Republicans Want to Arrest You for Donating to Abortion Funds

1.14.25

Click to skip ahead: California Won’t Extradite Abortion Provider; Senate Republicans Attack Abortion Pills; South Carolina Bills Would Criminalize Abortion Funds, Punish Patients

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California Won’t Extradite Abortion Provider

Yesterday, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced that she’s seeking the extradition of a California provider who shipped abortion pills into the state. She’s targeting Dr. Rémy Coeytaux with criminal abortion charges, punishable by decades in prison.

Today, California Gov. Gavin Newsom made clear that the state is standing by Coeytaux, telling Abortion, Every Day, “California protects patients and their doctors…We will not be complicit in efforts to strip away their privacy, autonomy, or dignity.” He reiterated the same in a formal statement later, saying, “Louisiana’s request is denied.”

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry took aim at Newsom, writing on X, “I know Gavin Newsom supports abortion in all its forms, but that doesn’t work in Louisiana.” Landry also announced that he was signing Murrill’s extradition paperwork “to bring this California doctor to justice.”

Louisiana is also seeking the extradition of a New York abortion provider, Dr. Maggie Carpenter. Like Newsom, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said “there’s no way in hell” she would extradite the doctor. Both states have shield laws that protect abortion providers from out-of-state prosecution and extradition—protections that we expect will make their way to the Supreme Court soon enough.

Murrill’s timing of the extradition announcement wasn’t an accident: it perfectly teed up the Republican AG’s testimony at today’s Senate hearing on the safety of abortion pills. Speaking of…

Senate Republicans Attack Abortion Pills

The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) committee held a hearing today on abortion pills, tellingly named, “Protecting Women: Exposing the Dangers of Chemical Abortion Drugs.”

The goal? To restrict abortion medication, and telehealth access in particular. Republicans know that nearly 30% of American abortions are provided via telemedicine, and that the pills have allowed women to sidestep state bans.

In other words, they’re just pissed off the abortion rate hasn’t decreased since the end of Roe—this has nothing to do with women’s health or safety.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana—the state that’s trying to extradite two abortion providers from California and New York—presided over the hearing. GOP witnesses included Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and anti-abortion doctor Monique Chireau Wubbenhorst—a member of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), an extremist organization that says life-saving abortions are never necessary.

Democrats brought an actual medical expert: Dr. Nisha Verma, a fellow at Physicians for Reproductive Health.

As predicted, Republicans relied on familiar talking points—from junk science about mifepristone’s safety, to lies about coerced abortion. Before we get into the nitty-gritty, a few words from Sen. Patty Murray—who, like us, has clearly had it with conservatives’ performative interest in ‘protecting’ women:

“If they really cared about ‘protecting women’: they would care about the fact that this administration refused to release the Epstein files… or they wouldn’t cut grants for crime victims’ services for survivors. They’d actually care about the fact this administration has elevated people who shield alleged sex traffickers like Andrew Tate. And they certainly wouldn’t be trying to force rape victims to stay pregnant no matter what.”

And let’s add, they wouldn’t be trying to make anyone stay pregnant against their will. Some might even call that—ahem—coercion!

COERCION: Unsurprisingly, this was Republicans’ go-to talking point at today’s hearing. Murrill, in particular, re-told all of her favorite ‘coercion’ hits—including a story about a Louisiana mother who allegedly forced her daughter into taking abortion pills. Murrill said the teen even planned to have a gender reveal party. There’s no evidence of that, nor was the mother charged with coercion.

Meanwhile, Wubbenhorst not only claimed that telehealth abortion has increased the risk of “sex trafficking, child sex abuse, and domestic violence,” she flat-out called for enforcement of the Comstock Act. (The zombie law would ban the shipping of ‘obscene’ materials, including abortion pills.)

Murrill, too, repeated her baseless claim that restoring in-person requirements for abortion pills would prevent coercion.

Thankfully, Dr. Verma was there to remind everyone that all available data shows abortion access (often by telemedicine) is crucial for victims, who would otherwise be entrapped in abusive relationships by abortion bans.

A few reminders from us: It’s far more likely that victims of abuse will be coerced into a pregnancy; abusers will often sabotage their victims’ birth control, for example, in an attempt to get them pregnant and have them forever tied to the relationship. Yet Republicans have made no effort to ensure that contraception is easily accessible to women who might be in abusive relationships.

Also, laws already exist to criminalize drugging someone without their consent. Where are Republicans on cracking down on date rape drugs, or abusers weaponizing sleeping pills? A wide range of drugs are available via telehealth, but Republicans aren’t holding hearings on any of them. Just abortion.

ABORTION-IN-THE-WATER: Our favorite conspiracy theory made an appearance today! This whole exchange was too good not to include in its entirety. Thank you, Sen. Murray:

ANTI-TRANS ATTACKS: Republicans are well-aware that their attacks on abortion rights are ridiculously unpopular, so (per usual) they’re trying to change the conversation. In today’s case it was utterly nauseating, smugly transphobic questioning from Sens. Ashley Moody and Josh Hawley on whether men can have abortions. (Props to Dr. Verma for managing to not vomit in her mouth.)

