Texas is working hard to disenfranchise as many Democrats as possible, to make it harder to vote, and to have one’s vote counted. AG Paxton is working overtime on all three. Without voter suppression, TX would be blue. Cruz may eke out a “win” purely as a result of voter suppression. Last week Paxton’s fascist police raided the home of one of the main GOTV organizers of LULAC! Scary and outrageous.
Speaking of tours, Freeda Womb, Americans for Contraception's inflatable 20-foot IUD, will be in New York City September 6 and 7 in Central Park and Times Square. Selfies encouraged. For the rest of the tour schedule, see https://action.americansforcontraception.org/a/freeda-nation-pet. I bet Freeda is a sibling to Scabby the Rat whose constitutional right to be posted at building sites I covered.
I am still seeing patients at 74 and inexperienced at submitting work but I hope your readers will find this small essay useful and timely. It has been favorably reviewed by a number of colleagues who support reproductive freedom. I have sent it out for submission but have not heard from other publications.::::::
A Letter to my Male Patients
A 74 yr old Family Physician speaks out on the danger of anti abortion legislation *with permission from his spouse to share their story
Are you a man in a relationship with a woman?
In many states, Republican legislators composed entirely of men have made the decision to have an abortion a criminal activity. Fifty years ago, I was 25 and living with my girlfriend during my first-year clinical internship when she became pregnant. I like to imagine I was unselfish, but that’s not true. I was ambivalent about my commitment to our relationship, to fatherhood, and unsure of my own feelings, values, and intentions. I used my demanding workload to postpone a clear show of support . I disguised my ambivalence with exhaustion. I had not learned that showing up is what commitments are all about. And choices. My partner chose to have an abortion.
She was adamant that this was her decision to make.
She was fierce about this
About her right to control her life and body. Yet she wanted to explore with me, within the intimacy and privacy of our own home, what was our commitment to create a family , and what was our shared responsibility and purpose. She had witnessed her mother bearing twelve children in twenty years without any reproductive options. My girlfriend would never submit to the lack of choices in her own life.
Restricting contraceptive freedom and access is about men controlling women’s bodies, sanctioned by the state, that entitles men to this power. This entitlement relies upon specific religious ideology to rationalize and impose this legislation. But this legislation is not about morality or imposing religious canon. It is part of a political movement with an ideology that seeks to establish a state that has the authority to define who a man can love, how he can love and be loved. It defines what is a family, when and how he can start a family.
This political movement depends upon fear and conformity to impose a single ideology that all citizens must adhere to; that defines what is legal and illegal with regards to childbearing.
And this movement is not about the morality of saving children’s lives. The red states that have imposed restrictions on abortion have the unenviable distinction of worse perinatal and maternal mortality rates than many other states in our country, worse than many third world countries. They are not concerned with children’s lives. They are interested in power. This is coercive reproduction.
This legislation is more than an assault on the rights of childbearing women. It is more than a denial of medical services that leads to harm. It is more than a frontal assault on our freedom of religion. Project 2025 intends to legislate this ideology upon all aspects of our lives , silencing, punishing and persecuting anyone who opposes or disagrees with this ideology.
It is a political movement that has every intention of violating the bedrock American principle of living our lives in the privacy of our own homes. Our cherished right to life liberty and pursuit of happiness.
This political movement considers self-determination a threat. Democratic principles are unacceptable to this movement. They intend to impose government control upon all aspects of our lives. This is the hallmark of the authoritarian state.
The Dobbs decision by the current Supreme court sets us back fifty years. Back then, I was unclear about my part in this decision-making process. But my partner had no illusions about the consequences she faced. She was grateful for the Roe v Wade ruling which had recently been passed: She had the power to exercise her right to make a decision that had been denied to her mother, and created massive hardships that women had endured for generations, hardships justified with exhortations to sacrifice, devotion, and religious fidelity; calling their opposition selfish and immoral.
I had to consider what it meant to support another person making a serious life- changing decision without an appeal to seeking the approval of the state with its authority, shame, and fear of illegality to mask my ambiguity. I did not have to live with the lie that stated that the best I could be was to be who the state wanted me to be, that I was incapable of loving my partner in all the ways she would want to be loved. I would have to live with the accountability and integrity it demanded. I could not control her, but I could support her.
