Conservative Group Doxxes Arkansas Pro-Choice Petitioners

6.10.24

Click to skip ahead: Attacks on Democracy in Arkansas. In the States, news out of Texas, Missouri, Massachusetts and more. In Ballot Measure Updates, some great news out of Florida. In the Nation, why we need to lose ‘restore Roe.’ Finally, in 2024 news, why aren’t we talking about Trump’s extremism?

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Attacks on Democracy

Since Roe was overturned, citizens have been fighting back with pro-choice ballot measures. And every step of the way, anti-abortion lawmakers and organizations have tried to stop voters from having a say: In Ohio, the Secretary of State colluded with anti-abortion groups to draft a biased ballot summary. In Missouri, conservative activists sent voters texts claiming that pro-choice petitioners were trying to steal their personal data. And in South Dakota, voters who signed a pro-choice petition got calls from anti-abortion activists pretending to work for the secretary of state’s office, pressuring them to remove their signatures.

This latest news out of Arkansas, though, might be the worst: An anti-abortion group has doxxed the people gathering signatures for a pro-choice ballot measure, publishing their full names and city of residence. The Family Council published the petitioners’ information on a webpage that also repeats lies about the Arkansas amendment, claiming that it would allow abortion “through all nine months of pregnancy” and that it “does not contain any medical licensing or health and safety standards for abortion.”

This goes beyond an intimidation and harassment tactic. This anti-abortion group is doxxing everyday citizens, putting their safety and lives in danger. From Arkansans for Limited Government, the group behind the abortion rights amendment:

“The canvassers working tirelessly to collect petitions in support of the Arkansas Abortion Amendment are proud of the work they are doing to promote reproductive liberty in the state and to engage in direct democracy—they aren’t hiding. But when the Family Council releases lists of their names and whereabouts to their network of anti-choice protestors who vehemently, and sometimes violently, disagree with our work, it puts our team at great risk for harassment, stalking, and other dangers.”

The Arkansas Advocate reports that this isn’t the first time that pro-choice petitioners in the state have been harassed. Just a few weeks ago, a young woman collecting signatures filmed a police officer telling her that Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders didn’t want people canvassing in their location. (?!) The officers also threatened the petitioners with “obstructing traffic.”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If conservatives are so sure America is a ‘pro-life’ nation, then why are they so desperate to ensure that voters don’t have a choice?

In the States

The Tampa Bay Times reports that abortions increased significantly in Florida right before the 6-week ban went into effect, with patients rushing to get care before the deadline. Now that the law is in effect, providers report turning away the majority of their patients—many of whom don’t know that they’re pregnant before the 6-week cutoff.

And while abortion medication is helping to offset some of damage done by the ban (patients can get the pills shipped from pro-choice states), abortion providers and funds are still struggling to acclimate to their new reality. Even doctors and activists in other states are feeling the impact: Florida served as an abortion access hub for the entire region; now that it’s gone, other states are trying to help pick up the slack.

Amanda Zurawski, who nearly died of sepsis after being denied an abortion in Texas, spoke at the state Democratic convention this weekend. She told delegates about her experience, and warned about Republicans’ extremism:

“The court erased us from the opinion and refused to even acknowledge the harm and suffering that was done to us. But we will not be erased. Meanwhile, the Texas GOP has endorsed a platform that gives full personhood to embryos and deems an abortion homicide. This means that under Texas law, my embryos have more rights than I do.”

That’s exactly right. Not only that—if the Texas GOP platform were law, Zurawski herself could have been prosecuted for murder had she sought out life-saving care before going septic. (If you need a refresher on how explicit the state GOP is being, read Abortion, Every Day’s coverage of their platform here.)

“What is unnatural is the Legislature’s fiction that there are only two kinds of pregnancy: healthy or deadly. Human reproduction is a series of nuanced, deeply personal turning points. Deciding how to address these turning points is a right, and sometimes a heartbreak, belonging solely to patients and the doctors entrusted with their care.” - Editorial board, Austin American Statesman

Massachusetts is launching a public awareness campaign targeting anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers, which regularly mislead women about their health and rights. The state Department of Public Health is working with Reproductive Equity Now on the campaign, which will reach out to folks via social media, billboards, radio and more. (Vitally, the ads will be done in English and Spanish.)

