Hard to Believe It's Only Tuesday: Anti-Abortion Lobbyist Arrested for Soliciting a Minor

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. Remember: you can always email me ([email protected]) or @/DM me on twitter with action items — rallies, trainings, fundraisers, block-walks, petitions, etc. — to include in the The Fuck Are We Supposed To Do About It? section!

This week’s big takeaway: Trigger bans in Texas and Tennessee took effect, while part of Idaho’s trigger ban was blocked, and North Dakota’s ban has been blocked.

But also, ugh: The political director of one of Texas’ most influential anti-abortion lobby groups was arrested for soliciting a minor online. Something something groomers, something something projection, etc.

The Top Headlines

• “Top staffer for major anti-abortion group arrested for soliciting a minor” (Vice) — Luke Bowen, the political director of Texas Right to Life, one of the state’s two most influential anti-abortion groups, was arrested August 3rd in a sting operation; he was fired the same day. I noted this on Twitter, but the news was originally broken by a weird alt-right blog; I’m dying to know if intra-Texas-anti-abortion org drama inspired someone to tip ‘em off.

• “1 in 3 American women have already lost abortion access. More restrictive laws are coming.” (WaPo) — Close to 21 million American women (and, of course, trans men and nonbinary folks, though that’s not the language this calculation uses) have lost access to care so far in the states where they live.

• What’s happening at the state level:

  • “Tennessee’s near-total abortion ban goes into effect Thursday” (The Tennessean) — No exceptions for rape or incest.

  • “North Dakota judge blocks abortion ban from going into effect Friday” (WaPo) — “Although the trigger ban has been blocked, the state will have no abortion clinic for the foreseeable future.”

  • “Texans who perform abortions now face up to life in prison, $100,000 fine” (Texas Tribune) — Abortions have been unavailable in Texas for some time, but now the state’s trigger law is in effect, with no exceptions for rape or incest and no meaningful access to abortion in the case of a pregnant person’s health.

  • “Judge blocks part of Idaho’s abortion law from taking effect” (WaPo) — The part in question is one that blocks criminalization for abortion providers if they’re providing care to protect a pregnant person’s life.

  • “Biden Administration can’t force Texas hospitals to provide emergency abortions, judge rules” (Texas Tribune) — The framing around this is all kinds of weird; the ruling is about a technical point of law (per a Trump-appointed judge) that says the Biden Administration overstepped in its reiteration that Texas and federal law overlap when it comes to so-called exceptions for abortion, i.e., that Texas providers can actually legally provide pregnancy-ending care to folks whose lives are at risk. Ken Paxton is having a whole meltdown about it. More in Mother Jones.

  • “Abortion rights groups sue Texas AG, prosecutors to protect ability to help pregnant Texans seek abortions in other states” (Texas Tribune) — It’s a “federal class-action lawsuit to head off possible prosecution from Texas officials for helping Texans gain access to legal abortions in other states.”

  • “Michigan abortion, voting rights proposals one step closer to ballot after signature review” (Detroit Free Press) — Michigan voters will have the chance to enshrine abortion rights by statute this November!

• “Officials withheld funds over an abortion ban. Black Louisianans are most at risk.” (Capital B) — From the all of this shit is intersectional desk: The Louisiana bond commission is withholding $39 million in flood prevention funds from New Orleans because officials there have vowed not to enforce the state’s abortion ban.

• “Minnesota set to become ‘abortion access island’ in the Midwest, but for whom?” (ProPublica) — For white people.

• “Why adoption isn’t an alternative to abortion” (Access: A Podcast About Abortion) — It’s hard to find straight talk about adoption that takes the experiences of birth parents and adoptees seriously. Listen to this.

• “A Florida judge who denied a teen girl an abortion because of her grades was voted out of office” (BuzzFeed News) — Fuck around, find out, etc. (Good news out of New York, too.)

• “Abortion rises in importance as a voting issue, driven by Democrats” (Pew) — Nobody likes Joe Biden, but not more than they don’t like forced pregnancy.