Some men may not consider anti-abortion legislation to be their concern. We can claim it’s not our issue. Walk away. Remain disconnected. Remain silent. Complicit with the consequences of this legislation. Live with this deceit.
But restricting reproductive freedom is more than coercion of child bearing women. It is about intrusive control by the state over human relationships :
How we experience intimacy. What it means to be a family.
We are harming those we love by voting to remove their right to control their own bodies and lives. We are choosing to ignore their fear, pain, and repression. I encourage men to avoid using the approval of the state to mask our own emotional issues. This rationalization does not make us stronger but weaker. We are better than that.
An unexpected crisis will occur in every relationship. These are opportunities where we get to grow, to cultivate dignity and self-respect, that lead to a deeper commitment. We can demonstrate compassion. We can stand beside our partners with kindness, courage, and integrity. Not with judgment, condemnation, abandonment and retribution. This is not only an assault on women but on men. To that end, the assault on reproductive freedom is an assault on every relationship in a free society. And every man who wants to live in one.
Great reporting Jessica. Thank for your advocacy and dedication. Women and pregnant people deserve bodily autonomy. We deserve the respect to choose what is best for ourselves and our unique pregnancy circumstances. ♥️🌷♥️
Damn skippy that abortion and reproductive rights more broadly should be the #1 issue for any woman under 50. If we don't control our own bodies at all times, then we don't control anything.
Love the video, will share! Speaking of Dobbs Dads, did you see the Eddie Vedder Pearl Jam lyric change to choice? I was at the concert in Chicago and so happy to hear it, he also dedicated a song to Michell Obama’s mother.
EDDIE VEDDER changes lyrics to “Daughter” to make a politically charged statement.
During PEARL JAM’s show at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Thursday (Aug. 29), in the middle of their song “Daughter” the band played a portion of Pink Floyd’s song “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2”. But the Pink Floyd/”Daughter” mashup sounded a little different than some fans may have expected.
With “Another Brick in the Wall” already being a protest song, Vedder somewhat appropriately took the opportunity to change the lyrics to something a little more timely. Where the song would normally say, “Teachers leave them kids alone…” Vedder instead sang:
“Politicians leave our daughters alone
A woman’s right to chose is her own”
Vedder has never been shy about speaking his mind at his shows, and this time was no different.
I don't know how widely this info was circulated, but the Harris campaign kicked off a reproductive rights bus tour today (Tuesday, 9/3) in Palm Beach, Florida. It will be making 50 different stops in different states across the country up until Election Day. I am pretty sure it will help counter all the "misinformation" the other side is spewing. Here's a quote from "The New York Times" about what happened today in Palm Beach:
"Surrogates for Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign are in Palm Beach, Fla., for the start of a bus tour focused on reproductive rights. Speakers so far have included former Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who is challenging Senator Rick Scott of Florida; Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida; and Ana Navarro, an anti-Trump Republican strategist and commentator who described her own experience receiving an abortion in a medical emergency."
"One 78 year-old woman told Public Source that her abortion fury overrode any concerns she had about the border[.]"
I find it interesting that the GOP's dire warnings on the border are very nebulous. The voters are TOLD there is a Border Crisis, (debatable,) but they don’t necessarily SEE "millions of illegal immigrants invading their cities and towns."
But abortion bans, that's an in-your-face proposition that everybody understands.
It’s hard to see those numbers break down by gender. I don’t want to feel abandoned by men but it’s a clear indicator that although men definitely have a stake in this fight, getting them to see that is still a challenge.
Thank you for your committed coverage to this important issue. Democratic Party press conference in Omaha, Nebraska today led by State Senator Machaela Cavanaugh. The focus was on Trump/Project 2025/Reproductive Rights and one of our local news stations had the worst "FactCheck.org" segments about it:
Texas is working hard to disenfranchise as many Democrats as possible, to make it harder to vote, and to have one’s vote counted. AG Paxton is working overtime on all three. Without voter suppression, TX would be blue. Cruz may eke out a “win” purely as a result of voter suppression. Last week Paxton’s fascist police raided the home of one of the main GOTV organizers of LULAC! Scary and outrageous.
