Give Birth or Die Trying (or Go to Jail)

Here’s another edition of Hard to Believe It’s Only Tuesday, a weekly roundup of the top headlines, tweets (for now!), toks, takes, and more in abortion news. You can always email me ([email protected]) or DM me on instagram with action items, takes, and news clips.

Regular readers will notice a new feature! If you make it all the way to the end of the newsletter, you’ll be treated to Goodnight and Good Dunk, a little sign-off nug featuring a pro-abortion burn. If you spot a good dunk out in the wild, tag me/shuffle it into my inbox.

The big takeaway: Doctors are leaving Texas and an Idaho hospital has shuttered its L&D unit to protect providers from criminalization. An international court is reviewing the case of Beatriz, a Salvadoran woman who was denied an abortion despite life-threatening complications to her pregnancy, and an Alabama abortion provider opens up about the state’s attempts to terrorize her out of providing care.

Threatening folks with prosecution, and/or years-long legal battles as a result of abortion bans really works wonders if the goal is to force people to give birth or die trying. (That is the goal.)

The Top Headlines

• “‘You know what? I’m not doing this any more.’” (Slate) — Sophie Novack reports on “a quiet new crisis brewing in Texas following the abortion ban,” to wit, maternal and pregnancy care providers leaving the state out of fear of being criminalized or sued for doing their jobs.

• “Idaho hospital shuts down labor and delivery department over threat of abortion criminalization” (Jezebel)

• “Human rights court begins review of high-stakes El Salvador abortion case” (Reuters) — Beatriz, a domestic worker in El Salvador, where abortion is outlawed, was denied an abortion in 2013. Now, the Inter-America Court of Human Rights is looking into her case. More on international solidarity actions in the Tweets section below.

• “She was one of Alabama’s last abortion doctors. Then they came for everything she had” (The Guardian) — Poppy Noor profiles OB-GYN Leah Torres.

• “Inside the post-Roe scramble to count abortions” (Undark) — A must read for social science nerds who are also data journalism nerds who are also abortion nerds.

• “When abortion havens restrict access, where can people get care?” (Prism)

• “What plaintiffs targeting abortion pill want might not even be possible” (News from the States) — This is a kinda confusing headline on an interesting look at the legal remedies, or lack thereof, available to the anti-abortion lobby group trying to convince a Texas judge to force the FDA to pull mifepristone off the market.

• “[Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown] Jackson dissents in abortion case” (Politico) — Concerning a Missouri case about young people’s abortion access, Justice Jackson took issue with the Court’s willingness to vacate lower court decisions on the basis of “mere disagreement with the decision.” Jezebel has more.

• “Abortion laws stand between pregnant Texans and the care they need” (Texas Observer)

• What the anti-abortion crowd is up to lately:

  • “Woman who drove 150 miles to torch abortion clinic says it was ‘giving her nightmares’” (Jezebel)

  • “Ohio Ballot Board sued over approval of proposed abortion rights constitutional amendment” (Ohio Capital Journal)

• What’s going on with abortion bans, legal challenges, and bills at the state and local levels:

  • 🟢 “Wyoming’s recent abortion ban is reversed — for now” (Wyoming Public Media)

  • 🟢 “Lawsuit seeks to block abortion pill ban in Wyoming” (AP)

  • 🟢 “[Massachusetts Gov.] Healey warns pharmacies to keep abortion meds stocked” (CommonWealth)

  • 🟢 “Abortion protections will be expanded in Hawaii under new law” (Honolulu Civil Beat)

  • 🟢 “New Mexico governor signs bill protecting access to reproductive and gender-affirming care into law” (CNN)

  • 🟢 “Vermont Senate passes bill to protect abortion providers” (WCAX)

  • 🟢 “Colorado Democrats pass trio of abortion rights bills in Senate, sending them to the House” (Colorado Politics)

  • 🟢 “Minnesota House passes bill protecting abortion providers, patients from out-of-state legal action” (CBS Minnesota)

  • 🟡 “Oklahoma Supreme Court finds ‘limited right’ to abortion in state constitution” (The Oklahoman) — The ‘limited right’ in question is the right to abortion to save the life of the pregnant person. Dissenting judges, well, dissented, saying the state could force pregnant people to die if it wanted to. More on that in the Takes section below.

  • 🟡 “Nine Republicans pull support from South Carolina bill allowing the death penalty for abortion” (NBC News)

  • 🔴 “Wyoming governor signs law outlawing use of abortion pills” (Reuters) — Important to note that the ban doesn’t go into effect until July.

  • 🔴 “Florida legislators want to vastly expand state funds for anti-abortion pregnancy centers” (Reveal)

  • 🔴 “Arkansas legislators file two bills related to abortion during spring break” (Arkansas Advocate) — One bill would expand a medical exemption to the state’s abortion ban (remember: exemptions usually aren’t), while the other would ban medication abortion.

  • 🔴 “After Kansas abortion vote, lawmakers advance bill requiring care for infants ‘born alive’” (The Topeka Capital-Journal) — “Born alive” aborted fetuses are, and I cannot stress this enough, not a thing.

