OMG the tick tok with Natash Marcus stopped me in my tracks. Immediately shared to my personal Instagram and social media for the organization I volunteer for, Reproductive Justice Maryland. Completely abhorrent. I hope this gets more coverage. Thank you for bringing to our attention Jessica!!
"Ron DeSantis clearly believes that his only way forward is to double down on his anti-choice extremism". So I am not sure if we have already litigated this, but earlier in today's newsletter, Jessica talks about how we've learned that "choice" is not the most useful word to use because it's really about people's freedom. So, when referring to our extremist opponents, why do we keep using "anti- choice"? Are we too timid to say "forced birth"?
If personal freedom is what resonates with people, then I think " forced birth" gets at that lack of freedom better than "anti-choice" does.
I’m 74 and many years ago (1968) when I was in college I got pregnant, this was before RoevWade and The Pill was only available to married women. I used a knitting needle to end my pregnancy. Luckily I was not permanently injured and later was able to have two very wanted children. One of my friends was not so lucky. She got rid of the pregnancy, but was never able to have children. Anyone who thinks laws will stop abortions is delusional. Abortions will continue but many of them kill either the mother or fetus or both.
Wow. A knitting needle! 🧶🪡Thank you so much for weaving your story with us. I am currently a college student-crazy how we are generations apart but under very similar reproductive political eras. Just crazy how things can fall backwards.
Thanks Susan. Weird, the past. All the holocaust deniers still out there all these decades later. Sophie. Only a college student, Yet able to generate a killer bad pun - weaving your story. Ugg.
Thank you Jessica & Grace for all your work!! Great job educating about KY. Thank you for sharing the tiktok!
NC… I am honestly not surprised. I think every non-hospital “pregnancy center” should be investigated. I wish I had more time to organize a group of researchers from every state who monitored state budgets and the anti-choice entities that receive state funding. The grift could make for some terrific campaign ads!
Thanks to Dahlia Lithwick at Amicus, I was pointed to the new season of The Nocturnists: Post-Roe America. The podcast describes itself as a "medical storytelling podcast", and the new season, which started last week, will focus on stories of abortion providers both in states that have banned abortion and states that have not. The first episode featured a physician in Tennessee who, after Dobbs came down, was going to perform a medically necessary abortion, gave the heads up to the anesthesiologist the day before, and on the day thanked him for coming. When he said "Oh, I always do these, I have no problems with the procedure" she replied "Yes, but thank you for aiding and abetting", "What do you mean?" "Well, I'm about to commit a felony." And she had to explain that in Tennessee, it's just an affirmative defense. Very rough listening (she exhibits a fair amount of gallows humor), but worth listening.
If we're going to talk about the Republicans, the question is who do we want to face? I don't think we survive a Republican win regardless of who that person is, so it's who do we think we have the best chance of beating? There are arguments both for and against Trump. Either way I can't help thinking be careful what you wish for.
Trump is easy. He gave us the Supreme Court that took away our rights. As he promised in 2016.
And since he’ll be the nominee if he has a pulse, it’s not worth pondering other possibilities. Also ignore the pundits about Biden (and everything else).
Idk whether it ends up being easy or not, but I do agree the nomination was decided a long time ago. I started my comment with, "If we're going to talk about the Republicans," because I don't see much value in it either. Whatever the others say and do is not going to matter in November 2024, and of course Trump is going to try to pretend to be pro-choice. I would focus on the facts on the ground, because there's plenty of that. As for Biden, it's not the pundits that worry me; it's the polling. Not even the head to heads necessarily (although some of those are quite alarming) but the assessments of him, his presidency, and the state of the country.
I suspect if Trump were not in the running, many Maga-ites would go back under their rocks. We would still have the Evil Empire to fight, but the clones aren't as much of a sideshow for the more simplistic types in the Maga movement. However, the "moderates" (the "please don't say the vulgar parts out loud" group) would be more apt to want to be hustled by a quieter, slightly more polite, Trumpian candidate (see Glen Youngkin in Virginia who they seem to have seen as a blank slate). I'm pretty sure the NYT, and WaPo, will ensure that "Bronzo the Malignant" will be the candidate, because he is money in the bank for them, consequences to democracy be damned.
