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 REALLY REALLY don’t want to miss this week’s Goodnight and Good Dunk!
The big takeaway:Today’s the second anniversary of the Dobbs decision that ended federal protections for abortion rights nationwide. A lot of coverage is focused on the Trump-friendly talking point that overturning Roev. Wade “returned” questions of abortion rights and access “to the states.” As I’m sitting at my desk here in Austin, I’m compelled to remind folks of this:
Texas completely outlawed abortion nine months before Roe was overturned. Nine months before Trump’s hand-picked Supreme Court issued the Dobbs decision, Texas enacted SB8, the “bounty hunter” law that allows random assholes to sue strangers for a minimum of $10,000 if they think those strangers provided or supported providing abortion care. This law effectively shut down all clinical abortion provision here as of September 2021.
So let’s be clear: leaving abortion “to the states” was already the status quo under Roe. Roe allowed for a patchwork system of abortion restrictions and regulations that meant people’s reproductive autonomy was largely subject to the accident (or privilege) of their location (or their ability to leave that location). Roe never adequately protected abortion rights and access up to the point of “viability” (a bullshit determinant that needs to be tossed out, anyway). Again: Texas had already managed to shut down clinical abortion care under Roe, and I think we can say with some reasonability that other states would have followed in Texas’ bounty-hunter footsteps had Dobbs not gone the way it did.
This morning, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement spelling out what we already know: Republicans, anti-abortion Democrats, and the anti-abortion movement writ large are not satisfied with overturning Roe and will continue to block, ban, restrict, regulate, criminalized, and prosecute abortion:
“However, the work is far from completed. The Biden Administration continues to use unlawful agency regulations and other levers of power to force states to institute its radical abortion agenda even when it violates state laws. I will never stop defending the sanctity of life against these unconstitutional attempts to undermine Texas’s life-affirming laws.”
Take it directly from the horse’s-ass’s mouth: leaving abortion “to the states” is not a compromise that allows each geography to merely settle on the forced pregnancy apparatus that their wealthy old white male politicians like best. Rather, it’s a means of gumming up the system nationwide by implementing blocks, bans, and criminalization measures that will tie up courts at every level — including the federal judiciary, which is jam-packed with rabid anti-abortion activists like Matt Kacsmaryk in Amarillo and Sam Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Amy Coney Barrett at the Supreme Court.
The anti-abortion right wing already had “leave abortion up to the states” before Roe; the Dobbs decision only allowed them to implement their plan of outlawing abortion everywhere by any means necessary somewhat more quickly.
So what? Where am I going with this? Well, a bunch of mainstream national reproductive rights groups recently started getting concerned that abortion rights and access were under attack here in the ole’ US of A (!) and announced this morning via a Politico exclusive that it might be a good idea to do something about it coming up here soon. They don’t have a game plan yet, but if the words “Restore Roe” are involved, there’s good reason to be (even more) skeptical. Roe was barely the bare minimum; ask anybody here in Texas. Of course, doing so would require that national groups venture outside of D.C. and meaningfully engage with on-the-ground experts and robust networks at the state and grassroots levels.
Just for fun, I’ll hold my breath.
The Top Headlines
“Inside the $100 million plan to restore abortion rights in America” (Politico) — Two years after the Dobbs decision, Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, RFFA (formerly NARAL) and a handful of other national orgs thought it might be getting on about time to band together to advocate for abortion access at the federal level. Visionary! Tonight, they will “pitch a group of influential progressives on going on offense at a time when abortion is outlawed in a third of the country.” I mean this genuinely: good luck to them, we need all the help we can get. But let’s not pretend that Planned Parenthood (which lobbied against telehealth shield laws) and the ACLU (which lobbied against striking down Comstock) are “going on offense” at this late date.
“Law enforcement is spying on thousands of Americans’ mail, records show” (WaPo) — This is why it really grinds my gears when people and organizations who say they are doing self-managed abortion ~ support ~ work allow the press to show or describe the packaging used in allegedly mailing/shipping medication abortion. Stop doing this!!!!
“Schumer tees up action on bill to establish national right to abortion” (The Hill) — I mean, I’m glad to see ole Chuck putting it to a vote to get some of these fuckos on the record. This is the “Restore Roe” bill that “would reestablish a national right to an abortion before the third trimester of pregnancy by enshrining the protections of Roe v. Wade.” Maybe Republicans will go for it since they are 1000% for real when they say they are all about finding “compromises” on abortion and in no way interested in putting further limits on abortion care because they have totally learned their lesson about how unpopular abortion bans are with the electorate! They said so in the newspaper, and they would definitely not lie about that kind of thing!!
🇺🇸 What politicians and politicos on the national stage are doing and saying about abortion in advance of the ‘24 election:
A word from Robin Marty of WAWC Healthcare in Alabama. If you aren’t sure what orgs are working on the ground in states where abortion is banned, check out these graphics from @gracieminabox on Twitter, or leave a comment on this post and I’ll help you find one (or check out the action items section below for lots of orgs doing key work around the country).
The Fuck Are We Supposed to Do About It?
👕 SWAG OF THE WEEK! 👕
I am really into this “Petrify the Patriarchy” gear from the Arkansas Abortion Support Network! Medusa!!
🍽️ Knoxville, TN: “Latin-inspired” spot Babalu is hosting a four-course dinner benefitting the Mountain Access Brigade on Wednesday, June 26. Tix here!
🖥️ Online: Theres a Queering Reproductive Justice repro healing circle “exploring kinship, Islam, queerness, and reproductive justice” from Ad’iyah Collective and others this Thursday, June 27.
🌅 Arizona: Here’s a big list of events with opportunities to sign the petition for the state’s abortion rights ballot measure. (Plus info on joining on as a volunteer!)
🦺 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
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.
Buy a wishlist item for the Yellowhammer Fund‘s Repro Raven bus.
The IPPF and the Palestinian Family Planning Association are attempting to provide care for tens of thousands of pregnant people in Gaza; learn more here and donate/spread the word.
Donate to rebuildAffirmative Care Solutions, the Illinois clinic attacked by an anti-abortion extremist who drove his car through the front of the building.
Buy something off the wishlist of an independent clinic, abortion fund, or clinic defense group, or donate to support abortion funds. This link distributes your donation to 90+ funds around the country. Or donate to support independent abortion providers.
Abortions Welcome is a “pro-choice spiritual companion for use before, during, and after abortion.”
Want to become a practical support volunteer helping folks access abortion? Read this essential FAQ from Apiary first.
The Center for Reproductive Rightshas an interactive online resource looking at “the current status of abortion rights through state court constitutional decisions.”
Here’s If/When/How‘s latest report on the criminalization of self-managed abortion between 2000-2020, plus a new report that looks at how callers to their Repro Legal Helpline have been affected post-Dobbs
New research from Pregnancy Justice looks at the data behind rising criminalization of pregnancy.
Here’s new research from Gynuity on the safety and effectiveness of misoprostol-only medication abortion.
Read Dr. Autumn Asher BlackDeer’sreport, “Towards an Indigenous Reproductive Justice: Examining Attitudes on Abortion among American Indian and Alaska Native Communities.”
Here’s new research on abortion access for incarcerated folks.
Goodnight and good dunk — Not so much a dunk as just the cold hard truth from Gabrielle Perry on Twitter: “Louisiana Democrats left us for dead and Republicans are now in office finishing the job.” Feels like there’s a lot of places where some variation of that is true these days.
— Gabrielle A. Perry, MPH (@GeauxGabrielle) June 24, 2024
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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