Abortion, Every Day (9.28.23)

Architect of Texas abortion ban seeking private data of thousands

In the States, some nightmarish news out of Texas. Some quick hits In the Nation, and a run-down of last night’s debate shit show in 2024. Another Texas county may prohibit out-of-state travel in the In-State Confinement section. A new podcast to check out in Listen Up., and celebrating International Safe Abortion Day with some Stats & Studies. Finally, a way to help keep pro-choice billboards up in anti-choice states in You Love to See It.

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In the States

Well this is a fucking nightmare: Attorney Jonathan Mitchell, the architect of Texas abortion ban, is targeting abortion funds and providers to get the names and information of thousands of patients, staff, volunteers—even donors. Mitchell served discovery requests for the information a few weeks ago, trying to get a court to force the funds and docs to hand over information about people’s identities—as well as detailed information about the abortions they supported.

While the funds filed a motion this week to get a protective order keeping Mitchell from obtaining the records, I don’t need to tell you how bad this is. Mitchell is the man responsible for the bounty hunter mandate in Texas, and the point of getting this information—in addition to plain old harassment—is to find people to sue. Because remember, SB 8 allows anyone in the state bring a civil lawsuit against those who help someone obtain an abortion. (Like this guy, represented by Mitchell, who sued his ex-wife’s friends for allegedly helping her get abortion medication.)

In a press release, the groups targeted by Mitchell say, “This is a threat to publicize the private information of thousands of people in Texas and across the country.” And Anna Rupani, Executive Director, Fund Texas Choice, said, “This desire to obtain private, confidential information is meant to harass and intimidate, but rest assured, we will not stand for it.”

Again, so much of this is about a chilling effect: ensuring that people are too terrified to help each other. It’s disgusting.

Also in Texas, Yelp is suing the state to stop Attorney General Ken Paxton—who is coming after the company for their labeling practices of anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. Yelp makes clear that these centers don’t offer abortion care and may not have actual medical professionals on staff—which is true! But Paxton claims that they’re violating the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act “by appending inaccurate and misleading language to listings on pregnancy resource centers.”

In related news: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told Bloomberg no businesses have expressed concern over the state’s abortion ban—and that in fact, companies are eager to come to the state. “We have more companies moving to Texas than ever before.” I really hope that’s not true. And if it is, it’s time for us to demand better.

Missouri’s ballot measure fight is never-ending. Earlier this week, I gave you the good news that a judge had rewritten the summaries for several versions of a pro-choice measure—a corrective to Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s inflammatory language. Well, Ashcroft is appealing the judge’s decision. Because of course he is. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial board responded by writing, “Ashcroft apparently cares nothing about the fact that he is transparently misusing his official powers for his own political gain.”

“The obvious goal is and always has been to tie up the question in court long enough to potentially cause activists to miss deadlines for gathering signatures to get abortion rights on the Missouri ballot next year.”

That’s exactly right. That’s why the state Attorney General Andrew Bailey refused to sign off on the cost estimate for the measure until he was literally forced by the state Supreme Court to do so. And it’s why Ashcroft and all the other Republicans trying to impede democracy are attacking the abortion rights amendment. They know that they’ll lose if voters have a say.

Speaking of banning abortion against voters’ wishes, let’s talk about Ohio. The state Supreme Court continued to hear arguments on the state’s (currently blocked) 6-week abortion ban yesterday. As Grace told you yesterday, the Court is largely answering procedural questions—like ruling whether or not abortion providers can bring a challenge on behalf of their patients. I’ll keep you updated as I find out more.

Meanwhile, also in the state, the Catholic Church is campaigning full force against the pro-choice amendment in front of voters this November: the Archdiocese of Cincinnati donated $500,000 to the anti-abortion group Protect Women Ohio, and is delivering a taped homily to hundreds of thousands of parishioners this Sunday, urging them to vote against Issue 1.

Daniel Cameron strikes again! The Republican gubernatorial candidate in Kentucky has been playing defense on abortion over the last few weeks, after his anti-abortion extremism came into the spotlight. Cameron has long opposed rape and incest exceptions—he even signed a pledge to criminalize birth control. But after Gov. Andy Beshear released an ad featuring a young woman who was raped by her stepfather at 12 years-old, Cameron backtracked. He said that he would in fact sign a law with exceptions.

But wait, the flip-flopping is not done yet! At a campaign stop this week, a woman told Cameron she was disappointed by his comments supporting rape and incest exceptions. Cameron responded by saying he would only sign onto exceptions if forced:

“This was about if the courts made us change that law, and they made us add those, then of course I would sign that because I would have to.”

In response, Beshear campaign spokesman Alex Floyd said, “The reason he twists himself into knots on answers like this is because he knows the vast majority of Kentuckians find his view cruel and dangerous.” I still find it incredible that candidates are having to talk around their anti-choice beliefs in Kentucky, of all places. It’s a heartening sign of things too come. (She says, as she crosses her fingers and toes)

More in Republicans running from their anti-choice records: The Virginia GOP is furious at all the pro-choice mailers and ads Democrats have pushed out. It’s almost as if they don’t want voters to know what would happen if they get elected! The Associated Press reports that there was particular ire over an ad from state Senate nominee Joel Griffin, attacking opponent Tara Durant. The ad let voters know about Durant’s support for a ban with no exceptions, saying, “She supports letting Virginia force a 10-year-old rape victim carry to term.”

A statement from Durant’s campaign said the ad “smears…a mother of two young women—as wanting to force a 10-year-old victim of rape to carry a child.” They also called it an “unnerving, unfounded charge,” yet didn’t deny the fact a total abortion ban does, in fact, force children to be pregnant!

