Republicans Are Forcing Public Schools to Show Anti-Abortion Videos
3.5.25
Click to skip ahead: In the Courts, an update on the Alabama case determining whether the state can prosecute those who help women get out-of-state abortions. In the States, news from South Carolina, Missouri, Michigan and Washington. In Anti-Abortion Strategy, conservative talking points that claim clinic harassers are really just praying grandmas. In the Nation, the Trump administration officially tells Idaho they can deny life-saving abortions. AED Chats shares a video livestream of my chat with feminist author Liz Plank. Legislation Watch flags the latest in ‘Baby Olivia’ bills.
In the Courts
All eyes should be on Alabama today, where a critical hearing took place over whether the state can prosecute people who help others get abortions—whether that’s a friend, family member, or an abortion fund.
A quick refresher: After Roe was overturned, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall warned in a radio interview that those who ‘aid and abet’ abortions would face “conspiracy” and “accessory” charges. With the help of the ACLU, the Yellowhammer Fund and West Alabama Women’s Center (WAWC) sued Marshall’s office for violating their First Amendment rights. They pointed out that the AG’s threats meant that they couldn’t even provide a patient with information about a pro-choice website without fearing prosecution!
The suit asks the court to make clear that Alabama can’t prosecute people for helping someone obtain an out-of-state abortion or abortion medication. But Marshall has continually doubled and tripled down, arguing that assisting with an abortion is a “criminal conspiracy” unprotected by free speech. Under his interpretation of the law, even telling someone about a clinic where they could get care would be a crime. And then there was this jaw-dropping comparison:
“One cannot seriously doubt that the State can prevent a mobster from asking a hitman to kill a rival because the agreement occurred through spoken word. So too here for conspiracies to obtain an elective abortion.”
The goal is clear: to isolate abortion patients and terrify anyone who might help them.
That’s not all: The case has also surfaced some pretty terrifying legal arguments about women’s right to leave the state. In his legal briefs, Marshall wrote that Alabama could restrict women’s travel in the same way they do sex offenders. Yes, really—he argued that in the same way the state has an interest in protecting people from sexual violence, it has “strong, legitimate interests including preserving unborn life.”
The hearing today was in a federal court in Montgomery, where both sides were seeking summary judgement. Robin Marty, Executive Director of WAWC, said they feel “very optimistic”:
“We look forward to a ruling that will finally allow us to resume providing our patients and other pregnant people with comprehensive information about all the legal medical options available to them, so they can make and effectuate their fully informed medical decisions and prioritize their own health and well-being.”
If you want to support the groups fighting back, donate to the West Alabama Women’s Center and the Yellowhammer Fund.
For more on Alabama, the right to travel, and Steve Marshall’s long history of targeting abortion patients, read more Abortion, Every Day coverage below:
In the States
Earlier this week, I warned that Republicans are increasingly introducing extreme anti-abortion bills despite America’s overwhelming pro-choice majority. From bills that would charge abortion patients with murder to the elimination of rape and incest exceptions, their cruelty is accelerating at warp speed. Just yesterday, I highlighted the growing push to force women with life-threatening pregnancies into c-sections instead of allowing them an abortion.
If you want a perfect but terrifying example of all those tactics, look no further than South Carolina, which is giving other anti-abortion states a run for their money. In addition to legislation that would punish abortion patients with the death penalty, Republicans there have also introduced a total abortion ban.
Their legislation would strip away exceptions for victims of sexual violence and patients carrying nonviable pregnancies, eliminate minors’ right to a judicial bypass for abortion, and force doctors to perform so-called ‘separations’ on women facing medical emergencies. In plain terms: forced c-sections or induced labor.
As you can imagine, South Carolina voters are pissed: Protesters gathered outside of the State House yesterday as lawmakers debated the bill. And while Republican House Majority Leader Davey Hiott urged his colleagues to “wait” on pushing through further restrictions, the advice had nothing to do with women’s safety: The South Carolina Supreme Court is set to rule on a challenge to the states 6-week ban, and Hiott is clearly waiting on their guidance before making his next move.
Speaking of Republicans overriding the will of voters, let’s talk about what’s happening in Missouri. Today we learned that Attorney General Andrew Bailey plans to file a cease and desist letter against Planned Parenthood, ordering them to stop prescribing abortion medication. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers are advancing a new constitutional amendment that would ban abortion altogether—an attempt to overturn Amendment 3 and undermine Missouri voters, who passed the ballot measure this past November.
