Plus: New report on self-managed abortion identifies over five dozen criminalization cases since 2000.
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!
PROGRAMMING NOTE: I’m looking for new photos to illustrate this newsletter, as the font of Creative Commons options on Flickr is not endlessly self-renewing. Have you taken photos at a public pro-abortion protest or other fun feminist event that you’d be willing to let me publish? I’ll credit folks, of course, and am happy to make a small donation to a cause of the photographer’s choosing if I end up using a pic. So! Please send photos my way — andrea dot grimes at gmail com — or tag me wherever your images already exist online, assuming it’s clear you have ownership/permission to share.
The big takeaway: When Republicans tell you they are only looking for a little ~ consensus ~ and would be perfectly happy with a nationwide 15-week abortion ban, will you take them at their word, or will you never let them fucking forget that the man they literally just elected House Speaker is about as craven an anti-abortion chucklefuck as anyone who has ever walked this here earth? Mike Johnson has blamed school shootings on abortion. He is, explicitly and openly, a white Christian nationalist who kickstarted his career at Alliance Defending Freedom, the bigotry clearinghouse behind some of the most horrifying anti-abortion and anti-queer legislation making its way through the courts right now.
Like I wrote for MSNBC over the weekend: They! Are! Not! Looking! For! Consensus! And! They! Hope! We! Are! Too! Stupid! To! Notice!
“Doctor suing FDA recruited to scientific advisory board to ‘repurpose’ abortion pill” (States Newsroom) — This story is really just a remarkable example of the ways in which anti-abortion lobbyists refuse not just to stay in their own lanes, but the ways in which they will make up new lanes from which to fuck with people’s health care.
🇺🇸 What politicians and politicos on the national stage are doing and saying about abortion in advance of the ‘24 election:
“Former Vice President Mike Pence suspends his 2024 presidential bid” (NBC News) — Only abortion-related in that Mike Pence would love to cast himself as essentially abortion-related, but it’s interesting that the most vocally anti-abortion Republican with the most ~ presidential ~ resumé tanked out this early.
⚖️ What’s going on with abortion bans, legal challenges, and bills at the state and local levels:
Here on HWTA, I looked at what abortion ‘travel bans’ do — are meant to do — even when they’re not constitutional, or even enforced. I also made a TikTok about it.
For MSNBC, I wrote about why abortion isn’t going away as an issue of core importance to voters. To the contrary, I think we can only expect repro rights to become more pressing as more and more folks are forced to grapple with abortion bans, growing maternal mortality, and related incursions on bodily autonomy.
A coalition of U.S. abortion funds and reproductive justice organizations, led by ARC-Southeast, have released a powerful statement, “Reproductive Justice Includes Palestinian Liberation.” Read the whole thing, but here’s a highlight: “We encourage reproductive justice allies to listen to Palestinian voices, learn about apartheid policies, take action to support Palestinian human rights, and support those who have. Especially considering our own tax dollars have been upholding this apartheid, with Israel receiving over $260 billion in U.S. aid. Just this past month, ARC-Southeast was denied a resolution in Fulton County to provide $300,000 to support reproductive justice; a little over a week later, Fulton County unanimously voted to have a “Stand With Israel Day”, and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp was able to find $10 million to support Israel. It is clear that, per usual, the side of justice lies with the people, not with the state and their politicians.“
The Tweets/Toks/Grams
I’ve linked to If/When/How‘s new report on abortion criminalization in the action items section below, but if you’re looking for the tl;dr (though you should absolutely r), researcher Laura Husstweets a thread:
🧵Today, we @ifwhenhow are launching the final report in our multi-year research effort documenting & analyzing cases of criminalization for alleged self-managed abortion from 2000 to 2020. The full report & executive summary is available here: https://t.co/MB3S6bJtsU
🧑🏾⚕️ Anywhere, for medical residents training in abortion care: Obstetricians for Reproductive Justice and others will fund residents who need to travel out of state for abortion care training through December 2023 (or retroactively since July 1, 2022). Here’s how to apply.
🤠 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 is a neat new collaboration that helps prep voters to support pro-abortion policies and candidates
💸 From your wallet:
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.
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.
📚 Research:
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.
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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