A Children’s Treasury of America’s Most Ghoulish Anti-Abortion Fuckos

Andrea Grimes
13 minutes

Plus: Abortion is still legal in Arizona and Florida!

Here’s another edition of Hard to Believe It’s Only Tuesday, a weekly roundup of the top headlines, tweets, toks, takes, and more in abortion news. You can always email me (andrea.grimes@gmail.com, or grimesandrea@proton.me for more sensitive inquiries) or DM me on instagram with action items, takes, and news clips. This post is probably too long for email, so click the headline above or head to the HTBIOT page to get the full read in your browser, because you don’t want to miss this week’s Goodnight and Good Dunk!

Photo by Fibonacci Blue via Flickr/Creative Commons

The big takeaway: While patients, providers, and advocates are preparing for abortion bans in Arizona and Florida, it’s important to remember that those laws haven’t gone into effect and abortion remains legal in those states as of now. Folks who need care can still get it for weeks yet! (And in Arizona in particular, the law may be significantly, perhaps perpetually, delayed.)

The Top Headlines

The Takes

  • It’s me, I’m in The Nation writing about how badly the political press bungled coverage of Trump’s creepy TruthSocial video: “That the media reports on Trump’s ‘leave it to the states’ plan as if it’s a serious policy proposal makes me wonder if the political press is actually as gullible and ignorant as Trump and the GOP think American voters are. In reality, Trump’s video was another cowardly hedge from a desperate, legally embattled, and deeply troubled politician who will say anything to get into the White House again.”
  • Reporter Marisa Kabas is in The Handbasket arguing that Biden “should do a primetime address on abortion.” I agree, with the addition that we should not miss the opportunity to make it a live musical event. I’m serious!!!
  • Columnist Monica Hesse is in the Washington Post with a look at William Claude Jones, the sexual predator who wrote the 1864 abortion ban recently greenlit by the state Supreme Court.
  • The Meteor talks to We Testify’s Renee Bracey Sherman, who’s looking into the “secret history of abortion” with The Nation‘s Regina Mahone in a new podcast. On the Arizona abortion ban: “When Roe was overturned, several states automatically reverted to their abortion bans from the 1800s. That part isn’t new, and people live under those laws now. What feels surprising for Arizona is that unlike Michigan, which took the opportunity to repeal their outdated laws, or Wisconsin, which is currently challenging theirs, the Arizona State Supreme Court thought [the law] could be implemented now. It’s like they didn’t look outside and check the temperature of our nation. They ignored the clear message from the last few elections that people want access to abortion.”
  • Journalist Sarah Posner, an expert on right-wing Christianity and related fuckery, is in MSNBC looking at the recent ruling out of Indiana “which found that the state’s abortion ban burdens the religious beliefs of those whose faiths permit abortions.”

The Tweets/Toks/Skeets/Grams

  • Religion journo Sarah Posner skeeted a good thread about the little song-and-dance that Trump and the anti-abortion lobby are putting on for voters:
  • Repro legal scholar David Cohen looks at how, or whether, Arizona’s 19th-century abortion ban will be enforced.
  • On Twitter, @RHAVote reminds us that “viability” is an estimate.

The Fuck Are We Supposed to Do About It?

  • 👕 SWAG OF THE WEEK! 👕
  • 🖥️ Online, especially for Texans: Texas abortion funds are hosting an informational webinar on Rosie’s Law, a wide-ranging proposal to restore, improve, and expand abortion and repro rights in the state. Register here; the webinar is Wednesday, April 17.
  • 🌵 Arizona: If you’re especially pissed off about Arizona’s looming 19th-century Abortion ban, the Abortion Fund of Arizona is a great place to donate.
  • ☀️ Florida: If you’re especially pissed off about Florida’s looming abortion ban, Floridians for Reproductive Freedom has a list of funds to support.
    🧶 Tennessee: The Mountain Access Brigade is looking for makers to participate in their market!
  • 💸 EVERY-THE-FUCK-WHERE: It’s abortion fund-a-thon season, an annual bevy of bowl-a-thons, bake-a-thons, craft-a-thons, and basically every other kind of a-thon you can think of to celebrate and fund members of the National Network of Abortion Funds. Find your local event here!
  • 💸 Alabama: Donate to keep the West Alabama Women’s Center’s doors open so they can provide gender-affirming care, repro care, pre- and post-natal care, miscarriage management, and much more!
  • 💸 Alabama: The Yellowhammer Fund is looking for more abortion fund-a-thon teams to help ensure they can fully fund their Catalysts for Reproductive Justice Fellowship. You needn’t be based in Alabama to fundraise!
  • 🍰 McAllen, TX: The Frontera Fund’s bake-a-thon for abortion is back, and they “knead” (lolololol) you! The bake sale is Saturday, April 20 at The Gremlin.
  • 🎥 Dallas: The Texas Equal Access Fund is hosting a screening of Preconceived, a new documentary about crisis pregnancy centers, on Saturday, April 20th.
  • 👶🏽 North Texas: The Texas Equal Access Fund‘s infant care resource drive is back, this time on Saturday, May 4th, at Rubber Gloves in Denton.
  • 🥂 Dallas: The Texas Equal Access Fund‘s First Bloom event is set for Thursday, May 16th.
  • 🦺 St. Louis area: Illinois’ Hope Clinic is looking for clinic escorts. Here’s how to learn more.
  • 🐝 Anywhere: The “Pollination Station,” Apiary Practical Support‘s volunteer training series, is now taking applications.
  • 🚗 Kentucky: The Kentucky Health Justice Network is looking for volunteer drivers and case managers. Here’s where to sign up.
  • 📱 North Texas: The Texas Equal Access Fund is looking for bilingual Spanish-speaking volunteers for their text line. Here’s where to sign up.
  • 🤠 Texas: Local teen-friendly businesses in in Bryan, College Station, Lubbock, or San Angelo can become pickup spots for repro kits assembled by Jane’s Due Process. Here’s the application form.
  • ⛰️ Southwestern Virginia and Appalachia: The New River Abortion Access Fund is looking for volunteers.
  • 🗳️ Anywhere, U.S.: Hey Jane x Vote America helps prep voters to support pro-abortion policies and candidates

Goodnight and good dunk — Couple of good/sad dunks this week. I originally thought this piece in McSweeney’s, “Is reinstating a misogynist 1864 law bad for our brand?” was a little heavy-handed but upon rereading, I think it’s exactly as nuanced as it needs to be. (None nuanced.)

And I kind of can’t stand the bros of SNL’s Weekend Update but this gave me a chuckle: “‘In a view on Truth Social, Donald Trump falsely said that Democrats support abortion up to the ninth month and beyond, saying the baby is executed at birth,’ ‘Weekend Update co-host Colin Jost quipped. ‘But he only thinks that happens because when Trump was a baby, a bunch of time travelers showed up trying to kill him.‘”

That’s all for this week. I’m sure I’ve missed something you’d like to see featured in this roundup, for I am but one woman with a computer and an abortion-news-induced drinking problem. Holler at me — andrea.grimes@gmail.com or grimesandrea@proton.me for more sensitive inquiries, or DM me on Instagram, and I’ll try to add follow-ups as I’m able.

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