At this point I don't know what to wish for, other than we not trash our own side, and support the more qualified candidate.
With the power of Grayskull, I shall vanquish the Orange 🍊 evil. I think those remaining in the pack will be biting and clawing each other. Since they're all assholes to begin with, Las person standing is still an asshole.
Myself, for reasons to be declared later I think that the democrats are going to kick ass.
I wish I could claim authorship of it, when I hung out out Wonkette, my friend "Wannabetraveler" had written down all the derogatory nicknames for the Cantaloupe Caligula. She was up over 1000 last I knew. My absolute favorite was from Evan, one of the writers there, he called him "Yap-Yap Vonfuckstick."
I live in VA and will promise you Youngkin will be an absolute nightmare on the choice front if he’s ever elected to the Presidency. He is sneaky sly in his campaigning too & fooled a lot of Virginians into believing he’s “middle of the road.” He’s not. He’s on par with the far right, but he’s pragmatic about saying & doing what he needs to win. If Dem lose state house and senate it will get ugly by Jan.
He would be a Pence - no stem cell research, no abortions, no exceptions - I don’t care what he says on the campaign trail or to msm media. He will receive huge funds from all anti-abortion groups because he will make private deals with them.
I believe you, and am sure of it, I don't know why so many were fooled by his vest and "parents rights"( to bully everyone about things that aren't even happening.) However, I live in a far more insane state under an even worse gov. (FL). So I do sympathize.
Yeah. It's a double edged sword. I don't know whether Democrats understand the median voters and what those voters need from our side (on issues other than abortion, which is by far our best issue). I'd much rather figure that out now than after a loss in 2025, when human rights, democracy and the rule of law are all being rolled back as quickly as they can.
They're all mindless ideological clones. We're all fucked regardless. And it seems like the odds are all the same whether they win regardless of who it is.
Yes to your first two sentences. To the third, idk. One argument is that Biden is very unpopular, such that any Republican other than Trump would become a clear favorite. But another argument is that Trump motivates both sides, not just the Democrats, such that Republicans lose something too if he's not running. Trump has been a major factor in the last four elections (two presidential and two midterm) so it's hard to imagine what would happen without him. Possibly most likely is that the circumstances behind why he didn't end up being the nominee would become a major factor, such that the election might somehow be about him anyway.
Well, to bring it back around, if there's a path to Trump not being the nominee, no one knows what it is. So it would make sense for him to be positioning himself for the general election. And that's ultimately what we'll have to deal with. Of course he's going to try to pretend to be pro-choice. Even he's not that stupid.
Yeah. I mean, he's essentially doing the same thing to Republicans now as he did in 2016. They can't beat him because he appeals to their voters' emotions better than anyone else, and nothing else matters.
OMG the tick tok with Natash Marcus stopped me in my tracks. Immediately shared to my personal Instagram and social media for the organization I volunteer for, Reproductive Justice Maryland. Completely abhorrent. I hope this gets more coverage. Thank you for bringing to our attention Jessica!!
That N. Carolina funding thing - OH MY GAWD! I hope that money gets canceled, but I assume it won't.
"Ron DeSantis clearly believes that his only way forward is to double down on his anti-choice extremism". So I am not sure if we have already litigated this, but earlier in today's newsletter, Jessica talks about how we've learned that "choice" is not the most useful word to use because it's really about people's freedom. So, when referring to our extremist opponents, why do we keep using "anti- choice"? Are we too timid to say "forced birth"?
If personal freedom is what resonates with people, then I think " forced birth" gets at that lack of freedom better than "anti-choice" does.
Agreed.
