Yes, Jonathan Mitchell is dangerous but at this point he’s gone from intimidating to an eye roll. 🙄 He got countersued in the Silva case and according to an attorney I talked with he can only find sketchy jerks as clients.
"On October 17, the North Carolina Court of Appeals terminated a woman’s parental rights because of abuse that occurred when she was four months pregnant. Why? Because, as the court ruled, 'life begins at conception.'”
"The implications of this are serious, and extend far beyond child custody. The case involves a woman raising three children, two of whom are her own, with a man so physically abusive that he had caused her to have multiple miscarriages. In 2016, when the woman was around four months pregnant, an incident in the home (details are often scant in child abuse cases) resulted in severe injuries to one of the children. Both parents were charged with felony child abuse. The woman lost custody of her two children and some months later gave birth to a baby referred to in court documents as 'Opal'.”
I yelled, “oh, what the FUCK” at one point listening to the audio of this... I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your reporting and emotional labor to keep us informed and enraged.
My husband and I are watching West Wing again. Remarkable show, and what stands out to us is how the same issues that were being addressed in the year 2000 are still unresolved today. Abortion wasn't an issue.
A character on the show made a comment that really struck us as such a simple premise, but one not often articulated:
Speaking of elections and voting, she said, "We get to overthrow the government every two years!" (House of Representatives). That may sound violent, but she wasn't talking about rioting and burning down the Capitol. She was talking about the power of our VOTES to throw out those who practice politics that we don't agree with.
Jessica, I am truly in awe of your fantastic reporting and for the harsh light you shine on the cruelty of the Republican party. But Democrats need to be doing what you are doing every single day for the next 308 days, before the election.
And though Kamala Harris is out there beating the drum, I'm underwhelmed with Biden's support for a woman's right to an abortion. I know he has a lot on his plate, but this is THE issue of the decade, perhaps the century, and if we don't take control of our bodies and freedom in this election, I rightfully fear we will never have another opportunity.
Thank you, Jessica, for your tireless reporting and analysis. Nobody else is doing this work. I shared this piece on Facebook because it's too important not to. Wishing you continued fortitude in 2024. We all need to buckle up and keep fighting. You are inspiring your community of readers.
Your work is incredible, Jessica, so very proud of you. Really hard job both emotionally and organizationally. Don't know how you follow all the laws in all the states all the time like you do.
Not sure which browser(s) you use, but I try different ones, and Vivaldi, a European browser (Belgium I think), has a lot of good organizational features including high privacy. They have a feature called Workspaces which allows tab stacking for specific subjects. That might appeal to you with all the research. You could sort the research tabs by state, date, or whatever. They also provide a calendar and notes and use encryption. It is Chrome-based but more secure and more user features. Apparently Vivaldi is being used in vehicles--not sure if European only.
Brave is also good, and an Apple customer service agent said over the weekend that she used to work in cyber security and all the agents used Brave (Chrome-based but a lot more secure).
Also, Duck Duck Go, the search engine, now has phone browser, which I use instead of Safari on my iPhone, as it can be shut down and delete all history quickly AND it now has a regular web browser, which is very private.
Lastly, all this personal medical records info that abortion ban states are demanding: What happened to HIPAA?????
Simon Rosenberg and Jessica Craven keep me hopeful. Want to return to school this year to improve job skills at age 74 and work part-time but will keep most of year free because am Democratic precinct chair and also do a lot of interstate phone banking for the Dems as well as local campaign canvassing (which I quit after 25 years as of 12/23). We are under such siege by the right wing that political volunteering, once every two years, has now become full-time all the time.
Happy New Year, dear Jessica, here's to a blue wave in 2024!
Abortion made it to top 3 with Sanjay Gupta's top ten health related stories in 2023. Second was Alzheimer's drug and the first was AI in health. If 2024 election is not about this issue front and center, we have failed, but we won't fail. We will make the Republican party, SCOTUS, and trumpers responsible for this pay for this with or without media's help! Let us go! The one thing we can do is to take power away from them with our votes. Vote Blue all the way. Thanks Jessica, for memorializing the times we are in.
Jessica, deep thanks to you again for the hard, distressing, and crucial work you do. Combatting the evil, the cruelty, and the constant poisonous drip of normalizing what would have been unthinkable a few years ago is heroic. And as you point out, the meta is clear: creating fear and dismantling community is exactly the point of these extremist GOP bills.
This was unheard of 2 years ago. Medical professionals turning in women suffering from miscarriages are the lowest pieces of shit walking the planet. Worse than the MEN making up reasons to terrorize women. These disgusting, disgraceful barely human beings will face their own consequences for their actions. May it cause 10 fold the pain they’ve caused their victims.
