Given the sensitive and potentially triggering issues I write about, I’m going to start including content warnings at the top of the newsletter when necessary. Today’s newsletter contains stories of severe illness in pregnancy, traumatic pregnancy loss and graphic medical details.
In the states…
Distressing news out of South Carolina, where debate began yesterday on a near total abortion ban with narrow exceptions for rape and incest. A Senate committee voted to advance a new version of the law that removed the rape and incest exception altogether. This picture of the committee voting really says it all:
We’re still waiting on news from Michigan’s Supreme Court, which is set to make a decision about getting a proposed amendment to protect abortion rights on the November ballot. In the meantime, take some comfort in the fact that a new poll shows voters in the state are paying close attention: Abortion was the issue named the most important by those surveyed, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is leading her anti-abortion opponent by 13 points.
Yesterday the Texas Supreme Court ruled that minors will still be allowed to get a judicial bypass for abortions without parental consent—but they still need to follow the state’s ban, which has no rape or incest exceptions and only allows someone to end a pregnancy if their life is in danger or a “major bodily function” is at risk. This not only means that raped and impregnated children have no recourse in Texas, but that if a minor needs an abortion to save their life they’re going to need to go see a judge before being allowed care.
More out of Texas: Beto O’Rourke put out a new ad attacking Gov. Greg Abbott’s cavalier insistence that rape and incest victims can just “get the Plan B pill.”
A maternal fetal medicine specialist in Ohio has given an interview about how the state’s ban is impacting care. Dr. Tani Malhotra told the Ohio Capital Journal about seeing patients forced to carry pregnancies with fetuses that lack organs necessary for survival, and women who have partially delivered fetuses too early in pregnancy to survive—and how those women are mandated to sign paperwork and wait 24 hours or until the fetus’ heart stops before being allowed care. Even with the fetus partially out. Here is Dr. Malhotra talking about a patient with a wanted pregnancy who developed a complication that was putting her life in danger:
“As it came to light that her life would be in jeopardy, we made the recommendation to terminate the pregnancy. She broke down and said, ‘I don’t want to die.’ Having a patient say that to you is devastating in and of itself. But as we made the decision to move forward with the termination—with the abortion—I thought, ‘I’m really worried about this patient. She’s incredibly sick, but did I do all the paperwork correctly? Did I sign all the forms that need to be signed? What kind of trouble am I going to get into if something untoward happens when the patient is already extremely unstable. It just adds an extra layer of stress to an already extremely stressful situation.”
OBGYNs in Florida are worried about the same thing (you can watch a local TV segment on the issue here), as are doctors in Tennessee—who have the added threat of the state’s ‘affirmative defense’ mandate around ending a pregnancy to save a person’s life. OBGYN Dr. Nikki Zite says, “I hope that I am brave enough to move past that worry to take care of patients the way I’m trained to.” Doctors and educators there are also worried about OBGYNs leaving the state or choosing not to be trained or practice there to begin with—which is dangerous for a state that already has awful maternal health rates. It’s especially worrying for patients in rural areas, where losing just one OBGYN would have a huge impact.
I’ve already told you that Republican gubernatorial candidate in Wisconsin, Tim Michels, gave $250,000 to anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion groups—but there’s more. Michels also donated $20,000 to a group that tracks women’s cell phone data in order to target those who have been near abortion clinics with anti-choice ads and misinformation.
Minnesota’s Republican gubernatorial candidate has been working overtime to try to convince people he’s not anti-abortion: Scott Jensen went from saying he only supports abortion to save a pregnant person’s life to then claiming he’d be ok with rape and incest exceptions. Now Jensen has put out a truly bizarre ad where he holds a baby while saying abortion is a protected right he has no interest in legislating. Ksure.
Another Republican in North Carolina has quietly scrubbed his website of any mention of abortion: congressional candidate Bo Hines said earlier in the year that “abortion is absolutely murder, and any Republican politician who’s not willing to say that should not be in office.” But since Roe has been overturned and voters are fucking furious, Hines took down references to abortion from his campaign website and has been awfully quiet on the issue. (If Hines’ name sounds familiar, it’s because the 27 year-old thought the political term ‘banana republic’ actually had something to do with the clothing store.)
I’ve been telling you about how towns and cities are trying to use whatever power they have to support abortion rights—and I’ve mentioned that Allentown, Pennsylvania had raucous city council meeting when discussing ordinances that would opt city officials out of using funds to investigate abortion and create buffer zones. The ordinances have been pulled (though supporters hope to re-introduce them), but I had to share this quote from a piece about the kerfuffle:
“Jon Merwarth, executive director of crisis pregnancy center Bright Hope Pregnancy Support Services, disagrees with the restriction of ‘deceptive advertising practices,’ saying it unfairly targets his organization.”
They’re not even trying to hide it anymore. (Some more info on crisis pregnancy centers in PA here.)
Also in Pennsylvania, Republican Senate candidate and charlatan Mehmet Ozsays he doesn’t support criminal penalties for doctors who provide abortions or women who get them—which means absolutely fucking nothing. When Republicans say they don’t support jail time or criminalization of abortion—just abortion bans—they’re trying to weasel out of the reality of anti-abortion legislation. When you make abortion illegal, people will be arrested and the most marginalized will be targeted. And Republicans know that.
In Maine, where abortion is legal, Democrats are targeting former Republican Gov. Paul LePage—who is running for office again—on his abortion position. LePage has said he wouldn’t try to reverse the right to abortion in the state, but recently completed a questionnaire for a conservative state group where he said he supports abortion restrictions.
California anti-abortion groups are objecting to a bill that provides funds to increase the number of health clinics on school campuses. Their worry is that increased access to health care will make it easier for students to get abortion medication—which tells you a whole lot about their warped priorities. They’d rather kids have less healthcare—whether it has to do with abortion or not—than even risk the chance that students could find out about abortion.
In the nation…
A new startup plans to sell abortion medication for those who want to stock up on it should they need it later. From Choix Chief Executive Officer Cindy Adam:
“Abortion is so highly stigmatized and politicized that people accessing abortion care, even in states where it is legal, come to us with this additional feeling of anxiety about whether they will be allowed to get an abortion. Advanced provision really helps alleviate that stress and puts power back in the hands of the person seeking care.”
I really wish this wasn’t something that private companies have to take on (though kudos to Choix for offering the pills on a sliding scale, though I wish the price was lower/free).
Speaking of private companies and abortion, this is just the best:
Some more reading: The Washington Post has a list of Republicans who claimed they want abortion to be decided by the states but are now sponsoring a federal ban; Bloomberg Law looks at the legal implications of the Department of Veteran Affairs providing abortions in states where abortions are banned; and a new poll of U.S. doctors finds that over 70% are confused over what defines a “life-threatening emergency” in states where abortion is illegal.
Hate reads…
Anti-abortion people are wild: This columnist argues companies that help employees with travel expense for abortion are violating the Civil Rights Act because it’s discriminatory against people who want to keep their pregnancies??
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