whole thing.”

Also in Texas, veterans are speaking up in support of the VA providing abortions in the state to current and former military.

Minnesota’s Republican gubernatorial candidate has taken a drop in the polls—in large part thanks to his anti-abortion stance (and his fearful backtracking on the issue). Scott Jensen—who recently ran a bizarre ad holding a baby while promising he wasn’t an extremist on abortion—says his opponent, incumbent Gov. Tim Walz is “weaponizing the issue” of abortion. Ok, sure.

The Ohio judge who put a temporary block on the state’s abortion ban is likely to extend the restraining order until October 12th. Also in the state, Democratic candidate for governor, Nan Whaley continues to hit on abortion (as she should):

NPR has a segment on voters in Ohio and how Republican women are talking about voting differently because of the attacks on abortion rights.

An Oregon man has pleaded guilty to attacking a Planned Parenthood, breaking their windows and security cameras. We’re going to see more and more of this in pro-choice states.

The Florida prosecutor suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis for refusing to go after abortion cases will have his lawsuit heard in court—yesterday, a federal judge refused to dismiss his case.

In Arizona, abortion providers are waiting for a judge’s decision to determine whether or not they can continue to provide care; either abortion will be completely banned, or restricted after 15 weeks. Either way, Dr. Gabrielle Goodrick says, “These laws kill women.”

Hawaii’s Lt. Governor Josh Green released a statement this week promising that if he’s elected Governor, he’d issue an executive order to protect abortion rights.

“My administration will take action on day one to ensure that the rights of women in Hawaii are protected. We will not allow extreme laws from other states to threaten reproductive healthcare rights in our state.”

Alaska Public Media has an explainer on the state constitution’s privacy clause and what it means for abortion access; North Carolina’s The Charlotte Observer has an op-ed from an abortion provider about the kinds of patients she sees; and in Montana, this profile of an abortion provider (really worth reading) gets into the danger of reproductive rights in the state being eradicated.

And in Georgia, Stacey Abrams continues to campaign on abortion rights—the latest polls show the gubernatorial election is too close to call. Listen to public radio in Georgia on how Atlanta donated $300,000 to support abortion rights—and why organizations in the South need more.

In the nation…

Meet the male politicians who want women to go to prison for having abortions. Two things: 1) Women are already going to prison for having abortions, and just because most politicians claim they don’t want to jail women doesn’t mean it won’t happen. 2) This shit is getting scarier and scarier, and more mainstream—it is not as fringe as you think.

The Associated Press reports that Democrats are spending an “unprecedented” amount of money on advertising related to abortion rights—this year alone, they’ve spent $124 million in TV ads referencing abortion. I have mixed feelings on this: I think this is absolutely the right move, because Americans are clearly furious over abortion bans. But, it feels a bit frustrating considering that Democrats shied away from talking explicitly about abortion for so many years. I guess I’ll take what I can get.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats have sent a letter to crisis pregnancy center behemoth Heartbeat International as part of their ongoing effort to protect the digital privacy of those seeking abortions. Heartbeat International, the country’s largest network of anti-abortion pregnancy centers, collects private and personal information—from sexual histories to things said in counseling sessions—from the women they interact with. This is data that could be sold, kept, or even used in criminal cases. From the letter:

“We fear that, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that stripped women of their right to an abortion, this information may be used to put women’s health and freedom to choose in jeopardy, and to put them and their health care providers at risk of criminal penalties.”

Telehealth is adding a layer of legal complication to abortion across the country—specifically for doctors who reside in anti-abortion states but are licensed in pro-choice states to provide medication abortion via telemedicine. One law professor at Northwestern University says there’s also a problem with what the law says, and what prosecutors might feel emboldened to do. Katherine Watson says, “In a draconian enforcement environment, you may not have violated the letter of the law. But creative prosecutors may look for a reason to persecute you.”

Musician Ani DiFranco spoke out against abortion bans in a recent interview:

“In a global sense, reproductive freedom is prerequisite to solving any social crisis. Until you have free, emancipated women, you don’t have full participation and full intelligence of humankind at the table in those sort of macro ways that are so impactful socially.”

FiveThirtyEight talked to different voters of color about how they feel about abortion and abortion bans; MSNBC has a timeline of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s bullshit on abortion being a state issue before proposing a national ban; and AlJazeera has a piece on Democrats’ focus on abortion as the midterms come up. I’d also check out this video segment they put out about the both-sides nonsense American media is peddling in when covering abortion:

A new study in the journal Culture, Health & Sexuality looks at how research is impacted by abortion stigma—many women won’t report their abortions in surveys, which means researchers don’t get an accurate picture of abortion in the U.S. This study suggests methodological strategies for gathering accurate information and reducing the stigma that women feel when questioned about abortion.

Vox looks at Latino voters and abortion, and pushes back against the notion that just because most are Christian doesn’t mean they’re anti-choice. And in The Washington Post, this column gets into the misinformation (and confusion) about what an abortion actually is. It’s an important read, and I really appreciated this part about how illogical it is to insist we want abortions to be ‘safe, legal and rare’:

“Do we want antibiotics to be rare? No. We want meningitis to be rare. Same with abortion. What should be rare is unwanted pregnancy.”