Book is ordered. I cannot wait to read it and share it . Thank you for all of your hard work
Speaking of tours, Freeda Womb, Americans for Contraception's inflatable 20-foot IUD, will be in New York City September 6 and 7 in Central Park and Times Square. Selfies encouraged. For the rest of the tour schedule, see https://action.americansforcontraception.org/a/freeda-nation-pet. I bet Freeda is a sibling to Scabby the Rat whose constitutional right to be posted at building sites I covered.
I am still seeing patients at 74 and inexperienced at submitting work but I hope your readers will find this small essay useful and timely. It has been favorably reviewed by a number of colleagues who support reproductive freedom. I have sent it out for submission but have not heard from other publications.::::::
A Letter to my Male Patients
A 74 yr old Family Physician speaks out on the danger of anti abortion legislation *with permission from his spouse to share their story
Are you a man in a relationship with a woman?
In many states, Republican legislators composed entirely of men have made the decision to have an abortion a criminal activity. Fifty years ago, I was 25 and living with my girlfriend during my first-year clinical internship when she became pregnant. I like to imagine I was unselfish, but that’s not true. I was ambivalent about my commitment to our relationship, to fatherhood, and unsure of my own feelings, values, and intentions. I used my demanding workload to postpone a clear show of support . I disguised my ambivalence with exhaustion. I had not learned that showing up is what commitments are all about. And choices. My partner chose to have an abortion.
She was adamant that this was her decision to make.
She was fierce about this
About her right to control her life and body. Yet she wanted to explore with me, within the intimacy and privacy of our own home, what was our commitment to create a family , and what was our shared responsibility and purpose. She had witnessed her mother bearing twelve children in twenty years without any reproductive options. My girlfriend would never submit to the lack of choices in her own life.
Restricting contraceptive freedom and access is about men controlling women’s bodies, sanctioned by the state, that entitles men to this power. This entitlement relies upon specific religious ideology to rationalize and impose this legislation. But this legislation is not about morality or imposing religious canon. It is part of a political movement with an ideology that seeks to establish a state that has the authority to define who a man can love, how he can love and be loved. It defines what is a family, when and how he can start a family.
This political movement depends upon fear and conformity to impose a single ideology that all citizens must adhere to; that defines what is legal and illegal with regards to childbearing.
And this movement is not about the morality of saving children’s lives. The red states that have imposed restrictions on abortion have the unenviable distinction of worse perinatal and maternal mortality rates than many other states in our country, worse than many third world countries. They are not concerned with children’s lives. They are interested in power. This is coercive reproduction.
This legislation is more than an assault on the rights of childbearing women. It is more than a denial of medical services that leads to harm. It is more than a frontal assault on our freedom of religion. Project 2025 intends to legislate this ideology upon all aspects of our lives , silencing, punishing and persecuting anyone who opposes or disagrees with this ideology.
It is a political movement that has every intention of violating the bedrock American principle of living our lives in the privacy of our own homes. Our cherished right to life liberty and pursuit of happiness.
This political movement considers self-determination a threat. Democratic principles are unacceptable to this movement. They intend to impose government control upon all aspects of our lives. This is the hallmark of the authoritarian state.
The Dobbs decision by the current Supreme court sets us back fifty years. Back then, I was unclear about my part in this decision-making process. But my partner had no illusions about the consequences she faced. She was grateful for the Roe v Wade ruling which had recently been passed: She had the power to exercise her right to make a decision that had been denied to her mother, and created massive hardships that women had endured for generations, hardships justified with exhortations to sacrifice, devotion, and religious fidelity; calling their opposition selfish and immoral.
I had to consider what it meant to support another person making a serious life- changing decision without an appeal to seeking the approval of the state with its authority, shame, and fear of illegality to mask my ambiguity. I did not have to live with the lie that stated that the best I could be was to be who the state wanted me to be, that I was incapable of loving my partner in all the ways she would want to be loved. I would have to live with the accountability and integrity it demanded. I could not control her, but I could support her.
Some men may not consider anti-abortion legislation to be their concern. We can claim it’s not our issue. Walk away. Remain disconnected. Remain silent. Complicit with the consequences of this legislation. Live with this deceit.
