More! Good! News! Abortion Bans Fail in South Carolina, Nebraska

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.

The big takeaway: Great, great news for “red states” Nebraska and South Carolina, where new abortion bans failed this week. I hope pundits and politicos recognize this news for the pro-abortion bellwether it is, and don’t try to situate it as some kind of one-off (two-off?) fluke. Abortion bans are unpopular and people don’t like them and politicians should be afraid of passing them and politicians who want to win should prioritize boldly, affirmatively, and enthusiastically supporting abortion rights and access!

The Top Headlines

• Two new polls out this week from NPR and Pew look at American attitudes toward abortion post-Dobbs, and it’s a pretty fascinating study in the way media chooses to frame abortion stories. (The actual topline is that support for legal abortion, which has always been high both nationwide and in red states, is growing.)

  • “Support for abortion rights has grown in spite of bans and restrictions, poll shows” (PBS)

  • “More adults think access to abortion should be easier, Pew report finds” (Politico)

  • “Poll: Americans want abortion restrictions, but not as far as red states are going” (NPR)

• “The poison pill in the mifepristone lawsuit that could trigger a national abortion ban” (The Nation) — Fascinating reporting from Amy Littlefield here, who gets both Jonathan Mitchell (unusual!) and Mark Lee Dickson (not unusual, but always batshit!) on the record talking legal strategy and their hopes for the crusade to use the Comstock Act to usher in a nationwide abortion ban. Highlights include:

  • Mitchell admitting he was keeping his Comstock strategy under wraps until after Dobbs

  • Mitchell admitting he’s trying to get Comstock in front of SCOTUS as soon as possible and by any means necessary

  • Dickson comparing himself to Batman

• Some tough reads involving first-person accounts of traumatic pregnancy experiences from people denied abortion care:

  • “‘My baby’s not gonna make it and neither am I’; women flee Oklahoma for life-saving abortions” (The Oklahoman)

  • “Woman suing Texas for abortion ban calls out Sens. Cruz, Cornyn: ‘I nearly died on their watch’” (The Hill)

• “The first ‘wrongful death’ case for helping a friend get an abortion’” (The Intercept)

• “Losing ballot issues on abortion, GOP now tries to keep them off the ballot” (NYT)

• “What is a medication abortion? Five people talk about taking the ‘abortion pill’” (Today)

• It’s just 79 short weeks until the 2024 presidential election, so I reckon it’s about time I launched a new subsection: what are politicians on the national stage doing and saying about abortion? (WAPOTNSDASAA? has a nice ring to it)

  • “Harris starts her 2024 race with a fired-up speech on the fight for abortion rights” (NPR)

  • “Nikki Haley promised to address abortion ‘directly and openly.’ Then she didn’t.” (Politico)

  • “Republican Graham loses cool over abortion after Supreme Court pill ruling” (The Guardian)

  • “GOP senators grow weary of Tuberville abortion stalemate on defense nominees” (The Hill)

• “Planned Parenthood workers protest union leader’s termination at [Minnesota] state Capitol” (Minnesota Reformer)

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

  • 🟢 “‘This was unexpected’: abortion bans blocked in Nebraska and South Carolina” (The Guardian)

  • 🟢 “Minnesota governor signs bills further enshrining abortion, gender-affirming care into law” (CNN)

  • 🟢 Tennessee’s “procurement of a miscarriage” law, which has been used to criminalize people who end their own pregnancies, has been repealed. (@HealthyFreeTN)

  • 🟡 “[Tennessee Gov.] Lee signs narrow abortion exception bill into law” (The Tennesseean)

  • 🟡 “Florida’s conservative chief justice once affirmed abortion protections” (WaPo) — I have long stopped believing that calling Republicans hypocrites matters even a little bit, but I’d love to be wrong!

  • 🔴 “North Dakota governor signs near-total abortion ban” (NYT)

  • 🔴 “Kansas Legislature enacts anti-abortion laws, overriding vetoes” (Topeka Capital-Journal) — Democracy’s on the way out, anyway.