In fact, conservative media coverage of today’s hearing was almost entirely about that line of questioning—with nearly a dozen right-wing outlets running mocking, anti-trans headlines.

We’ve seen this pivot before: whenever abortion has been on the ballot, anti-choice organizations and legislators have tried to make the debate over trans rights—hoping that anti-LGBTQ bigotry will be stronger than Americans’ opposition to abortion restrictions. It’s also worth remembering that Hawley’s wife, Erin Hawley, is an attorney with the anti-abortion organization Alliance Defending Freedom; so it’s no surprise that Hawley knows this particular trick.

KEEP AN EYE ON: Murrill spent a good amount of time making the argument that Louisiana’s abortion ban is something voters want—calling the issue “bipartisan” and claiming that doctors who ship abortion pills into the state are violating the will of the people. This has become a common message among conservatives, who know they’re passing bans against voters’ wishes but want to make it seem otherwise.

We also noticed that right from the jump, Sen. Cassidy made a comment about abortion never being necessary for miscarriage treatment or ectopic pregnancies. That’s part of a broader tactic to divorce abortion from healthcare, and ultimately to do away with exceptions for women’s lives. (Really.)

Conservatives Want to End 'Exceptions' for Women’s Lives

A few last observations:

• GOP senators—certainly Cassidy—are not happy with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary for delaying a ‘study’ into mifepristone safety;

• Jesus Christ, Josh Hawley is the absolute fucking worst;

• and Dr. Verma—who somehow stomached endlessly misogynistic interruptions and condescension with grace—is a much, much better person than we are.

South Carolina Bills Would Criminalize Abortion Funds, Punish Patients

Whatever state you live in, you should be keeping an eye on extremist legislators and their testing grounds—and wow wow is South Carolina giving Texas a run for their money!

Guess what bit of legislation is back in front of South Carolina lawmakers? H. 3537, aka the Prenatal Equal Protection Act—the bill that would punish abortion patients as murderers. (Which in South Carolina could mean the death penalty.)

Just months after defeating a similar ‘equal protection’ bill, abortion rights activists in South Carolina have to contend with this bullshit all over again. But bill author Rep. Rob Harris says it’s only fair:

“As a legislator, we have a duty to pass just laws. There has to be equality for everyone. This would make murder of anyone illegal for everyone…mothers have free agency to do that or not do that, that’s the only fair way to do it.”

Ah yes, equality and fairness. Exactly what Republican legislators are known for.

South Carolina Sen. Lee Bright, who was just sworn into the Senate this week, said he would file a similar bill. “I know we’ve got hearts and minds to change,” he admitted.

If you’re a regular reader, you know there’s been a massive increase in ‘equal protection’ bills since Roe was overturned. It’s part of a broader conservative obsession with punishing women:

Three Years After Dobbs, They’re Coming for Patients

South Carolina’s legislature is also set to weigh legislation that mandates testing the water for abortion pills and hormonal birth control, and a bill that makes abortion ‘coercion’ a crime. (Remember, Republicans’ definition of ‘abortion coercion’ is deliberately broad in order to categorize nearly all abortions as coerced.)

But that’s not all. South Carolina’s House Judiciary Committee rushed to advance a bill criminalizing abortion pills today. Over the course of a brief two-hour hearing, the committee voted 3-2 in favor of H. 4760, which makes it a felony to deliver, possess, or distribute abortion pills. The legislation would also allow civil suits against anyone who “aids and abets” abortion—from providers to a friend who picks up your abortion pills at a PO Box.

Palmetto State Abortion Fund tells AED that the bills would further endanger pregnant people, and “exacerbate an already dire crisis.” Unfortunately, representatives from the abortion fund and other advocates weren’t even able to speak today because the committee allocated such little time to hear from the public.

That disdain for abortion funds isn’t an accident—in fact, South Carolina Republicans have put a specific target on those who help patients. We’ve told you before about the bill that would allow for anti-abortion civil suits to the tune of $100k; but there’s something else in H. 4637: it could criminalize abortion funds.

The legislation would make it a felony to “knowingly pay for or reimburse the costs associated with obtaining an abortion,” regardless of where that abortion takes place. In other words, helping pay for an out-of-state abortion would be a crime—punishable by up to five years in prison.

It gets even worse. Working for an abortion fund, volunteering your time, or donating even a few dollars would be treated as a misdemeanor carrying a potential sentence of up to three years behind bars. Republicans aren’t just trying to shut down abortion funds—they’re trying to terrorize people out of giving them even a bit of pocket change. The relevant section of the bill below:

Naturally, lawmakers are trying to cover their asses: they’ve included language about free speech, noting that the bill doesn’t prohibit “speech or conduct protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.” And here’s the good news: if past attempts to stifle abortion speech are any indication, these anti-abortion-fund provisions won’t hold up in court.

But that doesn’t mean this isn’t dangerous, or that legislation like this isn’t worth paying attention to—whether it’s successful or not. Republicans are showing us their plan of attack, providing a roadmap for other anti-abortion states, and telling us exactly who they see as the biggest threats. People who help patients are at the top of their list.

Want to help? Find action items to challenge these bills (no matter where you live) here, and support organizations like WREN, Palmetto State Abortion Fund, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, and ARC Southeast.