Plus: Anti-abortion pregnancy centers are raking in millions in taxpayer dollars post-Dobbs

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!

The big takeaway: Florida’s six-week abortion ban will go into effect this Wednesday, May 1. While there’s an abortion rights ballot measure going up for a vote in November, what happens between now and then will likely be devastating to abortion access throughout the South. Florida was the last remaining state in the region where clinical abortion care has remained accessible up to 15 weeks; now, it’s effectively banned. (I know y’all know most people have no idea they’re pregnant before six weeks.)

For folks who want to donate, Floridians for Reproductive Freedom has a list of abortion funds in the state as well as other resources for accessing care.

The Top Headlines

• “Supreme Court justices appear split over whether to protect abortion care during emergencies” (Idaho Capital Sun)
• “Funding for crisis pregnancy centers could soon double or triple in some states” (Michigan Advance) — In addition to everything else that’s awful about taking people’s bodily autonomy away, remember this about the anti-abortion movement: it’s a massive fucking grift, and our taxpayer dollars are funding it.
• “Reproductive justice is an international human rights framework, so why are groups getting pushback for supporting Palestine?” (Prism)
• “17 states challenge federal rules entitling workers to accommodations for abortion” (AP)
• “An abortion fight in Beverly Hills exposes the limits of California’s ‘reproductive freedom’” (Cal Matters)
• “This 1873 Law Could Be Used to Ban Abortion. Why Not Repeal It?” (The New Republic)
• “Junk science is cited in abortion ban cases. Researchers are fighting the ‘fatally flawed’ work” (The Guardian)
• “GOP Rep. Scott Perry Flip-Flops On Whether He Backs A National Abortion Ban” (HuffPo) — Gambling!? In this establishment!?
• “An Israeli bomb destroyed 4,000 embryos at a Gaza IVF centre. Where is the outrage?” (The Guardian)
• “Alito reignites fetal rights debate in Idaho abortion case” (The Hill) — From the “this fucking guy, again” desk.
• “Can 14 strangers from Wisconsin help America find common ground on abortion?” (News from the States)

• 🇺🇸 What politicians and politicos on the national stage are doing and saying about abortion in advance of the ‘24 election:
  • “GOP’s Latest Abortion Strategy: Sound Pro-‘Choice’” (NOTUS)
  • “Republicans Are in Damage Control Mode Over Abortion” (The Nation)
  • “Biden blames Trump for Florida’s 6-week abortion ban, says women nationwide face health crisis” (AP)

• 👩🏽‍⚕️ What’s happening with clinical abortion care, providers, medication abortion, and such:
  • ““People Are Going to Die”: Supreme Court Case on Idaho Abortion Ban Threatens ER Care Across U.S.” (Democracy Now) — Before Dobbs, pro-abortion organizers spent a lot of time messaging on the safety and efficacy of self-managed abortion with pills, emphasizing that the risks of self-managed care are legal, not medical. But now it’s looking like the post-Dobbs landscape on abortion actually is medically risky in some cases: because so many hospitals and providers are refusing to provide clinical abortion care due to abortion bans.
  • “Abortion Data Wars: States and Cities Debate How Much Information to Collect” (NYT)
  • “New reporting requirements for life-saving abortions worry some doctors” (Texas Tribune)

• ⚖️ What’s going on with abortion bans, legal challenges, and bills at the state and local levels:
  • 🟢 “Judge tosses anti-abortion groups’ suit against San Antonio’s Reproductive Justice Fund” (San Antonio Current)
  • 🟡 “California Gov. Newsom Proposes Bill to Help Arizonans Seeking Abortion Care” (TruthOut) — Yellow light because this shouldn’t even be necessary in the first place but here we are!
  • 🟡 “AZ House has voted to repeal the 1864 abortion ban upheld by the Supreme Court” (Arizona Mirror)
  • 🔴 “Tennessee Passes Bill to Criminalize Abortion Support for Minors: ‘Terror Is the Intent’” (Jezebel) — From the piece: “If it’s signed, it will be illegal for an adult take a minor out-of-state to get an abortion, and those in violation would be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, or up to a one-year prison sentence. At the last minute, the bill’s authors added a clause that would prevent ambulance drivers and other transportation services from being held liable—which, if anything, acknowledges the breadth of just how many people could be needlessly criminally implicated under this law.”
  • 🔴 “Florida Abortion Ban to Take Effect, Cutting Off Major Access Point” (NYT) and “What You Need to Know About Florida’s Abortion Access Mess” (Rewire)— Florida’s abortion ban goes into effect Wednesday, May 1. Here’s more from Florida state Rep. Anna Eskamani on what the ban means, how access will work (it mostly won’t), and outside resources for folks who want to donate, who need help traveling for care, and/or are considering self-managed care with medication.

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SHOP WITH THE ARMADILLO UPDATE: Through May 1st, I’ll be matching + donating 10% of profits from my “Live, Laugh, L’abortions” merch to the National Network of Abortion Funds!

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The Takes

• Slate’s Dalia Lithwick has a good explainer on what’s at stake in the EMTALA case before SCOTUS.
• ICYMI, I wrote a short HWTA post last week about the connections between abortion bans and the suppression of free speech on college campuses (and elsewhere).

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The Tweets/Toks/Skeets/Grams

• Here’s Rewire’s Garnet Henderson with a word on platforming anti-abortion misinformation in the mainstream press:

• New research, via Ibis Reproductive Health’s Dana M. Johnson:

• While GOP politicians scrambling to retain (or retake) their offices spend their days lying about abortion and hoping nobody notices, the guys running the show are pretty fucking clear on the plan: outlaw abortion by any means necessary. Via reporter Jenny Cohn:

• Repro Reporter Susan Rinkunas brings the read on Mitch McConnell’s latest waffle-flarf on the prospect of a national abortion ban:

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The Fuck Are We Supposed to Do About It?