  • 🔴 “Ohio AG says prosecutors who won’t pursue abortion providers can be removed from office” (Columbus Dispatch) and “Judge blasts DeSantis over Warren suspension but says he’s powerless to reinstate him” (Florida Phoenix) — Republican attorneys general are standing behind efforts to oust district attorneys who use prosecutorial discretion when it comes to abortion bans and restrictions, to wit: who decline to pursue charges against people who may fall afoul of such laws.

The Takes

• Jezebel’s Susan Rinkunas examines whether apparent Republican infighting over abortion isn’t just a song-and-dance for voters: “… it looks as if Republicans aren’t actually sparring over whether or not to ban abortion—they’re just pretending to be conflicted to spin a narrative of the party being moderate and principled ahead of a big election.”

• The New Republic’s Melissa Gira Grant notes that the chaos around medication abortion in the courts is precisely the point: “The net result of these rulings is that the groups who want to ban abortion have succeeded in piling on more questions, more chaos, more barriers. The anti-abortion forces, in short, are gaining ground, not ceding it. While the case works its way through the courts, they still get to ratchet up fear and confusion about access—exactly what they want, should the court someday find in their favor.”

• Repro legal scholar Mary Ziegler is in The Atlantic echoing what young folks in the abortion rights movement have been saying for years: “Today, it may be minors whose rights are on the line, but if the anti-abortion movement has its way, it will soon be the rest of us.”

• For the Meteor, Megan Carpentier interviews the West Alabama Women’s Center’s Robin Marty, who goes right on in: “Until the point at which this decision happened, blue states were at least trying to provide some sort of assistance to states like mine. After the decision, they all got distracted and began thinking: How do we maintain our own status quo? and began spending all their money buying as much medicine as they can. They are so busy trying to make sure that abortion remains exactly as it is in blue states, and the red states are left to flounder.”

The Tweets/Toks/Grams

• Repro Legal Scholar Michele Goodwin testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, edifying the body on the history of eugenics in the U.S., the legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer, and the ways in which attacks on Black women’s reproductive autonomy, voting rights, and other civil rights and freedoms are all interconnected. Her full testimony is available for download here, but the Leadership Conference tweeted a video excerpt:

• Everything is on fire and nothing feels good, but the Missouri Abortion Fund tweets some calming advice about how you can actually, and actionably, support repro orgs right now.

• Watch We Testify’s Renee Bracey Sherman (and her trusty abortion pills) on MSNBC:

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

The Fuck Are We Supposed to Do About It?

• 👕 SWAG OF THE WEEK! 👕

  • Epic cuteness + badassery: this new gear from Buckle Bunnies Fund featuring their signature bunny on the front and the protocols for safe self-managed abortion with pills on the back.

• 🗳️ San Antonio: Join Avow Texas for an Abortion on the Ballot Action Day training on Saturday, April 29th.

• ✊ Anywhere, for folks aged 14-24: Applications are due Monday, May 1st for Advocates For Youth’s Youth Activist Network, which organizes for repro justice across the country.

• 🖥️ Online, for people who’ve had abortions: We Testify’s Abortion Storytelling 101 webinar is Thursday, May 4th.

• 🥂 Austin: Celebrate Jane’s Due Process at LoLo Wine Bar on Wednesday, May 17th.

• 🥂 Dallas: The Texas Equal Access Fund’s First Bloom community awards gala is Thursday, May 18.

• 🍻 Albuquerque: Celebrate abortion access in New Mexico on Saturday, May 20th at Bow & Arrow Brewing Co.

• 💸 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!

• 🧑🏾‍⚕️ 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.

• 🧑🏾‍⚕️ 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.

• 🤠 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.

• 💸 From your wallet:

  • Donate $$ and pads to Just the Pill’s mobile clinic.

  • 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.

  • Use one link to split your donation between a number of Florida abortion funds.

  • Via the Repro Legal Defense Fund: donate to the defense fund for pro-abortion organizers targeted under a law originally meant to protect abortion clinics and providers.

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

  • 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!

• ✍️ Sign and share:

  • New York: Support access to on-campus medication abortion.

  • Anywhere: Tell Planned Parenthood North Central States to stop union-busting.

  • 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.

• 📖 Anywhere, resources edition:

  • Read this solidarity + organizing brief from Interrupting Criminalization and a coalition of repro and anti-criminalization orgs.

  • 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.

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.