Y’all, I assume every woman who has been paying attention and has the funds has miso & mife in her possession RIGHT NOW. Women should keep an advance dose on hand alongside our Advil and bandaids.
I’m in Louisiana, and am the founder of ProChoice With Heart - Gulf Coast (a grassroots organization). I have been at the Capitol with Lift Louisiana and 10,000 Women of Louisiana every Wednesday (and some other days) throughout this legislative nightmare.
With all of these bills we have shown up and spoken out, and we have GREATLY outnumbered anti-choicers. However, our Representatives and Senators do NOT care; they don’t listen, and no matter how many testify - they vote the way Ben Clapper tells them.
Who is Ben Clapper? He’s the executive director of Louisiana’s Right to Life…
I’ve never seen his name on a ballot, but apparently he carries just as much power and authority as Jeff Landry (the worst and current governor of Louisiana).
We are still here. We are still fighting. And I have no plans to move away - I will stay and fight until we get our rights back!
In more positive news, the New York Times has featured this story about women who have decided to speak out about the lack of abortion availability after pregnancy loss. One aspect reflected is the choices are complex and that exceptions, as Jessica always says, do not exist. And also, that medical providers do not want to use the term "abortion".
"The women might seem to be making the case for medical exceptions — dozens have joined lawsuits filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights in four states, seeking to clarify what conditions qualify as exceptions under abortion bans. Instead, 'Exceptions don’t work, is what we’re proving,' said Ashley Brandt, a plaintiff in Texas."
"Ms. Brandt traveled to Colorado to abort a twin that had acrania — it had no skull — and posed a threat to her other fetus. 'It wasn’t just me at risk, it was my viable daughter,' she said. 'We still were not an exception.''
Louisiana Republicans equate pregnancy care to heroin in a state that has among the highest rates of rape in the in the country. With no abortion exception for rape nor incest. Check this map for the number of rape induced pregnancies in your state and the Republican (Senators, Governors, State Attorney Generals, State House reps and State Senators) behind the abortion bans.
You got me at mouse nest in air conditioner. I couldn't read any further. Thanks for all of your hard work. I hope the mice got rehomed and your air conditioner is now working!
We know misogyny and racism are linked in the attack on reproductive rights, but as I was reading this report from KFF Health, I was overwhelmed by a sickening thought. The most restrictive measures are in the South, which has a majority non-White demographic and has a high rate of poverty as well. Perhaps it's not just a policy by-product that Black maternal deaths are so high. Perhaps it's also a goal of the denial of abortion care.
"In much of the developed world, dying while pregnant or delivering a child is practically unknown. In Australia, for example, there were just 3 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in 2021."
"But that’s not the case in the American South. And especially not for Black women."
"In South Carolina, Black women were more than four times as likely to die of a pregnancy-related cause in 2020 than White women. And discrimination was a factor in more than a third of the state’s 18 pregnancy-related deaths of women of all races, according to a recently published legislative report by the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control."
"Discrimination was the most common circumstance associated with South Carolina maternal deaths from 2018 to 2020, the report found, topping obesity, substance use disorders and mental health conditions."
I think these "pro-life" groups fantasize a bogeyman that they are supposedly protecting women from as a form of denial. Makes them feel good about themselves even though deep down they know what they're doing is wrong.
Thank you, Jessica, for your unswerving commitment and hard work, carrying on the momentum of my generation!
Below is part of the ever growing template of how such laws will soon pop up in one state after another. The undermining of any semblance of "democracy" has been going on/planned for some decades by the voracious, very totalitarian, corporate oligarchy we have become who cultivate emotion-laden triggers to divide and conquer and thus dis-empower the most ignorant in this population. In this case the target is the very largest block of the population: WOMEN. Which dovetails with the epidemic of hatred and misogyny is this culture. (And we thought Space was the final frontier!) Personally, I believe they don't stand a chance. Consciousness has grown to the point where it cannot be turned back and we've tasted too much freedom. These life-hating dinosaurs are a dying breed.