If passed, Republicans’ amendment would only allow abortions under extremely narrow circumstances: Rape and incest victims, for example, could only end their pregnancies up until 12 weeks, and only if they reported their attack to police. Another Missouri lawmaker is taking it even further, proposing an amendment that would define personhood as beginning at conception.
And if that wasn’t enough, ProPublica uncovered a jaw-dropping Missouri bill that would let residents donate to anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers instead of paying their taxes:
“The proposal would establish a 100% tax credit, up from 70%, and a $50,000 annual cap per taxpayer. The result: Nearly all Missouri households—except those with the highest incomes—could fully satisfy their state tax bill by redirecting their payment from the state to pregnancy centers.”
See, this is the shit that makes me want to break something. Republican states are already funneling millions of dollars into these sham clinics—places that lie to women about their health, collect their private data while lying about being beholden to HIPAA, and claim to offer "help" while making struggling moms earn diapers by sitting through Bible study classes. They are the worst of the worst, and the last thing they need is more money.
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In better news…
In Washington, a group of over two dozen legislators have sponsored a resolution to amend the state constitution to protect abortion rights and gender affirming care. Senate Joint Resolution 8204 would prohibit government interference in “an individual's reproductive freedom decisions,” including abortion, contraception, assisted reproductive technology, and the right to be free from discrimination based on pregnancy outcome.
Washington law only allows abortion until ‘viability’ unless the pregnant person’s life or health is at risk, but this proposed amendment doesn’t have any such restrictive language. So I’m interested to see where this goes.
Finally, Michigan Democrats have very smartly proposed legislation to crack down on anti-abortion extremists who harass patients and block clinic entrances. House Bills 4133 and 4134 would make it a crime to interfere with someone’s access to a reproductive health care—whether through threats, intimidation, or physically obstructing them.
This move comes in the wake of Donald Trump pardoning nearly two dozen anti-abortion extremists convicted under the FACE Act—the federal law meant to protect abortion clinics. You might remember that his administration also gutted FACE Act enforcement, announcing that the DOJ wouldn’t bother prosecuting violations unless someone was killed. Republicans are even trying to repeal the law entirely.
Given that the new administration is emboldening violent clinic attackers, it’s more important than ever for states to reinforce clinic protections and hold extremists accountable. As Michigan Rep. Laurie Pohutsky put it, “If you end up feeling too intimidated or physically cannot get into the building because someone is blocking you from doing so, that can be disastrous for the care you’re looking to seek.”
More on how Republicans are giving violent extremists the green light to attack patients and providers:
Anti-Abortion Strategy
Let’s stay with extremists attacking clinics for a moment. We all know the longstanding conservative myth: that the people screaming at patients and staff aren’t violent harassers but just sweet, praying grandmas.
It’s an exhausting lie—one meant to make Americans believe that anti-abortion maniacs are the real victims, persecuted by cruel atheist Democrats eager to punish old ladies clutching their rosaries. Anyone who has ever volunteered as a clinic escort or defender, of course, knows how absurd that idea is.
As ridiculous as their rhetoric is, I’ve noticed a sharp uptick in this talking point over the last few weeks. Conservative activists, lawmakers, and media are suddenly obsessed with the idea that anti-abortion extremists outside clinics are being unjustly arrested—and that their free speech is under attack.
My guess? They’re ramping up the messaging now to get ahead of the surge in clinic harassment and violence they know is coming. After all, POLITICO just reported that the anti-abortion extremists pardoned by Trump are already planning their next moves—complete with fetal “rescues.” (You don’t want to know.)
In other words, they’re preemptively defending the people they know will be terrorizing patients. We’d do well to start shutting down that lie—loudly and everywhere we see it.
In the Nation
I told you yesterday that court papers suggested Trump’s Department of Justice would drop its emergency abortion case against Idaho. Today, they made it official. That means Idaho—one of the most extreme anti-abortion states in the country—no longer has to worry about the federal government holding them accountable for violating EMTALA, the law that requires hospitals to provide emergency medical care.
