Hard to Believe It's Only Tuesday: Arizona's 19th-Century Ban Goes Into Effect, Indiana Ban Blocked

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!

The big takeaway: Indiana providers were able to resume clinical care a week after the state’s new abortion ban went into effect— the first passed since the Supreme Court overturned Roe — thanks to a ruling from a Republican judge blocking enforcement for now.

FRIDAY EVENING UPDATE, another big takeaway: An Arizona judge has reinstated an 1864 (like, the year) abortion ban, ending abortion care in the state unless a person’s life is at risk. (And as we know, “life of the pregnant person” exceptions are anything but.)

The Top Headlines

• “These male politicians are pushing for women who receive abortions to be punished with prison time” (CNN) — Allow me to briefly pontificate: This coverage is not wholly wrong but it is frankly kind of strange? First, the “male politicians” thing. It’s not not a thing that the politicians pushing for abortion criminalization are mostly men who will never themselves be pregnant, but it’s pretty weird for relatively straight-laced, usually center/right-leaning CNN to make it their central angle — it’s what you’d do if you were trying to make a point that misogynist cis men back abortion bans because they want to control pregnant people (which is a partisan talking point!) or if you wanted to pull a do-you-see-what-we-did-here thing making male lawmakers’ gender a central part of the story as a winky comment on how women lawmakers often have to answer for their decisions based on their gender? I think? I guess it’s possible they think this is just regular abortion coverage. Anyway, second: criminalizing pregnant people is absolutely the long-term ultimate goal of the anti-abortion movement and has been, openly, for decades. When you see pundits react to this with any version of “Wow, can you believe this extreme shift? In my day, the GOP would never …” you can be sure that those pundits do not know very much about the politics of abortion. The difference is that, post-Roe, more anti-abortion politicians and lobbyists are willing to champion criminalization in public.

• “She wanted an abortion. Now the embryo is suing her doctors.” (Rolling Stone)

• “Abortion restrictions worsen with climate change” (Prism)

• “Exclusive: Elizabeth Warren and Senate Democrats press crisis pregnancy centers on abortion data gathering” (TIME)

• “New abortion laws jeopardize cancer treatment for pregnant patients” (CBS News)

• “The end of Roe could be changing people’s minds about abortion bans” (The 19th)

• What’s happening with state bans and restrictions:

  • “Arizona abortion ban: ‘Democrats have tried to politicize the issue’: Lake slams Hobbs on abortion in Fox News appearance”(Arizona Republic) — I try to include local coverage when I can on this stuff, and here’s a big pile of But Both Sides, Actually from the Arizona paper.

  • “Judge blocks Indiana abortion ban during Planned Parenthood challenge” (Reuters)

  • “Will Arizona outlaw nearly all abortions? What to know about upcoming court case” (AZCentral/The Arizona Republic) — A judge could rule any time on an 1864 abortion ban that’s been enjoined since 1973, but regardless, a new law is set to go into place Saturday, 9/24 banning abortion after 15 weeks. Here’s more from NPR.

  • “Wisconsin governor calls special session to repeal 1849-era abortion ban” (ABC News)

• What’s happening with clinics and providers:

  • “Indiana abortion clinics reopening after judge blocks ban” (Politico)

  • “Galvanized by Dobbs, more doctors are distributing abortion pills by mail” (Politico)

  • “Telemed abortion is expanding in parts of the U.S.” (The Verge)

The Tweets

• The Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund, which has been supporting folks in Jackson with clean water, is also working to help folks in Cleveland, MS with housing needs. Contribute if you can!

• Behold, the stuff of nightmares.

The Takes

• Charlotte Shane is in Harper’s with a righteous missive on reproductive freedom: “To call the anti-abortion cause a “forced birth” movement is too kind, and misses these extremists’ ultimate objective: dominion over impregnatable people. Their preoccupation with fetuses is useful only inasmuch as it facilitates this aim. Why else would they ensure, under pains of criminal law, that pregnant people suffer and die when their sacrifice cannot produce a living child?”

• I missed this a couple weeks ago, so here it is now! Tina Vásquez is in Prism with her takeaways from the repro justice conference Let’s Talk About Sex: “Even a few minutes at LTAS makes one thing abundantly clear: Young women of color—and young Black women specifically—fuel the reproductive justice movement. Young people from across the country flocked to the conference, excited to learn strategies for talking to their families about sexual and reproductive health and for organizing their communities and college campuses. West Texas’ abortion fund, the West Fund, traveled to Dallas with a group of teenagers. One of them told me it was her first time leaving El Paso and that the conference opened up her world.”

• FiveThirtyEight interviews voters of color on how/whether/why abortion influences their decision-making at the polls. Alex Samuels writes in the intro that they “found that concern about abortion access is widespread despite party affiliation and the obvious partisan divides in the abortion debate. Several people, like Gianna Gonzalez, 23, questioned the impact the Dobbs ruling would have on women regardless of whether they’d be personally affected. And others told me they viewed axing Roe as more than just a loss of access to reproductive care. (This lines up with my previous reporting on Black voters, who may be more likely to view abortion access as a civil rights issue.)”

• Your Local Epidemiologist, Katelyn Jetelina, talks about safe self-managed abortion with pills in a newsletter this week: “Despite crystal clear evidence on the safety and effectiveness of these pills for ending pregnancies, legal risk remains—and varies by state. Some states are not only making abortion care illegal, but are also actively criminalizing people who seek or support someone in obtaining abortion care. The public health harms of these bans, and of the criminalization they entail, are impossible to overstate.”

The Fuck Are We Supposed To Do About It?

• 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.

• Houston: Grab a drink at Poison Girl on Sunday, September 25th — the Ovary-Action fundraiser’s proceeds go to the Lilith Fund.

• New York City: A Is For’s annual gala, Broadway Acts for Abortion, is coming up on Sunday, October 2nd.

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

• Duluth: How delightfully midwestern is this hotdish bake-off for abortion care on Saturday, October 15th at the Peace United Church of Christ??? Proceeds go to the WE Health Clinic.

• Anywhere: Nashville’s Beyond Roe Collective is hosting a virtual training on self-managed abortion on Saturday, October 15th.

• New York City: Celebrate Halloween at Keats Bar with karaoke, costumes, and a fundraiser for the New York Abortion Access Fund.

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

• 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:

  • 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.

• Anywhere, best practices edition:

  • Check out the If/When/How Repro Legal Helpline guide to internet safety

  • Read this guide 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.

  • 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.

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