I’m 74 and many years ago (1968) when I was in college I got pregnant, this was before RoevWade and The Pill was only available to married women. I used a knitting needle to end my pregnancy. Luckily I was not permanently injured and later was able to have two very wanted children. One of my friends was not so lucky. She got rid of the pregnancy, but was never able to have children. Anyone who thinks laws will stop abortions is delusional. Abortions will continue but many of them kill either the mother or fetus or both.
Thanks for telling your story. We can't forget the past. So glad you're okay and were still able to have children.
Wow. A knitting needle! 🧶🪡Thank you so much for weaving your story with us. I am currently a college student-crazy how we are generations apart but under very similar reproductive political eras. Just crazy how things can fall backwards.
Thanks Susan. Weird, the past. All the holocaust deniers still out there all these decades later. Sophie. Only a college student, Yet able to generate a killer bad pun - weaving your story. Ugg.
Keep outing Nikki Haley. She's a charlatan of the worst kind.
And let's remember that Trump said on live TV, to Chris Matthews, that he'd punish the woman (and not the man, mind you) for an abortion. Excerpts:
MATTHEWS: What is ban -- how do you ban abortion? How do you actually do it?
TRUMP: Well, you know, you go back to a position like they had where people will perhaps go to illegal places --
MATTHEWS: Yeah.
TRUMP: But you have to ban it.
>>>
MATTHEWS: Do you believe in punishment for abortion, yes or no as a principle?
TRUMP: The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment.
MATTHEWS: For the woman.
TRUMP: Yeah, there has to be some form.
MATTHEWS: Ten cents? Ten years? What?
TRUMP: I don’t know. That I don’t know. That I don’t know.
>>>
MATTHEWS: What about the guy that gets her pregnant? Is he responsible under the law for these abortions? Or is he not responsible for an abortion?
TRUMP: Well, it hasn’t -- it hasn’t -- different feelings, different people. I would say no.
MATTHEWS: Well, they’re usually involved.
https://www.politifact.com/article/2016/mar/30/context-transcript-donald-trump-punishing-women-ab/
Nikki Haley only cares about Nikki Haley. (I know this is true of many politicians, but she has alwaysalwaysalways been this way.)
Thank you Jessica & Grace for all your work!! Great job educating about KY. Thank you for sharing the tiktok!
NC… I am honestly not surprised. I think every non-hospital “pregnancy center” should be investigated. I wish I had more time to organize a group of researchers from every state who monitored state budgets and the anti-choice entities that receive state funding. The grift could make for some terrific campaign ads!
These Crisis Pregnancy Centers are a massive fraud designed to bilk taxpayers and redirect money to religious organizations.
Thanks to Dahlia Lithwick at Amicus, I was pointed to the new season of The Nocturnists: Post-Roe America. The podcast describes itself as a "medical storytelling podcast", and the new season, which started last week, will focus on stories of abortion providers both in states that have banned abortion and states that have not. The first episode featured a physician in Tennessee who, after Dobbs came down, was going to perform a medically necessary abortion, gave the heads up to the anesthesiologist the day before, and on the day thanked him for coming. When he said "Oh, I always do these, I have no problems with the procedure" she replied "Yes, but thank you for aiding and abetting", "What do you mean?" "Well, I'm about to commit a felony." And she had to explain that in Tennessee, it's just an affirmative defense. Very rough listening (she exhibits a fair amount of gallows humor), but worth listening.
https://thenocturnists.com/post-roe-america-series
Thanks for the link!
big shout out to Senator Marcus if N C!
If we're going to talk about the Republicans, the question is who do we want to face? I don't think we survive a Republican win regardless of who that person is, so it's who do we think we have the best chance of beating? There are arguments both for and against Trump. Either way I can't help thinking be careful what you wish for.
Trump is easy. He gave us the Supreme Court that took away our rights. As he promised in 2016.
And since he’ll be the nominee if he has a pulse, it’s not worth pondering other possibilities. Also ignore the pundits about Biden (and everything else).