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said, “Education and accurate information can help counter the misinformation and unethical tactics these centers use to prey on people at a particularly vulnerable time.” For more on the way that crisis pregnancy centers lie to women, check out Abortion, Every Day’s exclusive on Heartbeat International.

If you’re looking for something to listen to, Missouri public radio station KCUR looks at the state’s OBGYN exodus since Roe was overturned. The segment starts at about minute 3:30:

Finally, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer blasted Republicans during a CNN appearance, pointing out that their claims to support contraception weren’t backed up by their actions. “We all know the truth here,” she said.

Quick Hits:

• In North Dakota, a former Miss America is running for office as a pro-choice, anti-Trump Republican.

• Pro-choice judge Susan Crawford has entered the race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court;

• An Iowa mom writes about her experience narrowly surviving pregnancy;

• And even California Republican candidates are trying to thread the needle on reproductive rights.

Ballot Measure Updates

It’s nice to have some good news: A new Fox News poll shows that 69% of Florida voters say they support Amendment 4, the ballot measure seeking to restore abortion rights in the state. That’s a huge and important number; remember, Amendment 4 needs to win 60% of the vote to pass. This poll indicates that despite all of the anti-abortion attacks and lies, the measure is heading into November strong.

Lauren Brenzel of Floridians Protecting Freedom says that the poll results aren’t surprising:

“The only people who believe that abortion access is a purely partisan issue are politicians who shouldn't be involved with the process of trying to dictate what's best for medical care. There are only two choices this November. You can vote yes on amendment four and end Florida's extreme abortion ban. Or we can keep this incredibly restrictive and harmful law in place and allow politicians to continue to interfere with our private medical decisions.”

In Arizona, over 500 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals have signed onto a letter in support of a pro-choice ballot measure. Arizona for Abortion Access held a press conference with some of those medical providers today. Group chair OBGYN Dr. Candace Lew said the measure “puts health care decisions where they belong, with patients, their families, and their health care providers.”

Abortion is currently legal until 15 weeks in Arizona now that a total abortion ban from 1864 has been repealed. Remember, Republicans wanted that law to stand; but national GOP leaders pressured enough conservative lawmakers to join Democrats in repealing the ban. They didn’t want the law—which resulted in a national backlash—to follow them to the voting booths in November.

The Arizona Abortion Access Act would protect abortion until ‘viability,’ but that didn’t stop a male reporter at the press conference today from repeatedly asking ‘gotcha’ questions about abortion later in pregnancy. It was frustrating to watch, but the doctor who responded handled it perfectly, saying, “We’re not going to entertain every fantastical lie that the opposition comes up with.”

A few quick hits on ballot measures: More on the polling showing wide support for a pro-choice measure in South Dakota. Kansas City public radio station KCUR looks at what happens if Missouri’s abortion rights ballot measure wins this November. And the campaign director for the pro-choice ballot measure in New York writes in an op-ed that “our rights are more fragile than many believe, and we have to act to protect them.”

The GOP’s War on Contraception

Last week, Republicans shot down a bill that would offer federal protections to birth control. The lawmakers claimed that it was unnecessary because contraception wasn’t in jeopardy. If you’re a regular reader, you know that’s simply not true: Republicans are laying the groundwork to define certain kinds of contraception as ‘abortifacients,’ a way to ban birth control without having to say that they’re banning birth control. (Among other attacks.)

Conservative lawmakers, leaders and pundits know that the vote made them look very, very bad. So they’ve been doing damage control every since. Rich Lowry at the National Review, for example, calls it “The War on Contraception That Wasn’t.” Lowry repeats a GOP talking point, writing, “Contraception is already legal in every state and no one is trying to ban it.”

That sounds a lot like the letter Republican Senators signed last week, which promised, “there is no threat to access to contraception, which is legal in every state.” We saw the same kind of sketchy messaging from U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, who said the legislation was unnecessary because birth control is legal and “no Supreme Court decision threatens a woman’s right to contraception.”

Now, pointing out that birth control is ‘legal’ is not exactly the reassurance Republicans think it is. For one, we know that something being legal is not the same thing as something being accessible. From Mother Jones:

“Access to contraception is not equally available to everyone who needs or wants it, due to barriers including misinformation and lack of sex education, restrictive legal rulings and policies, the cost, and lack of health insurance.”