Thanks so much for your work. I just signed up as a paying subscriber. BTW I am glad that you put the dishonest term "pro-life" in quotes. Too often I see even liberal journalists NOT put it in quotes - which means they have accepted the pro-forced-birthers hijacking of the language. The only time it should not be in quotes is when it is part of an organization's actual name
Uhhh, can't abusers just... use something else? There's lots of stuff out there that can poison you and cause a miscarriage. Also the Texas case with the guy poisoning his wife already proved they don't actually give a shit about that. He only got 6 months.
Serious question; didn’t the Texas man put Mefipristone in his wife’s drink/food with the intent to induce an abortion? If I’m remembering correctly, is it really in our best interest to refer to it as “poison?”
That seems to me to be playing right into the narrative that those forced-birthers are using to justify reclassifying it as a dangerous substance. It’s not a poison, it’s a very safe medication.
She didn't choose to induce an abortion or take it knowingly/voluntarily AND he did it waaaaay too late in the pregnancy, far past the point where it's determined to be safe. Thus, he poisoned her and her fetus.
Reminder that all drugs and medications can be poisonous if they aren't taken correctly and intentionally.
What I'm trying to point out is that poisoning someone is already illegal (ex: if I ground up some nuts and sprinkled the powder into the drink of a person who I knew was highly allergic) and determining Drug Schedules for controlled substances have next to nothing to do with that anyway.
Thanks for your reply. Yes I know any medication or even vitamins, herbs can be toxic, even fatal if taken incorrectly or too much. I’m a retired ICU nurse.
Yes, legally, as in a charging document, the wording would likely be that he “poisoned” her. I just think any time I would tell that story, I personally would not say “he poisoned her,” for the negative connotation that I mentioned previously.
I respect that, I just still would say that he poisoned her, because the way I see it, he did. In this case, I'm less concerned about the negative connotation and more concerned with authenticity. If you say "he gave her medication without her knowledge with the intent to induce an abortion", I worry that sounds callous and overly-clinical. The women this happens to wouldn't describe it that way. We can all agree that giving drugs to people without them knowing is bad, it's just that making abortion drugs 'controlled substances' doesn't address that problem at all. It just causes massive harm to lots of women, and piles an even more enormous amount of work, liability, and expense on the state's remaining doctors and their patients.
Aid Access isn't the only Shield Law provider offering medication abortion care to abortion seekers in Louisiana. Here are links to two other Shield Law practices that are offering high quality, subsidized/free, clinician-supported abortion care to patients in Louisiana:
KFF Health News' "What the Health?" podcast has an interview with Atul Grover (Association of American Medical Colleges) discussing medical school graduates' avoidance of ban states--for all specialties, not just OB-GYN. Applications to medical residency programs in non-ban states fell 0.6%; applicaitons fell 4.2% in ban states. See https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/watch-medical-residency-abortion-bans-aamc-atul-grover-analysis (May 21, 2024).
The podcast's episode 348, "Anti-Abortion Hard-Liners Speak Up" (May 23, 2024) is a panel including KFF Health News' Julie Rovner, Politico's Alice Miranda Ollstein, the Washington Post's Rachel Roubein, and Joanne Kenen (Johns Hopkins School of Public Health): https://kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast/what-the-health-348-anti-abortion-initiaties-may-23-2024). The website summary for the article says that abortion opponents are finding out it's easier to agree on what theyoppose than what they favor--"political leaders are contending with vocal groups tht want to push further--such as by banning access to IVF or contraception." Some Republicans "seem to be trying to dodge voter dissatisfaction with abortion restrictions in this electin year"--e.g., Maryland Governor Larry Hogan finally saying he's pro-choice. The episode also includes an interview with Shefali Luthra about her new book, "Undue Burden," about the post-Roe landscape.
Y’all, I assume every woman who has been paying attention and has the funds has miso & mife in her possession RIGHT NOW. Women should keep an advance dose on hand alongside our Advil and bandaids.
I’m in Louisiana, and am the founder of ProChoice With Heart - Gulf Coast (a grassroots organization). I have been at the Capitol with Lift Louisiana and 10,000 Women of Louisiana every Wednesday (and some other days) throughout this legislative nightmare.
With all of these bills we have shown up and spoken out, and we have GREATLY outnumbered anti-choicers. However, our Representatives and Senators do NOT care; they don’t listen, and no matter how many testify - they vote the way Ben Clapper tells them.