As you know, Virginia’s election has become very much about abortion in the last few weeks, with Gov. Glenn Youngkin pushing a 15-week abortion ban (which he’s calling a ‘reasonable compromise’).

In Montana today, a judge temporarily blocked a requirement that abortion clinics be licensed with the state health department. The mandate is part of a Republican effort to chip away at abortion access in spite of the state constitution’s protections for reproductive rights. Aileen Gleizer of Blue Mountain Clinic said, “Today’s decision is critical for people accessing abortion care in Montana, and a defeat against extremist lawmakers who are seeking to ban abortion by any means.”

Also in Montana, state Rep. Marilyn Marler called out the Attorney General Austin Knudsen for signing onto a lawsuit that seeks to override abortion clinic buffer zones. Marler, who has sponsored legislation to strengthen buffer zone laws, writes that Knudsen’s move ignores how important personal liberty and privacy is to Montana voters: “We need safety zone laws strengthened, not rotted away.” Knudsen’s move is part of a broader effort across the country to attack buffer zones as violations of ‘free speech’.

We could use some good news: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed new protections for abortion providers who prescribe abortion medication to patients in anti-choice states. What makes California’s shield law distinct from similar laws in other states is that it bans California-based social media companies (like Facebook) from complying with subpoenas, warrants or other criminalization efforts from out-of-state. Sen. Nancy Skinner, who drafted the law, said it will allow doctors to “offer a lifeline to people in states that have cut off access to essential care.”

Finally, if you’re in New York and looking for something to do this Sunday, the terrific group A is For is holding its annual gala to raise money for abortion rights! Listen to an interview with founder and actor Martha Plimpton here and find out more about the event here.

Quick hits:

• The woman who burned down Wellspring Health Access in Wyoming is set to be sentenced;

• Jezebel on the Michigan Democrat holding up the Reproductive Health Act;

• Anti-abortion activists have been harassing a clinic in Hyannis, Massachusetts as abortion access expands in Cape Cod;

• New Jersey Democrats keep hitting on abortion rights in their campaign ads;

• And Oklahoma clinics have a waitlist of men who want vasectomies—with appointments at one clinic filling up in just 48 hours.

In the Nation

• POLITICO reports that Sen. Joe Manchin has been stalling President Joe Biden’s nominee for the VA’s general counsel as a way to pressure the agency to stop providing abortions;

• The House GOP doesn’t have enough votes to pass their FDA spending bill because of their anti-abortion language;

• U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles introduced the ‘Ending Chemical Abortions Act’ today (insert all the eye rolls here);

• Axios on the abortion rights fight over PEPFAR reauthorization;

• And on the international front, abortion rights activists in France are preparing for a series of marches throughout major cities.

2024

What a shit show. If you were unlucky enough to watch last night’s GOP presidential debate, you know that abortion rights only got a measly three minutes—a clear indication of just how desperate Republicans are to avoid the issue. (I also can’t believe they made us wait until the end! Thanks to all of you who joined the live chat so we could suffer together, at least.)

The brief abortion mention gave Gov. Ron DeSantis a chance to attack Trump on the issue, saying he should have been there to defend his comments on abortion. (Trump criticized DeSantis’ 6-week ban, much to the annoyance of anti-abortion groups and politicians.)

DeSantis also brought up abortions later in pregnancy—something we knew would come up. As did the lie that providers are killing newborns. It’s unbelievable to me that this is just a standard Republican talking point now that barely anyone seems to push back on.

At Slate, Molly Olmstead writes that the issue’s relative absence in the debate is a sign that Republicans have figured out that “railing against abortion isn’t a winning political strategy,” and that evangelical Christians are losing some of their long-held power on the party.

In related news, after dancing around whether he would sign a national abortion ban, DeSantis told conservative media yesterday that he will, in fact, support a 15-week ban.

Quick hits:

• Jill Filipovic writes about Nikki Haley over at Slate;

• And The Guardian looks at some of the anti-abortion myths that came up in the debate.

In-State Confinement

Another Texas county is considering an ordinance banning out-of-state abortion travel. Cochran County would join Mitchell and Goliad counties, which prohibit driving through or from the towns to leave the state for care.

As you know, this is part of a broader effort by anti-abortion groups to restrict travel, make it harder for women to leave the state, and to make people downright terrified that getting a legal abortion will somehow get them arrested. Wendy Davis, avisor at Planned Parenthood Texas Votes and a former state senator, says, “This is an effort, one by one by one, to create a statewide ban against travel to other states, literally creating a reproductive prison in the state of Texas.”

It’s also not a coincidence that Cochran County borders New Mexico, a pro-choice state where 57% of Planned Parenthood patients are from Texas alone.

Mark Lee Dickson, the anti-abortion activist at the center of the strategy to pass local ordinances, told the Texas Tribune that “the abortion trafficking ordinances do not interfere with the right to travel.” Which is quite a statement considering that that is the entire fucking point.

Listen Up

The Nocturnists launched a series on post-Roe America. I haven’t started listening yet, but I’m really looking forward to it—check out the first episode below:

Stats & Studies

Today is International Safe Abortion Day, which means it’s a perfect time to check out the Center for Reproductive Right’s interactive map on “The World’s Abortion Laws.” It’s a terrific resource, though definitely a bit of a downer to be reminded that only four countries have rolled back legal access to abortion—which makes the U.S. a depressing outlier. Some key facts:

• 60% of the global population lives where abortion is broadly legal

• Only two countries—the U.S. and Mexico—have abortion laws that vary greatly from state to state

• Unsafe abortions cause 39,000 deaths per year

You Love to See it

I’ve told you before about Shout Your Abortion’s incredible billboards—which are getting quite a lot of attention from conservative media. If you want to support their efforts and make sure to keep those billboards up in anti-choice states, consider giving towards the effort here.