• 👕 SWAG OF THE WEEK! 👕
  • Absolutely ding-dang in love with these “Funding Texas Abortions Club” designs benefitting Jane’s Due Process.
• 💸 Anywhere: The RBG Fund in Florida is selling cute stacking bracelets to promote the abortion rights ballot measure there!
• 💸 Anywhere: Abortion doula and author Hannah Matthews has put out the call to fund support for two unhoused women seeking abortion care. Venmo deets here.
• 🗣️ Anywhere: Women on Web is looking for Polish speakers to join their help desk.
• 💸 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!
• 🌸 Baltimore: The Baltimore Abortion Fund’s Blossom Bash is Thursday, May 2.
• 👶🏽 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.
• 🎥 New York City: Join the New York Abortion Access Fund for a fundraiser screening of Mamma Mia on Sunday, May 12.
• 🥂 Dallas: The Texas Equal Access Fund‘s First Bloom event is set for Thursday, May 16th.
• 🥂 Iowa City: The Emma Goldman Clinic’s spring benefit is Friday, May 17.
• 🫱🏿‍🫲🏾 Dallas: The Afiya Center is hosting the Texas Black Womxn Reproductive Justice Summit in Dallas from May 23-26.
• 🪩 Brownsville, TX: The Frontera Fund‘s Drag-A-Thon is Saturday, May 25.
• 🦺 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

• 💸 From your wallet:
  • 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 rebuild Affirmative Care Solutions, the Illinois clinic attacked by an anti-abortion extremist who drove his car through the front of the building.
  • Here’s the verified crowdfunding page for “Ashley,” the 13-year-old mother who was denied abortion care in Mississippi and profiled in TIME magazine.
  • Donate to support the Austin Women’s Health Center and their essential repro health services, including miscarriage management and abortion referrals.
  • Donate $$ and pads to Just the Pill’s mobile clinic.
  • Here’s the verified crowdfunding page for the family of Samara, a 17-year-old in San Antonio and Buckle Bunnies Fund patient who died from repro health complications.
  • The Valley Abortion Group is a new all-trimester abortion facility fundraising to open in New Mexico — donate to the GoFundMe.
  • Donate to the Online Abortion Resource Squad, which supports the R/Abortion subreddit 24/7/365.
  • Donate to Elevated Access, which transports folks for abortion and gender-affirming care.
  • Donate to ensure Desert Star Family Planning in Phoenix can keep providing essential abortion care to folks in the Southwest.
  • Find your local abortion fund and donate.
  • 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.

• 🎙️ Podcasts!
  • Rewire’s Boom! Lawyered
  • Access, a podcast about abortion
  • Repro Legal Defense Fund’s No Body Criminalized
  • The Population Institute‘s rePROS Fight Back
  • Abortion Access Front‘s Feminist Buzzkills Podcast
  • The Meteor’s The A Files: The Secret History of Abortion
  • Ibis Reproductive Health and All-Options‘ Support Unseen

• ✍🏿 Sign and share:
  • Anywhere: Sign this multi-org-backed petition demanding Google stop “collecting and retaining location data and aiding abortion prosecutors.”
  • Anywhere: sign the Fight for the Future petition to demand better digital safety and security on Slack!
  • Anywhere: Sign the RJ Response to Stop Cop City.
  • Anywhere: UltraViolet’s petition calling on pharmacies to provide medication abortion access where it’s legal to do so.

• 🔎 Abortion Resources
  • ⚕️ Abortion providers, rights, and support:
    • Looking for a clinical abortion provider? AbortionFinder and INeedAnA are trustworthy and updated regularly.
    • Here’s the National Immigration Law Center’s know-your-rights-guide to abortion access for immigrants.
    • 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 Rights has an interactive online resource looking at “the current status of abortion rights through state court constitutional decisions.”
    • Check out the This Is Normal infogame about self-managed abortion.
  • 📚 Research:
    • Here’s If/When/How‘s latest report on the criminalization of self-managed abortion between 2000-2020.
    • 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’s report, “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.
  • 🗣️ Communicating about abortion:
    • Check out the ANSIRH On Screen program’s latest resource sheet and recommendations on abortion portrayals in film and television.
    • Who Not When’s guide to reporting on later abortion is just great.
    • Check out the “Pro Choice, But” campaign to better understand how to talk with folks who are, well, pro-choice … but.
    • Read this guide on using trans-inclusive language from ARC-Southeast and the Transgender Law Center.
    • REPRO Rising Virginia has a thorough guide-via-Twitter-thread to keeping your protest signs fresh.
    • Physicians for Reproductive Health’s wide-ranging messaging guide covers all kinds of topics in repro and abortion care.
  • 🚓 Abortion and pregnancy criminalization:
    • Read this solidarity + organizing brief from Interrupting Criminalization and a coalition of repro and anti-criminalization orgs.
    • The Repro Legal Defense Fund and the Community Justice Exchange have an extensive, attractive, and fact-filled guide to abortion criminalization in both English and Spanish.
  • 🏠 Self-managed abortion:
    • If/When/How’s Repro Legal Helpline guide to internet safety.
    • Plan C Pills has published a self-managed abortion field guide in super fun, accessible zine form.
    • The Digital Defense Fund has a useful guide to keeping your abortion private and secure.
    • This gorgeous slideshow from South Texans for Reproductive Justice!
    • Check out the SMAZine from Urge and LiberalJane.

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Goodnight and good dunk — Texas-based ob-gyn Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi speaks truth here:

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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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