Plus: Iowa’s six-week abortion ban goes into effect today.

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!

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The big takeaway: As of today, Iowa is the latest state to put a six-week abortion ban into effect. Clinical providers in surrounding states are preparing to serve patients who are able to travel for care.

As ever: local abortion funds, grassroots repro justice groups, and independent providers should be your first stop when donating to support people and providers in abortion ban states. Give to the Iowa Abortion Access Fund, or donate to support the Emma Goldman Clinic in Iowa City, which aims to remain open to provide the limited care still allowed under the ban, as well as other forms of reproductive and gender-affirming care.

And: Have questions about pregnancy criminalization and surveillance? Grace Howard, author of The Pregnancy Police: Conceiving Crime, Arresting Personhood is taking your questions through 7/29 via Bolts Mag.

The Top Headlines

• “Abortion Misinformation Is All Over the Internet. You Can Blame Big Tech Censorship.” (Rewire)
• “Texas woman’s lawsuit after being jailed on murder charge over abortion can proceed, judge rules” (AP)
• “For Thousands of Georgians, Freely Traveling Across State Lines for an Abortion Is Not an Option” (Bolts)
• “Data privacy after Dobbs: Is period tracking safe?” (News from the States)
• “TikTok collected views on abortion, gun control from U.S. users, Justice Department says” (CBS/AP)
• “Rhetoric versus reality: Addressing common misconceptions about abortion” (News from the States)
• “A New Normal for Abortion Funds Without ‘Roe’” (Rewire)

• 🇺🇸 What politicians and politicos on the national stage are doing and saying about abortion in advance of the ‘24 election:
  • “JD Vance called for ‘federal response’ to block women from traveling for abortions” (The Guardian)
  • “How Kamala Harris’ time as a California prosecutor could shape her abortion policies as president” (The 19th)
  • “Biggest US abortion rights groups back Kamala Harris as effective messenger” (The Guardian)
  • “Kamala Harris’ super PAC launches 1st campaign ad targeting Trump over Roe v. Wade” (ABC News)

• 👩🏽‍⚕️ What’s happening with clinical abortion care, providers, medication abortion, and such:
  • “GOP states’ effort to restrict abortion pill rebuffed by appeals court” (Reuters) — A ruling from a three-judge panel on the 9th Circuit found Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah lack standing to sue to demand more restrictions on mifepristone because they cannot demonstrate injury from telemed prescriptions. But be mindful: Idaho, Missouri, and Kansas are pursuing similar efforts in the Amarillo court of Judge Matt Kacsmaryk, the anti-abortion judge Trump hand-picked for his views.
  • “Iowa now bans most abortions after about 6 weeks” (NBC News)
  • “Minnesota prepares for Iowa’s abortion restrictions to take effect on Monday” (MPR)
  • “OB-GYN questions Louisiana’s ‘dangerous’ classification of abortion, miscarriage drugs” (Louisiana Illuminator)

• ⚖️ What’s going on with abortion bans, legal challenges, and bills at the state and local levels:
  • 🟢 “Two Montana ballot initiative groups say they’ve met signature requirements” (Daily Montanan)
  • 🟡 “Federal judge could rule soon on Alabama lawsuit over threats of prosecution to abortion aid” (Alabama Reflector)
  • 🟡 “Judge strikes down a North Carolina abortion restriction but upholds another” (WRAL/AP)
  • 🟡 “Kansas won’t force abortion providers to survey women for at least a year under deal” (AOL/Kansas City Star)
  • 🟡 “Arkansas Secretary of State counts 87K+ signatures for proposed abortion amendment” (Arkansas Advocate)
  • 🟡 “Amendment 4 sponsor is taking dispute over the state’s financial analysis to FL Supreme Court” (Florida Phoenix)
  • 🟡 “Arizona judge rejects wording for a state abortion ballot measure. Republicans plan to appeal” (ABC/AP)
  • 🔴 “Nebraska Supreme Court upholds law restricting abortion and trans health care for minors” (Nebraska Examiner)
  • 🔴 “Anti-abortion group argues that Indiana health department’s abortion records must be public” (Indiana Capital Chronicle)
  • 🔴 “Attorney for North Dakota asks judge to dismiss lawsuit over state’s abortion ban” (North Dakota Monitor)

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The Takes

• We Testify’s Renee Bracey Sherman was on “Democracy Now“ talking about her latest Teen Vogue piece on J.D. Vance’s creepy, white supremacist trad-wife obsession: She told host Amy Goodman: “Vance is the updated version of Anthony Comstock,” and writes in Teen Vogue: “People like Vance are laying out a vision for white cis women, which includes a place in society bolstered by the subjugation of Black and Brown cis and trans women, as well as nonbinary individuals. It’s one where white women — or women who conform to white Christian values — are given a certain place, while continuing to capitalize off the labor of people of color.“
• The Des Moines Register‘s editorial board details why so-called “exceptions” to bans are functionally worthless: “as reproductive freedom in the state comes to an end, it’s worth underlining how unyielding the supposed exceptions really are.“
• Cartoonist Jen Sorensen takes on J.D. Vance’s anti-abortion fuckery for Daily Kos.

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The Tweets/Toks/Skeets/Grams

• Erika and Garin of @RHAVote tweet a thread expanding on stats around later abortion care:

Lots of good stuff in this article debunking later abortion opposition rhetoric. But there are two important clarifications to make, regarding frequency and public opinion I'd like to add: https://t.co/CK2MfdkTyA

— RHAvote (@RHAVote) July 24, 2024

• I am extremely here for Clinic Escort Godzilla. Thanks, ReproMemes:

— ReproMemes (@repromemes.bsky.social) 2024-07-25T23:49:50.456Z

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The Fuck Are We Supposed to Do About It?

• 👕 SWAG OF THE WEEK! 👕
  • Y’all know I’m all for anything that combines cats and abortion care, and this yee-haw cat design from the Missouri Abortion Fund ticks all the boxes.
• 💸 Anywhere, from your wallet: Donate to help WAWC in Tuscaloosa, Alabama pay their insurance bill.
• 👶🏽 Dallas, TX: The TEA Fund’s infant care resource drive is Saturday, August 10 at the Church in the Cliff.
• 🇵🇸 Anywhere: The TEA Fund and HEART Women & Girls are hosting a webinar, “Understanding the Palestine Occupation from a Reproductive Justice Perspective,” on Friday, August 16th.
• 🛍️ Anywhere, but Texas-focused: The Lilith Fund is bringing PACKs (post-abortion care kits) back! Volunteer in San Antonio to build kits, or donate or buy something from their Amazon wishlist by Wednesday, August 14.
• 🦺 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:
  • The $1 Million for Black RJ campaign is live! Donate here.
  • 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 INeedAnA‘s fabulous, comprehensive online resource for people under the age of 18 who need information about how to access abortion care, especially in states that require parental involvement.
    • 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, 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’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 — Imagine taking three entire days to come up with this! Via repro reporter Susan Rinkunas.

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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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