Idk whether it ends up being easy or not, but I do agree the nomination was decided a long time ago. I started my comment with, "If we're going to talk about the Republicans," because I don't see much value in it either. Whatever the others say and do is not going to matter in November 2024, and of course Trump is going to try to pretend to be pro-choice. I would focus on the facts on the ground, because there's plenty of that. As for Biden, it's not the pundits that worry me; it's the polling. Not even the head to heads necessarily (although some of those are quite alarming) but the assessments of him, his presidency, and the state of the country.
I suspect if Trump were not in the running, many Maga-ites would go back under their rocks. We would still have the Evil Empire to fight, but the clones aren't as much of a sideshow for the more simplistic types in the Maga movement. However, the "moderates" (the "please don't say the vulgar parts out loud" group) would be more apt to want to be hustled by a quieter, slightly more polite, Trumpian candidate (see Glen Youngkin in Virginia who they seem to have seen as a blank slate). I'm pretty sure the NYT, and WaPo, will ensure that "Bronzo the Malignant" will be the candidate, because he is money in the bank for them, consequences to democracy be damned.
At this point I don't know what to wish for, other than we not trash our own side, and support the more qualified candidate.
With the power of Grayskull, I shall vanquish the Orange 🍊 evil. I think those remaining in the pack will be biting and clawing each other. Since they're all assholes to begin with, Las person standing is still an asshole.
Myself, for reasons to be declared later I think that the democrats are going to kick ass.
Oh, I'm Stealing 'bronzo the malignant '.
I wish I could claim authorship of it, when I hung out out Wonkette, my friend "Wannabetraveler" had written down all the derogatory nicknames for the Cantaloupe Caligula. She was up over 1000 last I knew. My absolute favorite was from Evan, one of the writers there, he called him "Yap-Yap Vonfuckstick."
I live in VA and will promise you Youngkin will be an absolute nightmare on the choice front if he’s ever elected to the Presidency. He is sneaky sly in his campaigning too & fooled a lot of Virginians into believing he’s “middle of the road.” He’s not. He’s on par with the far right, but he’s pragmatic about saying & doing what he needs to win. If Dem lose state house and senate it will get ugly by Jan.
He would be a Pence - no stem cell research, no abortions, no exceptions - I don’t care what he says on the campaign trail or to msm media. He will receive huge funds from all anti-abortion groups because he will make private deals with them.
I believe you, and am sure of it, I don't know why so many were fooled by his vest and "parents rights"( to bully everyone about things that aren't even happening.) However, I live in a far more insane state under an even worse gov. (FL). So I do sympathize.
Yeah. It's a double edged sword. I don't know whether Democrats understand the median voters and what those voters need from our side (on issues other than abortion, which is by far our best issue). I'd much rather figure that out now than after a loss in 2025, when human rights, democracy and the rule of law are all being rolled back as quickly as they can.
They're all mindless ideological clones. We're all fucked regardless. And it seems like the odds are all the same whether they win regardless of who it is.
Yes to your first two sentences. To the third, idk. One argument is that Biden is very unpopular, such that any Republican other than Trump would become a clear favorite. But another argument is that Trump motivates both sides, not just the Democrats, such that Republicans lose something too if he's not running. Trump has been a major factor in the last four elections (two presidential and two midterm) so it's hard to imagine what would happen without him. Possibly most likely is that the circumstances behind why he didn't end up being the nominee would become a major factor, such that the election might somehow be about him anyway.
"...such that the election might somehow be about him anyway."
That's an accurate assessment if the Republican primaries are anything to go by.
Well, to bring it back around, if there's a path to Trump not being the nominee, no one knows what it is. So it would make sense for him to be positioning himself for the general election. And that's ultimately what we'll have to deal with. Of course he's going to try to pretend to be pro-choice. Even he's not that stupid.
I'm sure the other republicans don't have that luxury of pretending to be prochoice only competing in the primaries at this point.
Yeah. I mean, he's essentially doing the same thing to Republicans now as he did in 2016. They can't beat him because he appeals to their voters' emotions better than anyone else, and nothing else matters.