The Week in Abortion
(3.20.23 - 3.24.23)
In the states…
In addition to some legislative updates, there are two major themes from this week: Ballot measures and the impact of doctors leaving anti-abortion states.
Ballot Measures
Ohio conservatives’ attempts to stall or stop a pro-choice amendment ramped up considerably. Abortion rights groups were in the middle of collecting the over 400,000 signatures needed to get the issue in front of voters this November when anti-choice activists filed a lawsuit to make their life much, much harder. The suit claims that the amendment—which guarantees a person’s right to make their own reproductive decisions, whether on abortion, birth control, fertility treatments, etc—should be split into two ballot measures because abortion is “different” than other reproductive choices. If successful, the court would force pro-choice activists to start over at the state ballot board and require them to collect twice as many signatures.
And in a one-two punch, Republican lawmakers in Ohio also revived their efforts this week to require that ballot measures be passed with 60% of the vote as opposed to a simple majority. Their goal is to get it on the ballot of an August special election. What’s especially notable is that for months, lawmakers have argued that wanting to raise the standards for ballot measures had nothing to do with abortion, even calling it a “conspiracy theory” to claim as much. Yesterday, however, they dispensed with all pretense: Republican Senate president Matt Huffman told reporters, “If we save 30,000 lives as a result of spending $20 million, I think that’s a great thing.”
Conservative lawmakers in Oklahoma were similarly shameless this week: Republicans have proposed a rape and incest exception for the state’s total abortion ban solely to weaken any future pro-choice ballot measures. They outright admitted that they don’t really want victims to have access to care, but that they know the vast majority of voters in the state don’t want a total abortion ban. The head of Oklahomans for Life told legislators, “The abortion industry has the weapon to defeat what we regard as the ideal policy, the initiative petition is their trump card.” And, of course, they know that exceptions don’t work—and that changing the language of the law won’t actually make abortion any more accessible to victims. So it’s a win-win for them.
You may remember that Mississippi lawmakers were set to reinstate the initiative process in their state, but added in a special provision specifically banning voters from using ballot measures to change abortion law. Well, apparently they decided they didn’t want to risk it: This week, Republicans killed the entire process so that voters won’t be able to use ballot measures at all. When questioned over the transparently anti-democratic move, Sen. John Polk said ballot measures weren’t necessary because “every four years, everyone has an opportunity to change who represents them.”
OBGYN Exodus
Since Roe was overturned, there has been a real worry about doctors—OBGYNs and maternal health specialists, specifically—leaving anti-choice states. After all, who could blame them for wanting to leave a state where they could be put in prison simply for providing adequate care for a patient? I told you earlier this month, for example, that nearly half of OBGYNs in Idaho were either leaving the state or seriously considering leaving. This week, we saw the impact of that exodus: Bonner General Health hospital shut down their maternity ward, pointing explicitly to abortion bans as a major contributing factor. The hospital release explained that recruiting and retaining OBGYNs is “extraordinarily difficult” when the legislature has passed laws that “criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care.”
Naturally, Republicans in the state took offense to the idea that their laws might actually have consequences. Dorothy Moon, the state’s GOP chairwoman, says, “This isn’t about abortion; it’s about making excuses for staffing issues.” The hospital essentially replied, yeah of course it’s staffing issues: Nobody wants to fucking work here. (Though they said it much more nicely.)
We also saw news on doctors leaving other anti-choice states like Tennessee and Texas, where the chair of the state’s chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) told a reporter, “If I was ever touch a patient again, it won’t be in the state of Texas.”
Legislative Updates
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the state must allow for life-saving abortions (full ruling here). Mark Joseph Stern over at Slate has a good explainer of what went down and how the state came very, very close to banning life-saving abortions based on the argument that Oklahoma has the right to decide if fetuses are more important than women. Seriously: Justice M. John Kane IV wrote that it should be states who “balanc[e] the developing life of the unborn against the life of the mother,” not the courts.
In more saying-the-quiet-part-out-loud news: While arguing for a (bullshit) health and life exception, a Tennessee Republican admitted that women’s lives are secondary to fetuses. State Rep. Andrew Farmer said that the legislation will “protect the lives of babies” and that “if we can protect lives of mothers, we’re going to do that as much as possible.”
Wyoming had a turbulent week: The state passed a ban on abortion medication, specifically, and a separate broader abortion ban. As a result, doctors had to start canceling devastated women’s appointments for care. Just a few days later, however, a judge temporarily blocked that latter ban, allowing abortion care to resume in the state. Teton County Judge Melissa Owens said, “Wyomingites voted into law that they have a fundamental right to make their own health care decisions.” There is another legal challenge to the abortion medication ban that has yet to be ruled on.
In Florida, Republicans’ 6-week abortion ban is speeding through the legislative process; the last hearing (and opportunity for public comment) will be on Tuesday. Don’t miss the conversation that I had with Florida Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book about the bill and what we all can do to help.
The Good News
Hawaii’s governor signed sweeping pro-choice legislation that will protect abortion providers from out-of-state prosecution, allow minors care without parental consent, and permit physicians assistants to perform abortions during the first trimester.
Protections for abortion providers and patients passed out of the Minnesota House. The legislation would prohibit out-of-state subpoenas and extradition requests against those who provide or obtain abortions.
New Hampshire advanced a bill removing criminal and civil penalties from the state’s 24-week abortion restriction.
Massachusetts issued guidance to pharmacies requiring them to carry abortion medication or face a state investigation.
And Wisconsin Democrats introduced legislation to restore abortion rights in the state, a symbolic move meant to keep the issue at the top of voters’ minds.
Keep an eye on…
We’re keeping a close eye on maternal mortality numbers across the country, which continue to rise, especially for Black women. We know that the rates are only going to get worse once the statistics catch up with our post-Roe reality (all of the data is from before it was overturned). Between doctors leaving anti-abortion states, the increase in maternal health deserts and vital healthcare being denied—this country is not prepared for just how bad this is going to be. What’s especially important to pay attention to is the way that conservative groups are preemptively preparing for being (correctly) blamed for those post-Roe deaths by trying to sow doubt in the CDC numbers and maternal mortality numbers more generally.
I’m also watching out for the various pieces of legislation seeking to redefine abortion. Republicans are desperate to define abortion as an intention rather than a medical intervention. It’s not only a way to protect themselves politically and women go septic from being denied miscarriage care, but a move that could make the criminalization of abortion that much broader:
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What the mainstream media missed…
Media Matters found that over half of the articles on Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk didn’t include vital information about his anti-abortion views and history: 53%, for example, didn’t report that Kacsmaryk is vehemently anti-abortion, and 59% of articles didn’t mention how the anti-choice organization who brought the lawsuit intentionally sought out Kacsmaryk as a judge.
Meanwhile, mainstream media outlets continue to quote and heavily feature the anti-abortion organization Students for Life without mentioning that they believe most forms of birth controls are abortifacients.
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"yeah of course it's staffing issues; nobody wants to fucking work here."
That's the clarity of thought and writing that makes Jessica's work so invaluable!