Who is Ben Clapper? He’s the executive director of Louisiana’s Right to Life…
I’ve never seen his name on a ballot, but apparently he carries just as much power and authority as Jeff Landry (the worst and current governor of Louisiana).
We are still here. We are still fighting. And I have no plans to move away - I will stay and fight until we get our rights back!
Also important to note, Louisiana has also put a law in place to ensure that there is no longer parole or early release.
So should those of us that help people seeking an abortion be arrested and sentenced to five years, we will serve five years.
In more positive news, the New York Times has featured this story about women who have decided to speak out about the lack of abortion availability after pregnancy loss. One aspect reflected is the choices are complex and that exceptions, as Jessica always says, do not exist. And also, that medical providers do not want to use the term "abortion".
"The women might seem to be making the case for medical exceptions — dozens have joined lawsuits filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights in four states, seeking to clarify what conditions qualify as exceptions under abortion bans. Instead, 'Exceptions don’t work, is what we’re proving,' said Ashley Brandt, a plaintiff in Texas."
"Ms. Brandt traveled to Colorado to abort a twin that had acrania — it had no skull — and posed a threat to her other fetus. 'It wasn’t just me at risk, it was my viable daughter,' she said. 'We still were not an exception.''
No paywall: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/27/us/abortion-women-tfmr.html?unlocked_article_code=1.vE0.N6a5.Amm2zC-QPwQS&smid=url-share
Louisiana Republicans equate pregnancy care to heroin in a state that has among the highest rates of rape in the in the country. With no abortion exception for rape nor incest. Check this map for the number of rape induced pregnancies in your state and the Republican (Senators, Governors, State Attorney Generals, State House reps and State Senators) behind the abortion bans.
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/05/24/republican-war-on-women-equates-pregnancy-care-pills-to-heroin-in-louisiana/
I once washed & dried a mouse with some sheets.
I know whereof you speak!
You got me at mouse nest in air conditioner. I couldn't read any further. Thanks for all of your hard work. I hope the mice got rehomed and your air conditioner is now working!
We know misogyny and racism are linked in the attack on reproductive rights, but as I was reading this report from KFF Health, I was overwhelmed by a sickening thought. The most restrictive measures are in the South, which has a majority non-White demographic and has a high rate of poverty as well. Perhaps it's not just a policy by-product that Black maternal deaths are so high. Perhaps it's also a goal of the denial of abortion care.
"In much of the developed world, dying while pregnant or delivering a child is practically unknown. In Australia, for example, there were just 3 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in 2021."
"But that’s not the case in the American South. And especially not for Black women."
"In South Carolina, Black women were more than four times as likely to die of a pregnancy-related cause in 2020 than White women. And discrimination was a factor in more than a third of the state’s 18 pregnancy-related deaths of women of all races, according to a recently published legislative report by the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control."
"Discrimination was the most common circumstance associated with South Carolina maternal deaths from 2018 to 2020, the report found, topping obesity, substance use disorders and mental health conditions."
No paywall: https://wapo.st/3Kk6iHq
I think these "pro-life" groups fantasize a bogeyman that they are supposedly protecting women from as a form of denial. Makes them feel good about themselves even though deep down they know what they're doing is wrong.
What if someone in their family (husband or parent), or say a boyfriend, found the medication and was not happy about it?
If the male was not happy about it, I have no doubt he would turn her in.
Does that mean if a woman in LA found in possession of these medications they can be punished?
Thank you, Jessica, for your unswerving commitment and hard work, carrying on the momentum of my generation!
Below is part of the ever growing template of how such laws will soon pop up in one state after another. The undermining of any semblance of "democracy" has been going on/planned for some decades by the voracious, very totalitarian, corporate oligarchy we have become who cultivate emotion-laden triggers to divide and conquer and thus dis-empower the most ignorant in this population. In this case the target is the very largest block of the population: WOMEN. Which dovetails with the epidemic of hatred and misogyny is this culture. (And we thought Space was the final frontier!) Personally, I believe they don't stand a chance. Consciousness has grown to the point where it cannot be turned back and we've tasted too much freedom. These life-hating dinosaurs are a dying breed.
https://publicintegrity.org/politics/state-politics/copy-paste-legislate/you-elected-them-to-write-new-laws-theyre-letting-corporations-do-it-instead/
Thanks so much for your work. I just signed up as a paying subscriber. BTW I am glad that you put the dishonest term "pro-life" in quotes. Too often I see even liberal journalists NOT put it in quotes - which means they have accepted the pro-forced-birthers hijacking of the language. The only time it should not be in quotes is when it is part of an organization's actual name
I have trained myself to never use that terminology anymore; it’s anti abortion or forced-birthers for me.
