Two More States Put Abortion on the Ballot, while Arkansas Amendment Remains in Legal Limbo

Andrea Grimes
11–16 minutes

Plus: Anti-abortion grifters abscond with Missourians’ tax dollars to harass people out of state.

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 Victoria Pickering via Flickr/Creative Commons

The big takeaway: It’s confirmed: Abortion rights will be on the ballot in Arizona and Missouri this fall. They should be in Arkansas, too, but the anti-abortion Republican state leadership there is terrified of democracy.

Arkansas repro organizers are suing Secretary of State John Thurston, who rejected the proposed state abortion rights amendment on spurious grounds in July. The Arkansas Supreme Court has now allowed two other groups behind unrelated ballot questions to join the suit. Stay tuned!

And: Couple of real good in-depth reports on anti-abortion movement finagling and grifting came out in the last week. There’s this KFF Health News look at Federalist Society fucko Leonard Leo’s weird obsession with Planned Parenthood, and don’t miss the ProPublica investigation into Missouri Republicans funneling tax dollars into an anti-abortion “sidewalk counseling” group that isn’t even operating in the state (because there are no more abortion providers in Missouri!).

The Top Headlines

HYPE INTERLUDE: Can we talk briefly about how great Scarleteen is???

The Scarleteen site was a lifeline for me as a teen growing up in Texas. At school, all I got was abstinence-only education, and at church, well — I mostly remember a middle-aged man waving a disgusting, used toothbrush in my face as some kind of metaphor for what I would become if I had sex before marriage.

But I knew I could hop online at home and go to Scarleteen for reliable, evidence-based, empowering and empathetic information about sex, relationships, bodies, and health.

Unfortunately, Scarleteen is facing a critical funding shortage right now, so they asked if I’d write this little plug for the site, and I said absolu-fucking-lutely! I know y’all are exactly the kind of folks who believe young people deserve queer-inclusive, pro-abortion, evidence-based, accessible and approachable resources on sexual health and all the rest.

❤️ The donation button is right here. ❤️

The Takes

  • For MSNBC, I wrote about the fallacy that anti-abortion politicians and activists want to “eliminate” abortion: “Voters — and politicians — who oppose abortion have had the same opportunities anyone else does to support access to contraception, sex education, and safety-net programs. But, again and again, they’ve chosen not to. Perhaps they have other priorities — such as enriching America’s modern-day robber barons, attacking transgender kids and adults, or accelerating climate disaster to the benefit of the oil and gas industry. Even then, ushering in climate change and supporting bodily autonomy are hardly mutually exclusive. There’s plainly another motivation at play here: rank misogyny.” (tl;dr??? I did a TikTok, too)
  • Activist Anne Rumberger, who helped organize Sunday’s “Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws” march in Chicago, is in In These Times making the case for de-siloing abortion rights, queer rights, and pro-Palestinian freedom movements as a Democratic electoral strategy: “Harris and other Democrats have been trying to dodge criticism on the campaign trail surrounding the genocide while going all-in on abortion rights. The late afternoon march was an opportunity for pro-Palestine and reproductive justice activists to publicly reject the premise that Harris cannot win while simultaneously embracing these and other struggles. These struggles are critically and inextricably linked.“
  • If you’re interested in the folks behind this year’s pro-abortion ballot initiatives, there are two good interviews to dive into this week: in the Meteor with Arizona organizer Dawn Penich, and in News from the States with Florida organizer Natasha Sutherland.
  • Sarah Posner is in MSNBC with a take on those terrifying leaked Heritage Foundation videos: “Trump can try to run, but he can’t hide from his closest allies’ plans to turn America into a dystopia where abortion is criminalized, and his loyalists wield power to police and censor even any discussion of it at the highest levels of government.”

The Tweets/Toks/Skeets/Grams

  • Via The Meteor on IG: Louisianan Kaitlyn Joshua shares her experience being denied miscarriage care by doctors afraid of running afoul of the state’s post-Dobbs abortion ban.
  • Via repro reporter Susan Rinkunas: “There is no such thing as a “safe state” for abortion unless and until there’s universal healthcare that covers it” !!! Louder for the people in the back!

The Fuck Are We Supposed to Do About It?

  • 👕 SWAG OF THE WEEK! 👕
  • 🍹 Austin, TX: The Lilith Fund‘s fall shindig features local makers donating proceeds to the abortion fund, plus drinks, a DJ, and a raffle. It’s Sunday, September 15.
  • 💬 Anywhere, for Black folks: The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Reproductive Equity Action Lab is “inviting Black people capable of pregnancy to participate in a confidential interview” to “learn more about your decision-making related to abortion care.” Here’s more info.
  • 🎭 Chicago: The “L’abortion Variety Hour: A Cavalcade of Cooch” on Monday, August 19th is (you guessed it) brought to you by the Abortion Access Front.
  • 🎸 McAllen, TX: The Frontera Fund‘s “Justicia: A Hardcore Show for Abortion” is Saturday, September 7th.
  • 🕺🏽Washington, D.C.: The DC Abortion Fund‘s election season dance party is Friday, September 13 at Songbyrd Music House.
  • 🍹 Chicago: The Midwest Access Project‘s fall fundraiser is Wednesday, September 25 at Guild Row. Apps and an open bar!
  • 👻 Denton/DFW: The TEA Fund‘s “Haunted Hotties Showcase” is Saturday, October 26 at Dan’s Silverleaf in Denton.
  • 🦺 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 through August 31! 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, or donate to help pay their insurance bill.
    • 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.

Goodnight and good dunk — Once upon a time, I knew that America’s Next Top Model cycle-one winner Adrianne Curry was a weird anti-abortion conservative, but then I forgot it. Now I remembered it again.

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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