It’s not specifically stated, but I’m fairly certain that this was a Catholic hospital. Women need to stay the hell away from Catholic hospitals. They are a danger to their health and lives. Spread the word!
The problem is that in many rural communities, Catholic hospitals are the only medical facilities available. In that case, if you have a pregnancy emergency there are no good options.
You’re exactly right, Sue. In WA state, I believe Catholic hospitals now account for more than 20% of the state’s beds. This needs to be addressed in any legislation securing women’s reproductive rights going forward. We need better protections than Roe offered against these barbarians.
Yes! Let our anger and rage lead not to fear or despair but action in 2024. Let us vote them out. We are not just up against these mini-trumps everywhere here but also foreign adversaries like Netanyahu, Putin, Xi, Saudi Mfer whose name I don't want to repeat, and others of their ilk doing all they can to install trump again. We have to defeat them all.
These legislators coming up with these draconian laws are sadistic. Sadists enjoy inflicting pain and punishment. Let me say it again: THEY ENJOY INFLICTING PAIN AND PUNISHMENT. The laws and the people introducing them are sexual abuse. These legislators don't give a rat's ass about fetuses, babies, or children, and they demonstrate their lack of concern every single day. They are using reproductive health as a way to garner attention for themselves. These people have their own little circle of hell.
I hope you are taking care of yourself and that you are able to step away from this very heavy load of information at times. You are an invaluable source, but compiling all this must necessarily take a toll. You are amazing and we are indebted.
It’s overwhelming to take it all in. I’m grateful to you for digesting the year. It would be wonderful to think that 12/30/2024 will see this country in better shape. If wishes were fishes...
Yes, Jonathan Mitchell is dangerous but at this point he’s gone from intimidating to an eye roll. 🙄 He got countersued in the Silva case and according to an attorney I talked with he can only find sketchy jerks as clients.
This is what Idaho Family Policy Center thinks about the success of the abortion bans and what they are going to work on next...
it is just as Jessica predicted.
https://idahofamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/IdahoAbortionLawsWork_Jan5.pdf
It's been happening. From The Progressive:
"On October 17, the North Carolina Court of Appeals terminated a woman’s parental rights because of abuse that occurred when she was four months pregnant. Why? Because, as the court ruled, 'life begins at conception.'”
"The implications of this are serious, and extend far beyond child custody. The case involves a woman raising three children, two of whom are her own, with a man so physically abusive that he had caused her to have multiple miscarriages. In 2016, when the woman was around four months pregnant, an incident in the home (details are often scant in child abuse cases) resulted in severe injuries to one of the children. Both parents were charged with felony child abuse. The woman lost custody of her two children and some months later gave birth to a baby referred to in court documents as 'Opal'.”
https://progressive.org/op-eds/the-harsh-legal-reality-of-fetal-personhood-howard-20240105/?mc_cid=3325f18713
I yelled, “oh, what the FUCK” at one point listening to the audio of this... I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your reporting and emotional labor to keep us informed and enraged.
My husband and I are watching West Wing again. Remarkable show, and what stands out to us is how the same issues that were being addressed in the year 2000 are still unresolved today. Abortion wasn't an issue.
A character on the show made a comment that really struck us as such a simple premise, but one not often articulated:
Speaking of elections and voting, she said, "We get to overthrow the government every two years!" (House of Representatives). That may sound violent, but she wasn't talking about rioting and burning down the Capitol. She was talking about the power of our VOTES to throw out those who practice politics that we don't agree with.
Jessica, I am truly in awe of your fantastic reporting and for the harsh light you shine on the cruelty of the Republican party. But Democrats need to be doing what you are doing every single day for the next 308 days, before the election.
And though Kamala Harris is out there beating the drum, I'm underwhelmed with Biden's support for a woman's right to an abortion. I know he has a lot on his plate, but this is THE issue of the decade, perhaps the century, and if we don't take control of our bodies and freedom in this election, I rightfully fear we will never have another opportunity.
Thank you, Jessica, for your tireless reporting and analysis. Nobody else is doing this work. I shared this piece on Facebook because it's too important not to. Wishing you continued fortitude in 2024. We all need to buckle up and keep fighting. You are inspiring your community of readers.
Thank you for your tireless work. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you
Your work is incredible, Jessica, so very proud of you. Really hard job both emotionally and organizationally. Don't know how you follow all the laws in all the states all the time like you do.