Uhhh, can't abusers just... use something else? There's lots of stuff out there that can poison you and cause a miscarriage. Also the Texas case with the guy poisoning his wife already proved they don't actually give a shit about that. He only got 6 months.
Serious question; didn’t the Texas man put Mefipristone in his wife’s drink/food with the intent to induce an abortion? If I’m remembering correctly, is it really in our best interest to refer to it as “poison?”
That seems to me to be playing right into the narrative that those forced-birthers are using to justify reclassifying it as a dangerous substance. It’s not a poison, it’s a very safe medication.
What do you think?
She didn't choose to induce an abortion or take it knowingly/voluntarily AND he did it waaaaay too late in the pregnancy, far past the point where it's determined to be safe. Thus, he poisoned her and her fetus.
Reminder that all drugs and medications can be poisonous if they aren't taken correctly and intentionally.
What I'm trying to point out is that poisoning someone is already illegal (ex: if I ground up some nuts and sprinkled the powder into the drink of a person who I knew was highly allergic) and determining Drug Schedules for controlled substances have next to nothing to do with that anyway.
Thanks for your reply. Yes I know any medication or even vitamins, herbs can be toxic, even fatal if taken incorrectly or too much. I’m a retired ICU nurse.
Yes, legally, as in a charging document, the wording would likely be that he “poisoned” her. I just think any time I would tell that story, I personally would not say “he poisoned her,” for the negative connotation that I mentioned previously.
I respect that, I just still would say that he poisoned her, because the way I see it, he did. In this case, I'm less concerned about the negative connotation and more concerned with authenticity. If you say "he gave her medication without her knowledge with the intent to induce an abortion", I worry that sounds callous and overly-clinical. The women this happens to wouldn't describe it that way. We can all agree that giving drugs to people without them knowing is bad, it's just that making abortion drugs 'controlled substances' doesn't address that problem at all. It just causes massive harm to lots of women, and piles an even more enormous amount of work, liability, and expense on the state's remaining doctors and their patients.
Aid Access isn't the only Shield Law provider offering medication abortion care to abortion seekers in Louisiana. Here are links to two other Shield Law practices that are offering high quality, subsidized/free, clinician-supported abortion care to patients in Louisiana:
- The Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project (The MAP): https://www.cambridgereproductivehealthconsultants.org/map
- Armadillo Clinic: https://www.armadilloclinic.org/
Drug cartels and sex trafficking--hotbeds of criminal activity!
Women's reproductive health--NOT a hotbed of criminal activity! Geesh!
Exactly. I like your succinct summary 🥰👍
KFF Health News' "What the Health?" podcast has an interview with Atul Grover (Association of American Medical Colleges) discussing medical school graduates' avoidance of ban states--for all specialties, not just OB-GYN. Applications to medical residency programs in non-ban states fell 0.6%; applicaitons fell 4.2% in ban states. See https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/watch-medical-residency-abortion-bans-aamc-atul-grover-analysis (May 21, 2024).
The podcast's episode 348, "Anti-Abortion Hard-Liners Speak Up" (May 23, 2024) is a panel including KFF Health News' Julie Rovner, Politico's Alice Miranda Ollstein, the Washington Post's Rachel Roubein, and Joanne Kenen (Johns Hopkins School of Public Health): https://kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast/what-the-health-348-anti-abortion-initiaties-may-23-2024). The website summary for the article says that abortion opponents are finding out it's easier to agree on what theyoppose than what they favor--"political leaders are contending with vocal groups tht want to push further--such as by banning access to IVF or contraception." Some Republicans "seem to be trying to dodge voter dissatisfaction with abortion restrictions in this electin year"--e.g., Maryland Governor Larry Hogan finally saying he's pro-choice. The episode also includes an interview with Shefali Luthra about her new book, "Undue Burden," about the post-Roe landscape.