Two Years of Abortion, Every Day

A look back on the Dobbs anniversary

This past week was the second anniversary of Dobbs: two years of horror stories, lawsuits, and desperate work to reduce the harm of Republican policies. 

I remember the night that the Supreme Court’s decision was leaked: I crawled into my bed with my already-sleeping husband to cry. I kept repeating, “my daughter, my daughter.” Because while I was devastated for all of us, it was thinking about Layla that made me feel utterly gutted. I felt similarly hollow the following day, and for many days after.

Most of all, though, I felt powerless. I couldn’t imagine a future where I’d have a handle on the enormity of what had just happened. 

Two years later, I still feel sick over the suffering abortion bans are causing. I still mourn what it means for Layla and for all our daughters. But I don’t feel powerless anymore. 

That’s largely because of the work I’m doing here. Publishing Abortion, Every Day makes me feel sane while witnessing the unthinkable, and useful in a moment when it’s easy to feel impotent. And after two years of writing about policies, politics and anti-abortion strategy, I’ve never felt more committed, furious, and obsessed with winning.

I know you feel the same, because the AED community has been engaged and enraged alongside me every step of the way.  You’ve sent me story tips and commiserated with each other in the comments. You’ve stoked outrage, shared resources, and made donations. Whatever was needed in the moment, you’ve done it.

And as the newsletter has grown—both in size and influence—it’s truly touched me to see how this community gets legitimately excited about AED’s successes. It’s really, really hard to do this work, but it’s a lot easier when you know you have people rooting for you.

The truth is that remembering our wins—no matter how big or small—helps me keep fighting another day. Hopefully the same is true for you, too. So instead of looking back at the horrors of the past two years, let’s talk about all we’ve accomplished together.

Shaping the national debate

I mean it when I say that the community here is what drives AED’s success. In the last two years, the newsletter has built an audience that includes everyone from clinic escorts and cable news producers to legislators and leaders of national abortion rights groups. That means when AED publishes a story, it gets read by some of the most influential people in the country—including you! That’s why our work makes a tangible difference.

When AED uncovered that the Texas GOP platform endorsed the death penalty for abortion patients, the story was picked up across the country in publications from New York Magazine and The Guardian to Teen Vogue.

And after AED broke the news that South Carolina Republicans were pushing legislation to make abortion punishable by the death penalty, this community sprung into action to spread the word. The ensuing public outrage led to sponsors dropping one by one before the bill finally died.

These weren’t the first times AED influenced policy. In 2023, I exposed the Alabama Attorney General’s plan to arrest women who took abortion medication using a ‘chemical endangerment’ law. The resulting local and national coverage forced AG Steve Marshall to publicly reverse course. That’s a big deal: the newsletter stopped a Republican attorney general from arresting abortion patients.

AED even helped to pressure an Arizona Supreme Court justice to recuse himself from an abortion case. Bill Montgomery, known for anti-abortion extremism and activism, had previously refused to remove himself from the case. But after an AED story about Montgomery went viral—once again, thanks to you—he suddenly changed his mind.

One of the most memorable moments for me, though, was when the community here cheered me on as I traveled to Washington, DC. to speak to Senate Democrats about anti-abortion strategy and the dangers of post-Roe America. And because you all submitted thoughts and questions beforehand, I was able to bring the insights of the AED community into the room with me. Since then, we’ve been back to the Senate to report directly from a vital abortion committee hearing—something that wouldn’t have been possible without your support.

Exposing anti-abortion extremism

Let’s talk more about that last Senate hearing: When AED found out that Republicans were hosting president of the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs (AAPLOG) Christina Francis as an ‘expert’ witness, the newsletter pushed out an extensive breakdown of her extremist beliefs.

AED pointed out that Francis believes abortion is never necessary to save a patients’ life and that certain forms of birth control are abortifacients. Later, Sen. Patty Murray questioned Francis about those specific issues in an exchange that was watched by millions of people on AED platforms.

The newsletter doesn’t just investigate anti-abortion leaders, but institutions. Last month, AED revealed that Heartbeat International, the country’s largest network of crisis pregnancy centers, was exposing women’s private health data. I obtained videos showing that the anti-abortion behemoth had disclosed everything from women’s names to the dates of their last menstrual periods to corporate employees, and, in one instance, the entire internet. AED also uncovered that the group, which gets millions of taxpayer dollars, regularly misleads clients by making them believe their information is protected by HIPAA. (It’s not.)

All of this is what makes AED different: I hold the newsletter to high editorial standards, but the work here has a very specific and explicit goal: to restore and protect abortion rights. There is no ‘both sides’ to our rights and freedom, and the newsletter’s coverage reflects that.

Staying ahead of the curve

Part of AED’s mission is to identify and monitor anti-abortion trends. We flag extremist tactics before they gain mainstream attention and connect dots that otherwise go unnoticed.

AED was the first to report, for example, that several states were considering legislation that would force public schools to show an anti-abortion video made by an extremist group in science classrooms. My story was published a full month before mainstream outlets caught on.

