Hard to Believe It's Only Tuesday: Anti-Abortion Alito, the SCOTUS Leaker?

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. Remember: you can always email me ([email protected]) or DM me on instagram with action items to include in the The Fuck Are We Supposed To Do About It? section!

The big takeaway: A New York Times scoop this week suggests that SCOTUS Justice Samuel Alito leaked the outcome of the 2014 Hobby Lobby anti-contraception case to a then-anti-abortion leader. Alito authored the Hobby Lobby decision as well as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, leading many to speculate that the judge had a hand in leaking the opinion to Politico this spring. Alito denies all, but folks (mostly Democrats, of course) are calling for a proper investigation.

And: a judge struck down Georgia’s six-week abortion ban on Tuesday! State officials were back in court Friday asking the state supreme court to reinstate the ban.

The Top Headlines

• “Former anti-abortion leader alleges another Supreme Court breach” (New York Times)

• “Georgia abortion providers wary after court strikes down ban” (Yahoo News/AP)

• “‘We need to defend this law’: Inside an anti-abortion meeting with Tennessee’s GOP lawmakers” (ProPublica) — From the twitter promo: “In audio obtained by @propublica, an anti-abortion lobbyist encourages TN lawmakers to ‘hide behind the skirts of women’ who had given birth to babies conceived by rape or incest and had positive experiences.” Jezebel’s Susan Rinkunas pulled out some key quotes in a follow-up post headlined “Anti-abortion group advises state lawmakers not to go after IVF or birth control just yet.”

• “Biden says Democrats will not be able to pass abortion-rights legislation” (NBC News)

• “In rural America, the crisis of disappearing reproductive care steals lives” (Washington Post)

• “Barnard College will begin offering medication abortion for students beginning next year” (Prism)

• Shot/chaser: “Democrats want FDA to ease access to abortion pills” (The Hill) and “Conservative group sues FDA to revoke approval of abortion pill” (Washington Post)

• “Does your physician know how all contraception works? Not necessarily, a new study finds” (Green Bay Press Gazette) — Anti-abortion efforts to conflate contraception and pregnancy termination have been successful even with medical professionals.

• “Malta moves to ease EU’s last total ban on abortion” (BBC)

• “Three-day waiting period for abortions in Ireland ‘causes distress and delay’ — IFPA” (Limerick Live)

The Tweets

• If you’ve ever wondered why I don’t often link to the work of most of the best-known professional feminists in the U.S. and the U.K., it’s because very few of them use gender-inclusive language when they write, tweet, and talk about abortion, even though the year is 2022 and we have indoor plumbing and antibiotics and everything! Buckle Bunnies Fund co-founder Makayla Montoya Frazier is tired of it, too: “I beg of y’all to be trans inclusive! I shouldn’t go on abortion activists/writers pages and just see ‘women, women, women’ because we very much know better.”

• We Testify Executive Director Renee Bracey Sherman notes that President Biden has options he’s not taking when it comes to shoring up abortion rights at the federal level: “If Senate Democrats and Biden were serious about delivering on their campaign promise and making abortion legal across the country, they could do a carve-out in the filibuster and pass it right now. Instead they’re allowing a procedural rule, Manchin & Sinema to criminalize care.”

• Welp! No lies detected from Fund Texas Choice.

The Takes

• Advocates For Youth’s Larada Lee-Wallace writes in Essence that being pro-Black and pro-abortion are hardly mutually exclusive: “My work as an advocate supports my pro-Black stance rather than diminishing it. When we suggest that abortion is an act of genocide, we are also sending the message that Black women are not deserving of having autonomy. Anti-Blackness is not upheld by abortions or reproductive freedom—it is supported by acts meant to suppress Black people. As the criminalization of abortion continues to be a trend nationwide, I can’t help but think about the low-income-Black women in the South and Midwest who will continue to face the brunt of these policies.”

• The Nation’s abortion access correspondent, Amy Littlefield, is in the New York Times with a look at abortion’s strength in motivating midterm voters: “Support for abortion rights appears to have been a major factor in the midterm elections, helping Democrats fare much better than expected in many places. Though Republicans yielded control of the House, dashing hopes of federal legislation to codify Roe v. Wade in the next two years, the midterm results suggest that running on abortion can be a winning strategy for Democrats. The outcome offers lessons to Democrats looking ahead to a 2024 presidential election that could determine if a federal abortion ban is on the table.”

• Not to harp on a thing (actually, exactly to harp on a thing, sorry not sorry) — I do my best to link to gender-inclusive coverage on abortion because abortion justice is trans justice. This last week was Transgender Awareness Week, culminating in Sunday’s Transgender Day of Remembrance. The Objective has a rundown of great places to find thoughtful coverage of trans communities and issues affecting trans folks. Attacks on abortion access and attacks on trans people (many of them very literal, such as the shooting in Colorado Springs on Saturday night) go hand-in-hand.

The Fuck Are We Supposed To Do About It?

• 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.

• Online: It’s Native American Heritage Month, and National Network of Abortion Funds is hosting an Instagram Live conversation with Rachael Lorenzo and Nicole Martin of Indigenous Women Rising on Tuesday, November 22nd.

• Online/Ireland: Kerry for Choice’s next organizational meeting is Tuesday, November 29th via Zoom. Email them for details.

• West Texas or East Texas: Jane’s Due Process, which supports young folks’ access to reproductive care, is looking for volunteers in Bryan, College Station, San Angelo, and Lubbock to distribute repro kits containing emergency contraception and other essentials. Sign up here — and they’re looking for local businesses to volunteer as pick-up sites, too.

• Anywhere, for playwrights: A Is For’s one-act play contest for reproductive justice is on! Submit by December 31, 2022.

• California, Texas, or Georgia: SisterLove, Inc. is looking for English- or Spanish-speakers between the ages of 15 and 49 who “recently found out [they] were pregnant’” as part of a paid study through the University of Pittsburgh. Here’s the intake survey to find out if you qualify.

• Anywhere: Become a Plan C ambassador for medication abortion care.

• Anywhere, swag edition:

  • Grab holiday-themed abortion gear from JEN, the South Dakota abortion and practical support fund. The guinea pig shirt is precious/hilarious.

  • New gear from the Texas Equal Access Fund, including sweatshirts!

  • Get you some gear from Two Little Pills, which works to scrub out dated, harmful coat hanger imagery in favor of celebrating safe medication abortion. Proceeds go to Elevated Access, a group of volunteer pilots working to make sure folks can get to the abortion and gender-affirming care they need.

  • Buy one of @PrisonCulture’s shirts supporting the National Network of Abortion Funds.

• Anywhere, best practices edition:

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

  • 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.

  • Familiarize yourself with this Digital Defense Fund guide to keeping your abortion private and secure, and share it widely.

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

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

• Anywhere: Folks in Austin, TX have created model language for city-based protections for abortion. Check out this TikTok, or flip through this Instagram FAQ slide show from Jane’s Due Process.

• Sign and share:

  • 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.

• Texas: Join the Texas Abortion Hype Squad.

• 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.