Hard to Believe It's Only Tuesday: Biden Vows to Veto Abortion Ban If Necessary

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 or instagram 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: Two important takes on abortion at the federal/national executive level. First, President Biden has vowed to use his veto power against a nationwide abortion ban if Republicans take Congress at the midterms. Second, the Pentagon has said it will pay for service members to travel for abortion care; NPR notes that “several of the military's largest U.S. bases are located in states where abortion is now banned, including Fort Campbell, which straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee border, and Fort Hood in Texas, both of which are home to tens of thousands of service members.” Abortion care by federal providers is limited by the racist, classist, misogynist Hyde Amendment to cases of rape, incest, and the life of the pregnant person.

The Top Headlines

• “Biden vows to use veto if Republicans win Congress and try to ban abortion” (Reuters)

• “The Pentagon will pay for service members to travel for abortions” (NPR)

• “A Black woman who used to work at Planned Parenthood is suing the organization for racial discrimination and wrongful termination” (Buzzfeed News)

• “Abortion rights are at the forefront of the midterm elections this November” (Prism)

• “Getting an abortion as a trans person is hard, with or without state restrictions” (NPR)

• “Walker concedes giving check to ex-partner; denies knowing it was for an abortion” (WaPo) — A new development in the latest-ish Herschel Walker kerfuffle overshadowing his GOP Senate candidacy in Georgia.

• “On the US-Mexico border, a new model for for abortion access is emerging” (Vogue)

• “What does ‘abortion’ mean? Even the word itself is up for debate.” (NYT)

• “How volunteers open their homes to women seeking abortions” (NYT)

• What’s happening with abortion laws and restrictions in the states:

  • “Planned Parenthood asks North Carolina court to let more health workers provide abortions” (Reuters)

  • “New legal challenges to Florida’s abortion law could be groundbreaking” (MSNBC)

  • “California to vote on constitutional right to abortion” (ABC News)

  • “An ‘insane rollercoaster’: in Arizona, abortion is legal one day and outlawed the next” (The 19th News)

  • “‘Michigan could become Texas’ — voters see stark choice on abortion referendum” (Politico)

  • “Out of state patients seeking abortions arrive in Colorado in record numbers” (Colorado Public Radio)

  • “Walking hundreds of miles across Tennessee in support of abortion rights” (NewsChannelFive Nashville)

The Tweets

• If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice tweets a thread on harm reduction and best practices for journalists covering self-managed abortion. Key point: “As a journalist, you have a choice. You can report accurately and ethically on abortion, or you can perpetuate harm and put people at risk by increasing criminalization. No reporting at this moment is neutral or without consequence.”

The Takes

• Texan Amanda Zurawski is in The Meteor with a personal and harrowing account of pregnancy loss under one of the country’s most extreme abortion bans. Watch this five-minute YouTube video featuring Zurawski and her family. This is from her written account: “When the six-week abortion ban in Texas passed last year and Roe vs. Wade was overturned this year, I was furious. But as someone who was then desperately trying everything I could to have a child, I never imagined it would impact me personally. I didn’t realize then the extent to which these laws would truly restrict a woman’s right to make the right decisions for herself, her body, and her future children. I didn’t realize the laws I was angry about would soon prevent me from safe access to healthcare. I didn’t realize these laws would directly prevent doctors from being able to protect their patients in so many ways.”

• Attorney Lisa Needham is in Rewire News on the connection between abortion bans and free speech battles in schools: “Rolling back abortion rights is just the latest weapon in the religious right’s ever-growing arsenal. When you control what people can do, it’s just a short hop to controlling what they can say. When bans prohibit “aiding or abetting” an abortion, such as that in Texas SB 8, it directly leads to controlling speech. For example, can you donate to an abortion fund if you live in Texas? In theory, that should never be restricted. Donating money is free speech and is therefore protected under Citizens United v. FEC and is one of the sacred tenets of modern conservatism.”

• The You’re Wrong About podcast features listeners’ abortion stories in their latest episode.

The Fuck Are We Supposed To Do About It?

• Austin: Head to the Ground Floor Theatre for a reading of the new play “The Caldera,” benefitting Jane’s Due Process, on Wednesday, October 26th.

• Online “for anyone who identifies as a care provider: nurses, midwives, physicians, social workers”: The next installment of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice’s webinar series on self-managed abortion and the law is Thursday, October 27th, and focuses on how care providers can reduce the risk of criminalization. Register by Wednesday, October 26th.

• Online: Dallas’ Afiya Center is reading Dorothy Roberts’ Killing the Black Body, and it’s not too late to join the virtual book club for the next session on Thursday, October 27th.

• New York City: Celebrate Halloween on Monday, October 31st at Keats Bar with karaoke, costumes, and a fundraiser for the New York Abortion Access Fund.

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

• 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:

  • 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 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.

• 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.