The Takes

• Slate’s Christina Cauterucci unpacks four Oklahoma Supreme Court justices’ bald disregard for the lives of pregnant people: “If a patient does not have the right to abortion under any circumstance, unless the privilege is granted to her by the people and their legislators, the people and their legislators could legally force her to die.”

• Vox’s Rachel M. Cohen explains the anti-abortion movement’s latest display of legal gymnastics: attempting to negate court injunctions.

• The Guardian’s Arwa Mahdawi asks: Are Texas’s abortion laws being used for state-sponsored spousal harassment? The answer is yes.

The Tweets/Toks/Grams

• It was a week of international solidarity for abortion access, with activists gathering in the U.S. and in Costa Rica to call for #JusticiaParaBeatriz.

• Repro legal scholar David S. Cohen continues to write great threads about the Texas mifepristone case.

• The Texas Equal Access Fund has resumed funding out-of-state abortion care following a recent court ruling barring state prosecutors from criminalizing abortion funds and supporters for helping folks access care in states where it’s legal.

Know someone who needs a little pro-abortion activism in their life, as a treat?

The Fuck Are We Supposed to Do About It?

• 💻 Online: The Midwest Access Project’s Reproductive Justice Advocacy Workshop is Wednesday, March 29. Register by Monday, March 27.

• 🙋🏽 Illinois: Support legislation “holding anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers accountable for their harmful disinformation” by submitting a witness slip to the Illinois lege by Wednesday, March 29.

• 💻 Online: The next installment of Interrupting Criminalization and Project NIA’s “abolitionist toolbox” series is Thursday, March 30th and features repro legal experts from If/When/How and the Repro Legal Defense Fund.

• 🖌️ Baltimore: Get tattooed for abortion!

• 💸 United States: Applications for the Third Wave Fund’s Own Our Power Fund are due by Friday, April 21. From Insta: “youth-led reproductive and gender justice organizations with an annual budget of up to $500,000 USD are eligible to apply, with a priority on groups located in regions or focused on issues that are philanthropically under-resourced.”

• 💸 Everywhere: It’s Abortion Access Fund-A-Thon season! Find a team, a fund, and/or a fundraiser near you, or start your own! Fund some abortions!

• 📥 Anywhere: Looking for a job in repro? ReproJobs can help you spruce up your resume!

• 💸 From your wallet: The Repro Legal Defense Fund, which supports and defends people criminalized for abortions and pregnancy loss, has teamed up with the Transgender Law Center to launch the Trans Legal Health Fund. Donate today to fund legal defenses for people criminalized for accessing gender-affirming health care!

• 🧑🏾‍⚕️ 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.

• 💸 From your wallet: The Valley Abortion Group is a new all-trimester abortion facility fundraising to open in New Mexico — donate to the GoFundMe.

• 🧑🏾‍⚕️ Anywhere, for health care providers: UCSF’s Dobbs Impact Study is looking at instances of “poor-quality medical care since the Dobbs decision,” and they’re encouraging providers to submit de-identified stories.

• 👕 Anywhere: get swag!

  • “Abort mission” totes and shirts benefit the Brigid Alliance and the Abortion Support Network.

• 🤠 Texas:

  • Join the Texas Abortion Hype Squad.

  • 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.

• 📖 Anywhere, resources edition:

  • I Need An A’s new “stories” section provides resources, support, and information for folks seeking abortion care.

  • Plan C Pills has published a self-managed abortion field guide in super fun, accessible zine form.

  • Physicians for Reproductive Health has updated guidance on discussing and reporting on later abortion care.

  • 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.

  • Check out the “Pro Choice, But” campaign to better understand how to talk with folks who are, well, pro-choice … but.

  • Read the National Immigration Law Center’s know-your-rights-guide to abortion access for immigrants and share widely.

  • Familiarize yourself with this Digital Defense Fund guide to keeping your abortion private and secure, or check out the If/When/How Repro Legal Helpline guide to internet safety.

  • Read this guide on using trans-inclusive language from ARC-Southeast and the Transgender Law Center.

  • REPRO Rising Virginia has a thorough guide to updating your protest signs to make sure you’re using the most forward-thinking, respectful, and impactful language around abortion.

  • Here’s a big list of action items and info created by @RHAVote, and another big list of action items and info created by Alison Turkos.

• ✍️ Sign and share:

  • Anywhere: Sign the RJ Response to Stop Cop City.

  • Anywhere: All Above All*’s petition to lift outdated restrictions on medication abortion.

  • Anywhere: UltraViolet’s petition calling on pharmacies to provide medication abortion access where it’s legal to do so.

  • Texas: Avow Texas’ petition demands county district attorneys pledge not to prosecute people for providing abortions, or because of a pregnancy outcome.

  • Anywhere: All Above All*’s petition asks President Biden take immediate steps to ensure abortion justice for immigrants.

  • Georgia: Sign the Amplify Georgia Collaborative’s petition to support the Georgia Reproductive Freedom Act.

  • Anywhere: Use All Above All*’s online form to express your support for the EACH act in Congress.

• 💸 From your wallet: 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!

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 — [email protected], or DM me on Instagram, and I’ll try to add follow-ups as I’m able.