Then, of course, there’s the fact that these politicians are doing the rhetorical equivalent of crossing their fingers behind their back: they don’t believe that IUDs and emergency contraception are birth control. So they can say that they won’t go after birth control, knowing that they’re not really talking about certain types of contraception.

That’s why it’s so important that Democrats and journalists are asking anti-abortion lawmakers and activists exactly what Sen. Patty Murray did at the Senate committee hearing on abortion rights: Do you believe emergency contraception and IUDs are ‘abortifacients’? Make them say it out loud.

In the Nation

Over at New York Magazine, Ed Kilgore writes about the criticisms of the ‘restore Roe’ push adopted by mainstream groups and Joe Biden’s re-election campaign. You all know by now where I stand on this: we have the opportunity to fight for something bigger and better, and I feel strongly that we should.

Kilgore admits that the critiques from abortion advocates are fair: a ‘restored’ Roe accepts the premise that there’s a point in pregnancy where the government should be involved, and we know its protections won’t extend to the most marginalized among us. But he makes the same argument that mainstream politicians do, that “restoring Roe in some form is probably going to be the best and only way to protect abortion rights in America across geographical and even party lines.”

Kilgore also writes that Roe’s standards are bringing home state wins via pro-choice ballot measures. (Nearly all the proposed state amendments have language about ‘viability’ or restrictions similar to those in Roe.)

I get it, I really do. With so much on the line and so much suffering being caused by bans, it makes sense that people are scared of pushing for something bigger—and that they’re eager to get some protections in place immediately instead of fighting a bigger, longer game. But there has never been a better time for us to make that leap.

Americans support abortion, overwhelmingly so. And they don’t want the government involved in decisions about pregnancy at all. (Two major polls have shown that over 80% of voters don’t want abortion regulated by the law, but to be a decision between a patient and their doctor.)

Besides, I want protections that will last. I don’t want my daughter to have to do this all over again in another twenty or thirty years.

For more on the danger of ‘restore Roe’ and leaving certain patients behind, read this guest post from Erika Christensen of Patient Forward:

Guest Column: The Danger of Abortion 'Compromise'

Finally, we’re still waiting on Supreme Court decisions in two major abortion rights cases: one that will determine whether access to mifepristone is restricted, and another that could allow states to deny women life-saving abortions in hospital emergency rooms. Abortion, Every Day will publish explainers on both cases soon—pieces that will be updated as rulings come in—so be on the lookout.

2024

Donald Trump made remarks today to a radical anti-abortion group, sparking a wave of media coverage and a swift response from Joe Biden’s campaign. The Danbury Institute, a conservative Christian organization, calls abortion “the greatest atrocity facing our generation” and “child sacrifice,” asserting “we will not rest until it is eradicated entirely.” Panel sessions at the group’s conference reflected that extremism: the Associated Press reports that one of the panels called for banning IVF, claiming that the fertility treatment is a “commodification of the embryo.”

A spokesperson for President Joe Biden’s campaign said, “Four more years of Donald Trump means empowering organizations like the Danbury Institute who want to ban abortion nationally and punish women who have abortions.”

Now, there’s no doubt that Trump speaking to an extremist organization like this is just another indication of how embedded he is with the anti-abortion movement. We know that if Trump is elected, he’s going to give these maniacs whatever they want. But what I don’t understand is why this is the thing that people are pointing to as evidence of Trump’s extremism rather than Trump’s own comments.

After all, it was just a few days ago that the disgraced former president claimed that Democrats are “passing legislation where you can execute the baby after birth.” It’s odd—and a missed opportunity—that the Biden campaign hasn’t gone after Trump on these kinds of lies. My best guess is that they don’t want to go anywhere near the issue of abortion later in pregnancy. (Obviously, talk of ‘executions’ has nothing to do with abortion in reality, but that’s the connection Republicans are trying to make.)

Ignoring comments like this is a mistake. After all, Trump is successfully confusing voters about his abortion position: Recent polling even showed that most Americans don’t think Trump is a danger to abortion rights! The best way to clear up that misinformation is to use Trump’s own words.

It’s not enough to point to Trump’s supporters or political allies who peddle in anti-abortion extremism. Point to him.

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