There’s no overstating how dangerous this is for pregnant people in anti-abortion states. Farah Diaz-Tello, legal director of If/When/How, told The Cut, “Prior to this, people have been essentially turned away to hemorrhage and experience pregnancy losses in bathrooms and parking lots because their case isn’t deemed enough of an emergency.” Now, she says, we can expect to see even more of that.
In a statement, Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea said, “Idaho’s Republican leaders knowingly allowed women to suffer, and by abandoning this case, the Trump administration is proving it will do nothing to stop it.”
“Make no mistake,” she said. “This is part of the Republican Party’s extreme agenda to ban abortion nationwide, no matter the consequences for women’s health and lives.”
There is some relatively-good news in the midst of this nightmare: A judge has issued St. Luke's Health System in Idaho a temporary restraining order to block the state from enforcing their ban in cases where a woman’s life is at risk. (A sentence I cannot believe I have to write.)
As I wrote yesterday, this is not just about Idaho—the Trump administration is sending a clear message that states are under no obligation to save women’s lives, or treat us as full human beings. And it’s not some random decision, but a deliberate, well-orchestrated strategy. As Reproductive Freedom for All points out, the move is straight out of the Project 2025 playbook.
AED Chats
I had the chance to chat with feminist author and fellow Substacker Liz Plank in a livestream today. Watch our conversation below, and join the next livestream by making sure you’re a paying supporter.
Legislation Watch
On today’s livestream, Liz and I talked about something that—unfortunately—couldn’t be more timely: Baby Olivia legislation. If you’ve been reading for a while, you already know this nightmare of a legal trend. If not, buckle up.
Across the country, Republicans are pushing laws that force public schools to show anti-abortion propaganda videos to students—disguising them as scientific ‘fetal development’ lessons.
I first flagged this legislative trend a little over a year ago. Since then, ‘Baby Olivia’ laws have been passed in states like Tennessee and North Dakota, and have been proposed in multiple others. Just this week, Florida Republicans introduced a bill to mandate the video in classrooms.
But Baby Olivia isn’t real. It’s a computer-generated animation, designed to look like real in-utero images—but made by Live Action, one of the most notorious anti-abortion disinformation groups in the country. (Yes, the same organization known for deceptively edited videos and outright lies.)
The goal of the videos goes beyond simple propaganda. It’s indoctrination targeted at young people, who conservatives know are the most pro-choice demographic in the country. They also know that the more someone knows about pregnancy, the more likely they are to be pro-choice—so they’re eager to fill kids’ heads with as much bullshit as possible.
And this isn’t just about one video—it’s part of a much bigger plan to change national educational guidelines on human development. In 2023, for example, I flagged this Newsweek op-ed from the leader of Contend Projects—an anti-abortion group disguising themselves as an educational institute.
CEO Brooke Stanton wrote one of the most chilling passages I’ve ever read—warning Republicans that if they want to win elections, they need to start indoctrinating children. And fast:
“Science education in schools is the most effective way to shape future generations. If pro-life leaders want to win the battle against abortion, they need to recognize and release the untapped potential of K-12 science education standards, by ensuring human embryology is in America's science classrooms. If they fail to do so, the abortion industry will continue its winning streak at the ballot box for many generations to come.”
In other words, these aren’t isolated bills—they’re part of a coordinated campaign to rewrite education and manipulate kids before they’re old enough to know better. Florida Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani said it best when asked about the ‘Baby Olivia’ bill proposed this week:
“I find it super ironic that the Legislature has banned books and restricted specific content that they don’t like and here they are promoting content that is political in nature developed by an anti-abortion group. They truly are pushing that content onto children. It is offensive. It is disgusting.”
Indeed.
There's a bit of bright news today from Cobalt, an organization which helped pass Colorado's amendment last November, which enshrined access to abortion without exceptions - and including funding - in the state constitution. Cobalt announced today that the amendment received a majority of the vote in every congressional district in the state - even Lauren Boebert's district! Note that in Colorado, a proposed amendment must receive 55% of the vote in order to pass, and this amendment received 62% statewide. In Boebert's district, the margin was 157 votes.
This proves Jessica's repeated point that most voters support abortion rights, regardless of political affiliation.
The cruelty to women is worsening. Incomprehensible. Disgusting. Makes me so angry, and I'm WAY past childbearing age, but my daughter and other women are not, and they deserve protection, birth control and CHOICE.