Not sure which browser(s) you use, but I try different ones, and Vivaldi, a European browser (Belgium I think), has a lot of good organizational features including high privacy. They have a feature called Workspaces which allows tab stacking for specific subjects. That might appeal to you with all the research. You could sort the research tabs by state, date, or whatever. They also provide a calendar and notes and use encryption. It is Chrome-based but more secure and more user features. Apparently Vivaldi is being used in vehicles--not sure if European only.
Brave is also good, and an Apple customer service agent said over the weekend that she used to work in cyber security and all the agents used Brave (Chrome-based but a lot more secure).
Also, Duck Duck Go, the search engine, now has phone browser, which I use instead of Safari on my iPhone, as it can be shut down and delete all history quickly AND it now has a regular web browser, which is very private.
Lastly, all this personal medical records info that abortion ban states are demanding: What happened to HIPAA?????
Simon Rosenberg and Jessica Craven keep me hopeful. Want to return to school this year to improve job skills at age 74 and work part-time but will keep most of year free because am Democratic precinct chair and also do a lot of interstate phone banking for the Dems as well as local campaign canvassing (which I quit after 25 years as of 12/23). We are under such siege by the right wing that political volunteering, once every two years, has now become full-time all the time.
Happy New Year, dear Jessica, here's to a blue wave in 2024!
Happy New Year - you are doing amazing work! A friend just sent me this (it's her pic) and I wanted to send you the article... https://www.rawstory.com/2024-election-roe-rights/
Abortion made it to top 3 with Sanjay Gupta's top ten health related stories in 2023. Second was Alzheimer's drug and the first was AI in health. If 2024 election is not about this issue front and center, we have failed, but we won't fail. We will make the Republican party, SCOTUS, and trumpers responsible for this pay for this with or without media's help! Let us go! The one thing we can do is to take power away from them with our votes. Vote Blue all the way. Thanks Jessica, for memorializing the times we are in.
Jessica, deep thanks to you again for the hard, distressing, and crucial work you do. Combatting the evil, the cruelty, and the constant poisonous drip of normalizing what would have been unthinkable a few years ago is heroic. And as you point out, the meta is clear: creating fear and dismantling community is exactly the point of these extremist GOP bills.
Thank you, Jan!!
This was unheard of 2 years ago. Medical professionals turning in women suffering from miscarriages are the lowest pieces of shit walking the planet. Worse than the MEN making up reasons to terrorize women. These disgusting, disgraceful barely human beings will face their own consequences for their actions. May it cause 10 fold the pain they’ve caused their victims.
It’s not specifically stated, but I’m fairly certain that this was a Catholic hospital. Women need to stay the hell away from Catholic hospitals. They are a danger to their health and lives. Spread the word!
The problem is that in many rural communities, Catholic hospitals are the only medical facilities available. In that case, if you have a pregnancy emergency there are no good options.
You’re exactly right, Sue. In WA state, I believe Catholic hospitals now account for more than 20% of the state’s beds. This needs to be addressed in any legislation securing women’s reproductive rights going forward. We need better protections than Roe offered against these barbarians.
Yep, I can't believe where we are as a country. Alito and his ilk made this happen. Trump made this happen. We have to say their names.
Their hatred toward women is revolting. Anyone who thinks this is about babies is delusional lunatic.
It’s clearly a campaign to take women’s rights away. Rise up sisters and demand the balls of Alito, Thomas, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, Roberts and Fake Amy.
Yes! Let our anger and rage lead not to fear or despair but action in 2024. Let us vote them out. We are not just up against these mini-trumps everywhere here but also foreign adversaries like Netanyahu, Putin, Xi, Saudi Mfer whose name I don't want to repeat, and others of their ilk doing all they can to install trump again. We have to defeat them all.
These legislators coming up with these draconian laws are sadistic. Sadists enjoy inflicting pain and punishment. Let me say it again: THEY ENJOY INFLICTING PAIN AND PUNISHMENT. The laws and the people introducing them are sexual abuse. These legislators don't give a rat's ass about fetuses, babies, or children, and they demonstrate their lack of concern every single day. They are using reproductive health as a way to garner attention for themselves. These people have their own little circle of hell.
I'm calling it domestic terrorism of all people capable of pregnancy.
YES
The GOP: Crossing state lines to acquire an abortion is a Punishable Offense.
Also the GOP: Crossing state lines to acquire a gun is Protected under the Second Amendment.
Jessica -
I hope you are taking care of yourself and that you are able to step away from this very heavy load of information at times. You are an invaluable source, but compiling all this must necessarily take a toll. You are amazing and we are indebted.
Christine, thank you so much. I'm definitely taking some time this week with family :)
It’s overwhelming to take it all in. I’m grateful to you for digesting the year. It would be wonderful to think that 12/30/2024 will see this country in better shape. If wishes were fishes...