Hard to Believe It's Only Tuesday: GOP Doesn't Want States To Weigh In On Abortion, Actually

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 top takeaway: Republicans, who said they overturned Roe to return the question of abortion back to the states, are trying to block state and local ballot measures to protect abortion rights.

The Top Headlines

• “Republicans look to restrict ballot measures following a string of progressive wins” (Politico) — But wait, you say! Wasn’t part of the reason the GOP wanted to overturn Roe to turn the question of legal abortion back to the states? It couldn’t possibly be that they are lying liars whose sole interest is in protecting and expanding cis hetero white supremacist patriarchy and literally nothing else? My goodness! Next you’re going to tell me there’s gambling going on in this establishment.

• “How Kansas kept abortion legal” (The Nation) — Amy Littlefield was on the ground for the vote, and reports back with a fascinating look on the inside machinations of a growing movement.

• “Anti-abortion activists formally ask Supreme Court to consider fetal personhood” (Jezebel)

• What’s happening with state bans and restrictions:

  • “After months, it’s decided: Michiganders will vote on abortion rights in November” (NPR)

  • “Michigan judge rules 1931 law criminalizing most abortions is unconstitutional” (Detroit Free Press)

  • “South Carolina senators reject a near-total abortion ban” (NPR) — A few state GOP lawmakers joined Democrats to reject the expanded ban.

  • “These states will have abortion on the ballot in November” (CNN) — It’s California, Kentucky, Montana, Vermont, and Michigan.

  • “Lawyer’s mission: Translate Tennessee’s bewildering abortion ban” (AP)

• What’s happening with clinics and providers:

  • “Clinics in anti-abortion states struggle to stay open” (Rewire News)

  • “Video: As San Antonio abortion clinic closes, its director worries about who is left behind” (Texas Tribune)

  • “Kansas is struggling to serve people from out of state seeking abortions” (NPR)

  • “New Mexico governor directs $10 million for new abortion clinic near Texas border” (CNN)

• “Texas abortion laws caused excruciating delay for Houston woman’s pregnancy loss treatment, doctor says” (Houston Chronicle)

• “Leading abortion research group employs law firm that gave thousands to anti-abortion politicians” (Jezebel) — The research group is Guttmacher, the firm is Jackson Lewis P.C., which Guttmacher management hired to bust up unionizing attempts, and which has given over $336,000 to anti-abortion politicians in the last ten years.

The Tweets

• Rewire News legal eagle Imani Gandy had two especially good words this week, reminding us not to share our repro health data willy-nilly with the computers, and reminding us that building a pro-choice movement necessarily involves welcoming folks who changed their minds on abortion. (I’m one of them!)

The Takes

• Irin Carmon profiles law professor and reproductive justice scholar Dorothy Roberts for New York Magazine. In the piece, Roberts says: “It’s true that Dobbs is going to intensify poverty. It’s going to intensify maternal mortality and infant mortality. But that’s different from saying abortion is the solution to childhood poverty, or birth control is the answer to teenagers dropping out of high school because the problem is structural racism. The problem is structural income inequality. The problem is racial capitalism.” (note: the Afiya Center is reading Roberts’ Killing the Black Body for their virtual book club right now, and there’s still time to join.)

The Fuck Are We Supposed To Do About It?

• Anywhere: Project NIA’s Decriminalizing Abortion resident, Ash Williams, is hosting a virtual abortion doula training for BIPOC folks age 16+. Apply by Thursday, September 15th.

• Anywhere, but especially Alabama, California, Georgia, Kansas, Ohio, and Texas: URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity is putting togehter their ‘22-23 Our Folks: Voices of LGBTQ+ Youth of Color cohort, a “a seven month, fully remote internship that arms participants with skills in giving media interviews, writing for a variety of blogs & media outlets and using social media to amplify their work.” Cohort members are compensated monthly. Learn more here, and apply here by Monday, September 19th.

• Anywhere: Check out the If/When/How Repro Legal Helpline guide to internet safety “about keeping your abortion private and confidential while researching it or discussing it online.”

• Everywhere: It’s time for the annual Taco or Beverage Challenge (formerly the Taco or Beer Challenge) benefitting abortion funds! This event has a special place in my heart because I invented it way back in 2014. Now the National Network of Abortion Funds helms the challenge every year, and it just gets better and better. Eat a taco and/or drink a beverage and donate to abortion funds — and post about it on social using the hashtag #TOBC22!

• 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.

• Europe (but anywhere): Edinburgh-based activist Molly Smith and friends are “aiming to collectively walk, cycle and run 2,000km in September to raise money for the [London-based] Abortion Support Network,” and there’s a GoFundMe.

• 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, 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. 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.