Hard to Believe It's Only Tuesday: Misogyny, Mass Shootings, Abortion Bans

Welcome back to Hard to Believe It’s Only Tuesday, my weekly roundup of the top headlines, tweets, takes, and more in abortion news. I thought about taking a week off from yet more bad news after the school shooting in Uvalde; I feel constantly overwhelmed and enraged, and I’m behind on a thousand things and can’t concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time. So this edition will be a little less meaty than usual.

But — and I know you know this — school shootings and abortion bans are deeply intertwined with each other in this country. Abortion bans are rooted in misogyny. Most mass shooters are misogynists who abuse and threaten women and girls — often family members — before they take to the streets, schools, theaters, malls, wherever with their weapons. The Uvalde shooter was no different. And the politicians who ban abortions because ~ save the children ~ are the same gun-suckers who’ve been bought wholesale by the NRA — the same ones telling us there’s nothing we can do about 19 children murdered at school while the police were outside putting their parents in handcuffs.

So here’s the abortion news this week.

The Top Headlines

• “Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signs nation’s strictest abortion ban. It starts immediately” and “Oklahoma anti-abortion program pledged to help 9,300 women. it spent more on salaries than aid” (The Oklahoman) — Shot/chaser.

• “Medication abortion is the nation’s future. What does it feel like?” (The 19th) — Medication abortion is safe — much safer, in terms of self-managed care, than self-harm — but it can be very painful and, for some, a scary experience. It’s important folks know what to expect.

• “Anti-abortion activist charged with stalking a California doctor who provides abortions” (CNN)

• “A new clinic offering abortions is set to open in Wyoming, despite a looming ban” (NPR)

• “The Mexico City model of abortion care” (NYT)

• “CPAC head suggests abortion ban will solve ‘great replacement’” (Daily Beast)

• “State Democrats, abortion-rights activists ‘incredibly frustrated’ with federal inaction” (Politico)

The Takes

• “Men have a lot to lose when Roe falls.” (New York Times) — Look, “But what about the cis men???” has not been a major question on my mind since the leaked SCOTUS draft dropped, but the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health’s Andréa Becker makes a good, evidence-based case for giving a shit: “… shedding more light on the invisible benefits of abortion for men could be a powerful opportunity to combat stigma and bring more people into the fight for reproductive rights.”

• Jennifer Rubin in the Washington Post invites members of the media to start asking Republicans how they actually expect to implement and expand abortion bans just really any time now: “Meanwhile, many in the the mainstream media remain incapable of grilling Republicans on the implications of their views at this historic moment for women’s rights. When Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said he’d prefer to allow abortion in cases of rape or incest but nevertheless signed into law a ban without those exceptions, it is incumbent on his interviewer to push him: How can you justify traumatizing women by forcing them to give birth in cases when you acknowledge abortion would be acceptable? If your wife or daughter were raped, would you approve sending her to jail if she chose to end the pregnancy? Will your state be imposing greater punishment for such a rape survivor who seeks an abortion than for her rapist?”

• Mona Eltahawy in Feminist Giant: “Next time you are tempted to ask how women in Iran or Afghanistan could have ‘let it happen,’ ask yourself how you allowed white, Christian zealots to use democracy to cut it at its knees by destroying the right to abortion–a right which most Americans support.”

The Tweets

• Dr. Autumn A. BlackDeer tweets a thread unpacking and contextualizing those proposals/speculation that Native Nations could (or should, or must) provide abortion care on tribal land.

• Dr. April Lockley clears up some confusion about how medication abortion can be used safely.

The Fuck Are We Supposed To Do About It?

• Houston: Rock out for abortion access at the I’ll Have What She’s Having Rock and Roll Picnic at the Continental Club on Sunday, June 5. If you can’t attend the show, you can still buy a ticket and proceeds will go to support abortion access.

• Denton, Texas: Chalk up some sidewalks! The Texas Equal Access Fund is co-hosting “Big Pride in Lil’ D: Chalk & Chill” with PriDenton on Saturday, 6/25.

• Anywhere: Listen to the latest Bad and Bitchy podcast to learn how Alberta, Canada got abortion leave, and think about what you might be able to change where you live to make people’s lives easier when they need abortion care.

• Anywhere: 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. The zine supports efforts to expand insurance coverage for abortion care.

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.