• “There’s a bipartisan bill to codify Roe — and abortion rights groups can’t stand it” (Vox) — The framing on this is pretty dippy, but the reporting is solid. Codifying Roe is not an easy or clear fix, and groups looking to not have this abortion access fight again immediately — especially since the bill isn’t likely to succeed anyway — are right to be pushing for more.

• “New restrictions from major abortion funder could further limit access” (WaPo) — The National Abortion Federation is one of the largest single-source funders of abortion care in the nation. The org has been problematic for a long time, but they also control the purse strings for dozens of smaller funds who rely on NAF for client support.

The Tweets and Toks

• Georgetown Law Professor Aderson B. Francois tweets on the ultimate goal of the anti-abortion lobby, however much the GOP is trying to backpedal post-Dobbs: fetal personhood under the 14th Amendment:

• This is a recent re-up via @BeyondRoeCollective from a July thread by @supermattachine on the barriers trans men face not just to abortion care, but to the full spectrum of autonomous reproductive and fertility care that everyone deserves.

• Missouri abortion access supporters infiltrated an anti-abortion organization over many months, and the result is hilarious.

The Takes

• Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts has a play-by-play of U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters’ efforts to scrub himself clean of his anti-abortion, like really anti-abortion, beliefs — now that it seems poll-tastically unfavorable.

The Fuck Are We Supposed To Do About It?

• Everywhere: #500ActsForAbortion (there’s well more than that, actually!) is a grassroots effort wherein hundreds of people are committing to doing something concrete for abortion access on Saturday, August 27th. It’s not too late to commit! Mariame Kaba, aka @prisonculture on Twitter, has a very cool playing-card-sized art campaign, #ArtAndAbetAbortion, that just about anyone can join up with.

• 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.

• North Texas: Get you a tattoo for reproductive justice at Vato Loco Tattoos in Arlington on Saturday, August 27th. Proceeds benefit the Texas Equal Access Fund. This event has been postponed!

• North Texas: Avow Texas is organizing a deep canvassing event in Richardson on Monday, August 29th.

• Austin, Texas: Grab a tasty beverage at Kinda Tropical this Sunday, August 28, to benefit Wendy Davis’ Deeds Not Words.

• Dallas, Texas: Friends with Benefit — “Bands, DJs, art auction, raffle, good times and so much more!” — is Sunday, September 4th at Thunderbird Station. Beneficiaries are Texas Equal Access Fund, Jane’s Due Process, and Buckle Bunnies Fund.

• Denton, Texas: Head to Rubber Gloves for a show benefitting Texas Equal Access Fund on Saturday, September 3rd.

• New York City: A Is For’s annual gala, Broadway Acts for Abortion is coming up on October 2nd, and it sounds like a wild time. Folks with deeper pockets can sponsor a table.

• Austin: Eat delicious meals from L’Oca d’Oro’s Pasta Paisanos!: Collaborative Dinners for Abortion Rights series benefitting the Lilith Fund, on September 6th, October 4th, and November 1st.

• Anywhere: Dallas’ Afiya Center is going on week three of reading Dorothy Roberts’ Killing the Black Body, and it’s not too late to join the virtual book club.

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

• Anywhere, swag edition:

  • Get you a shirt celebrating young people’s abortion access, benefitting Jane’s Due Process!

  • 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.

  • Order your own INeedAnA promo stickers to plaster everywhere you go.

• Anywhere, zines edition:

  • Get you an Abortion Showers zine!

  • Request a copy of Rosie’s Zine to learn more about Rosie Jimenez, the Texan, college student, and single mom who died in 1977 after having an unsafe abortion when she wasn’t able to afford clinical care thanks to bans on abortion coverage.

• Anywhere, best practices edition:

  • Read this guide (for journalists, but useful for everybody) on using trans-inclusive language when talking about reproductive health care, from ARC-Southeast and the Transgender Law Center.

  • REPRO Rising Virginia has a positive, and positively 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.

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

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

• 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!

• Texas: Join the Texas Abortion Hype Squad

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 Twitter, and I’ll try to add follow-ups as I’m able.