55 Comments

Reminder that WSJ may seem like a normal newspaper, but it, like the NY Post, is just another Murdoch rag. Its diction may be of a higher level, but its journalism is still yellow.

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Ok I'm sorry if this is not the place to post this comment, but I originally put it on Instagram and then thought better of it. I posted your reel about the term "abortion coersion" and a friend of mine who is a retired high risk OB specialist (and supports reproductive rights) messaged me to say she's never seen anyone talk about the racist abortion coercion she witnessed from DOCTORS specifically against low income Hispanic mothers. This was all a very long time ago but also I don't want to dismiss her lived experience. How do I respond to this?

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If you have not watched Howard Stern's interview of MVP, you must. He is the one guy so far who is clearly saying what we all are saying. But he has a huge audience unlike me writing my comments here. I hope people who listen to him are influenced by what he is correctly saying are the stakes of this election. BTW his demo apparently is: 74% of his audience are between 25-54 years of age with an average household income of $160k. 73% Male and 27% female. 34% college graduates, 85% white.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNbwMrBMGgE

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Oct 9·edited Oct 9

Another Lincoln Project video with real men and women, patient/doctor talking (I hate to say this but because they are all white and seem middle class, maybe more (white) people will pay attention).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djwp6dIErYE

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Liz Essley Whyte's "Abortion Pill Maker is Seeking to Expand Its Use to Miscarriage" appeared in the Wall Street Journal, updated on October 8. Here's a non-paywalled link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/abortion-pill-maker-is-seeking-to-expand-its-use-to-miscarriage/ar-AA1rTKal. Whyte says that Danco Laboratories is going to ask the FDA to approve the use of Mifeprex for miscarriage treatment. Mifeprex (or generic mifepristone) is already sometimes used for that purpose without official approval. (Once the FDA approves a drug, a doctor can prescribe it to treat ANYTHING, not just the things the FDA approved it for.) Danco did not announce a date for the application; processing the application will probably take the FDA several months. The other drug in the medication abortion regiment, misoprostol, is a readily available generic drug; miscarriage treatment often involves misoprostol-only. The medical journal JAMA Network Open reported that treating miscarriages with both Mifi and Miso rather than must Miso alone reduced the need for emergency room treatment and follow-up surgery.

In 2022, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and 48 other groups asked for FDA approval of Mifi for miscarriage treatment. The FDA said that only the manufacturer could make the application. Abortion rights activists favor the new approval because it could give doctors in ban states greater confidence in providing appropriate treatment for people having miscarriages, and could encourage more doctors to get the special certification required to prescribe Mifi. Anti-abortion people say that Mifi is not needed to treat miscarriages, because Miso and surgery can be used.

If and when the FDA agrees to approve Mifi for miscarriage treatment, the FDA commissioner--a presidential appointee confirmed by the Senate--has the power to overrule the approval.

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Good lord this update was disheartening. Thank you, as always, for keeping us informed and staying on top of all of this chaos. Going to share that NYTimes piece on Prop 1.

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It's time to hang some more crepe! Amanda Zablocki, Elizabeth Nevins, Arushi Pandya, and Krysten Thomas wrote "Women's Health on the Ballot in November: What the Election Could Mean for Reproductive Care and Beyond"Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP (Oct. 4, 2024), available at Lexology.com. Their not-too-surprising conclusions are that a Trump administration is likely eliminate or restrict abortion access, or let states do it; reduce requirements for health insurers to cover reproductive care; make it even harder for Medicaid to fund abortions; and cut back HIPAA, especially for reproductive health information.

OTOH a Harris administration would be likely to expand abortion access, protect IVF and contraception, improve privacy protection (including for digital health apps) and expand government programs to promote women's health. The article says that the Republican party has "distanced itself" from earlier support of a national abortion ban to leave it to the states. "Whether this shift reflects an actual change in policy or a short-term strategy" to appeal to voters "remains to be seen." Harris has said she would sign federal legislation codifying Roe. (Of course that leaves open the question of whether that's good enough--and how to get further.) The article also notes that whoever wins the election, control of Congress is key to what the president will and won't be able to do.

The article also says one "key lever" will be whether access to medication abortion becomes easier or more difficult. A Trump administration might install an FDA commissioner who would return the approval of mifepristone to the original 2000 level--and restrict distribution of the drug, forbid mail order sales, or require an in-person prescription. But a Harris administration would be expected to protect access to medication abortion, such as using executive power to enforce FDA regulations and defending the FDA against state limits or criminalization of medication abortion.

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Oct 9·edited Oct 9

You know coming from a corruption ridden, honorless political system in India, I thought Americans would put up a strong resistance to corrupt and lying conman that is trump, but no. There is a section of the voters who are too sheep to understand how horrible the duo are -- they are ready to cut off their nose to spite their face.

Lying, what is with all the lies? How can anybody be OK with that? I was telling my mom in my first years here in this country how people are loathe to lie. She (who had the least exposure to anything outside India) had commented that their religion or upbringing makes them that way. But no longer.

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Oct 9·edited Oct 9

Annie

@AnnieForTruth

How about that?

https://x.com/AnnieForTruth/status/1843271718602752052

Tweet shows a message that says vasectomies for all men to stop abortions at the source.

I say yes, make it mandatory.

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Thank you for this important coverage from across the states! I am in Nebraska and there are competing abortion measures on the ballot. The anti-abortion group has created an ad that actually co-ops the language of the pro-abortion measure! Do you know Allie Berry with Protect Our Rights Nebraska? She is the campaign manager for the initiative and would be a great person to speak with!

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I've noticed a trend toward making contraceptives difficult to obtain due to stealth actions that declare any contraceptive that interferes with implantation to be causing an abortion. Taken to its illogical extreme that will "take us back" to the 50s where condoms (and diaphragms?) were the only forms of birth control. I have read a bit about the Heritage Foundation's role in this effort and wonder if they managed to slide it into Project 2025.

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There was a time before that too, where condoms and diaphragms were also illegal.

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When I was in high school it was necessary to provide proof of age. But I don't remember what the minimum was.

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Oct 9·edited Oct 9

I am perhaps preaching to the choir here. Vote against every Republican this election. JD Vance is orders of magnitude more dangerous than trump -- he is the true torjan horse here, a gift from Pootie, immigrant tech bros, billionaires, oligarchs who don't have America's interest at all and know that you are voting for him if you are voting for trump, because they will start ousting trump on day one.

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Any person with a uterus is fair game for male republican misogynists. Vote against republicans in EVERY election.

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If republicans win in November, just imagine the horror of a future of women and girls living in a total maternal health care desert. Very sick, goddamn.

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I’m due in June 2025. Their policies will go

Into effect quickly and so I’m just praying a) they don’t take power b) this is a smooth pregnancy. I’ve already survived one nightmare pregnancy.

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So here we are.

Healthcare providers leaving red states(not that I blame them) because of these states’ twisted, machevillian, and disgusting treatment of women.

Making a terrible situation dire.

The legislators and organizers of this situation are wholly responsible.

Yes, anti abortion people, I’m speaking directly to you. I really hope you’re proud of yourselves.

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I don't think women are dependending on the media to explain our lives. We know what politicians are doing to us.

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