AED not only informed readers about the bills, but also provided vital context—framing and explaining the legislation as part of a broader effort to indoctrinate young people, who are increasingly pro-choice.

The newsletter did something similar with anti-abortion travel bans—breaking news about legislation and explaining the bigger picture strategy. AED also reported what mainstream outlets often danced around: that these bans wouldn’t just punish people who help teens get out of their anti-abortion states, but those who help minors to get an abortion in any way, shape, or form. (Under these laws, even lending a teen gas money is illegal.) The newsletter also warned that this tactic would never stop with young people, and was the first to reveal that Alabama’s AG outlined a legal argument for restricting pregnant women’s travel.

Perhaps the clearest example of how AED has stayed ahead of the curve, though, is just how long the newsletter has been raising the alarm on attacks on birth control. Since the beginning, AED has laid out exactly how Republicans would target contraception. Unfortunately, we’ve been right every time.

Predicting anti-abortion attacks 

That really is what AED does best: predict what the anti-abortion movement will do next. And in a moment when we’re being attacked at all times and from all angles, it’s extraordinarily valuable to know where the next punch is going to come from.

Just a few months after Dobbs, I started warning that the anti-abortion movement was targeting maternal mortality data. I predicted that they’d sow distrust in credible statistics—a move to preemptively discredit rising maternal death numbers. That’s exactly what happened.

In the last two years, Idaho has disbanded their maternal mortality committee, Texas appointed an anti-abortion extremist to their committee, and Republican-led states are making moves to end participation in the CDC’s federal maternal death tracking program. That’s to say nothing of the cultural campaigns and policy briefs from anti-abortion groups claiming that maternal death data can’t be trusted. 

The newsletter also covered anti-abortion attacks on democracy before any mainstream outlet. AED flagged Republicans’ ballot measure attacks from the get-go, making clear that anti-abortion politicians would do anything to stop Americans from having a say. We highlighted anti-abortion tactics from politicians and activists alike, including collusion between state Republican leaders and national groups, conservatives’ fake ‘pro-choice’ measures to trick voters, and how anti-choice activists have been harassing and doxxing pro-choice petitioners.

There are plenty more, but I’ll leave you with just one last example: A few months ago, I accurately predicted exactly what Donald Trump’s strategy on abortion rights would be. That’s the upside of covering this issue every day; it’s a lot easier to clearly see what’s coming down the road.

Covering stories the right way

We’ve accomplished a lot in the last two years, but the thing that makes me proudest is how AED works to ensure that reproductive rights stories are covered in an accurate, nuanced, and sensitive way.

When the newsletter brought Brittany Watts’ story to a national audience, for example, it was in a moment when local coverage was painting this victim—a woman arrested for ‘abuse of a corpse’ after miscarrying—as a villain. But after AED wrote about Watts, and raised the alarm with a viral TikTok, her case became a viral example of Republican cruelty.

It wasn’t just AED’s reach and audience that mattered here: The newsletter and video provided vital context about how criminalization works, and the way women in marginalized communities are targeted. That framing ensured that by the time the case hit national media, the antagonism of the original local coverage had largely been replaced with facts and sympathy.

That dedication to the mission is why people trust us with their stories. When AED published an investigation into how Texas Republicans fabricate abortion ‘complication’ data, it was because a whistle-blower doctor felt comfortable reaching out to us. When I profiled a young woman who had been denied an abortion despite her fetus’ fatal condition, she knew that my priority wasn’t the story—but her.

Every day, I hear from people who know their stories will be treated with care and respect. That matters to me, and I know it matters to you.

Why I need your help

In the last two years, AED’s influence and audience has grown exponentially. It’s been an exciting time, but a busy and overwhelming one. Thanks to reader support, the newsletter has been able to keep the wonderful Grace Haley as a part-time researcher; and I’ve recently brought on a part-time social media strategist, as well. AED has also brought in guest columnists to share their experiences and expertise—something we plan to do more of.

I feel extraordinarily fortunate to be able to grow the newsletter in this way, but we’re not done yet!

AED’s work is going to ramp up as we get closer to the 2024 election, and I want to make sure that the newsletter can continue to bring you the quality, feminist-minded abortion coverage and analysis you love. I can’t do that without your help.

If you haven’t signed up to join the AED community and support the work here, please consider doing so today. Becoming a paying supporter is the absolute best way to help the newsletter keep going and growing. If you’re already a supporter, think about gifting a subscription to someone you know or donating one to a reader who couldn’t otherwise afford it.

And if you need another reason to sign up today, I’m running a discount through the end of the week to mark the two year anniversary of Dobbs:

If you can’t afford a subscription, that’s okay: email me, and I’ll give you one for free. I never want money to be a hurdle to joining this community.

Whether or not you upgrade your subscription, I just want to say thank you. You all have made AED a really special place, and made it possible for me to do the most important work of my life. I’m grateful more than I can say. We have a tough few years ahead, but as I say often: If we have to be in this hellscape, I’m glad, at least, that we’re in it together. -Jessica