But restricting reproductive freedom is more than coercion of child bearing women. It is about intrusive control by the state over human relationships :
How we experience intimacy. What it means to be a family.
We are harming those we love by voting to remove their right to control their own bodies and lives. We are choosing to ignore their fear, pain, and repression. I encourage men to avoid using the approval of the state to mask our own emotional issues. This rationalization does not make us stronger but weaker. We are better than that.
An unexpected crisis will occur in every relationship. These are opportunities where we get to grow, to cultivate dignity and self-respect, that lead to a deeper commitment. We can demonstrate compassion. We can stand beside our partners with kindness, courage, and integrity. Not with judgment, condemnation, abandonment and retribution. This is not only an assault on women but on men. To that end, the assault on reproductive freedom is an assault on every relationship in a free society. And every man who wants to live in one.
YOUR GLOSSARY IS AB FAB💪🏻❤️
Great reporting Jessica. Thank for your advocacy and dedication. Women and pregnant people deserve bodily autonomy. We deserve the respect to choose what is best for ourselves and our unique pregnancy circumstances. ♥️🌷♥️
Damn skippy that abortion and reproductive rights more broadly should be the #1 issue for any woman under 50. If we don't control our own bodies at all times, then we don't control anything.
Love the video, will share! Speaking of Dobbs Dads, did you see the Eddie Vedder Pearl Jam lyric change to choice? I was at the concert in Chicago and so happy to hear it, he also dedicated a song to Michell Obama’s mother.
EDDIE VEDDER changes lyrics to “Daughter” to make a politically charged statement.
During PEARL JAM’s show at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Thursday (Aug. 29), in the middle of their song “Daughter” the band played a portion of Pink Floyd’s song “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2”. But the Pink Floyd/”Daughter” mashup sounded a little different than some fans may have expected.
With “Another Brick in the Wall” already being a protest song, Vedder somewhat appropriately took the opportunity to change the lyrics to something a little more timely. Where the song would normally say, “Teachers leave them kids alone…” Vedder instead sang:
“Politicians leave our daughters alone
A woman’s right to chose is her own”
Vedder has never been shy about speaking his mind at his shows, and this time was no different.
Photo by Tyler Pasciak
I don't know how widely this info was circulated, but the Harris campaign kicked off a reproductive rights bus tour today (Tuesday, 9/3) in Palm Beach, Florida. It will be making 50 different stops in different states across the country up until Election Day. I am pretty sure it will help counter all the "misinformation" the other side is spewing. Here's a quote from "The New York Times" about what happened today in Palm Beach:
"Surrogates for Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign are in Palm Beach, Fla., for the start of a bus tour focused on reproductive rights. Speakers so far have included former Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who is challenging Senator Rick Scott of Florida; Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida; and Ana Navarro, an anti-Trump Republican strategist and commentator who described her own experience receiving an abortion in a medical emergency."
I saw pictures of the bus, VERY impressive!
Thanks for keeping us up on everything going on, Jessica!
"One 78 year-old woman told Public Source that her abortion fury overrode any concerns she had about the border[.]"
I find it interesting that the GOP's dire warnings on the border are very nebulous. The voters are TOLD there is a Border Crisis, (debatable,) but they don’t necessarily SEE "millions of illegal immigrants invading their cities and towns."
But abortion bans, that's an in-your-face proposition that everybody understands.
It’s hard to see those numbers break down by gender. I don’t want to feel abandoned by men but it’s a clear indicator that although men definitely have a stake in this fight, getting them to see that is still a challenge.
Just wanted to note the extreme success the author of this comment has had in fulfilling his promise of non-judgemental diplomacy. /s
I just love your subtle snark, although I am sure it is lost on the subject.
I salute your tolerance. I couldn't read their inane babble it was just too fucking weird.
Thank you for your committed coverage to this important issue. Democratic Party press conference in Omaha, Nebraska today led by State Senator Machaela Cavanaugh. The focus was on Trump/Project 2025/Reproductive Rights and one of our local news stations had the worst "FactCheck.org" segments about it:
https://www.ketv.com/article/nebraska-democrats-go-after-trump/62049093
With competing abortion ballot measures this election, Nebraskans deserve better facts and coverage leading up to this important vote!