Hard to Believe It's Only Tuesday: New Data Shows Decimation of Abortion Access Post-Roe

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Welcome to new subscribers who’ve come on board following my departure from Twitter! “Hard to Believe It’s Only Tuesday” is my newsletter-within-a-newsletter, a weekly roundup of abortion news that comes out on Fridays (ish). If you’re looking for content that’s more like what I posted on Twitter — newsier, or essay-ier, opinion-ier — hang tight! More of that kind of thing is coming in Home with the Armadillo soon. And you can always find me on Instagram, where it’s mostly pet photos, bloody marys, and makeup looks.

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 instagram with action items to include in the The Fuck Are We Supposed To Do About It? section!

The Takeaway

A number of new studies published this week offer some of the first data-driven looks at the current abortion access landscape.

• ANSIRH found that travel times to abortion facilities were “significantly greater” (i.e., about three times) post-Dobbs, with “Black women taking the hardest hit.” (Publication in JAMA.)

• Project SANA found that requests for medication abortion through Aid Access increased in July and August of this year (versus in April, pre-Dobbs). Beware the New York Times coverage of this, which researchers have taken issue with. (Publication in JAMA.)

• The Society of Family Planning found that, in the first two months following the Dobbs ruling, 10,600 fewer people had clinical abortions and there was a 95 percent decrease in abortions in states that banned or severely restricted abortion, according to the latest from their #WeCount report.

• The Texas Policy Evaluation Project found that both in-state and out-of-state abortions dropped 33 percent following the implementation of Texas’ SB8 in September 2021. (Publication in JAMA.)

The Top Headlines

• “State says feds initiated investigation of Missouri hospital that denied emergency abortion” (Missouri Independent) — Joplin’s Freeman Health Services appears to be the first in the U.S. to be investigated for refusing emergency abortion care in violation of federal law. More here from Kaiser Health News.

• “Abortion bans affect Latinas the most among women of color, new report finds” (NBC News) — Here’s the report itself.

• “A Michigan judge tried to block an abortion rights measure. His ex-wife says he helped her get an abortion in college.” (NBC News)

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

  • “Indiana doctor sues AG to block him from obtaining patient abortion records” (NPR)

  • “These five measures could change abortion access across America” (Reckon)

  • “The 19th explains: Abortion initiatives on the ballot in 2022” (The 19th)

• What’s happening with clinics and providers:

  • “Abortion providers protest at the Capitol: ‘Let us do our jobs’” (Jezebel)

• “To protect her twin baby, Texas woman was forced to seek abortion care out of state” (Public Health Watch) — Ashley Brandt, who was unable to get the pregnancy care she needed at home under Texas’ SB8 abortion ban, tells repro reporter Mary Tuma: “How can you call yourself ‘pro-life’ and support laws that force women to gamble with not only their own lives but their babies’ lives? I don’t understand the logic.”

The Tweets

• Guttmacher Senior Research Scientist Liza Fuentes tweets a thread of highlights from a week of newly released data on the post-Roe abortion access landscape, starting with: “1st: the burden of getting to a clinic has increased by orders of magnitude. The proportion of females of repro age living < 1 hour from a clinic more than DOUBLED; the harm is greater for Black women & those needing abortion later in pregnancy.” Read the whole thread.

• Physicians for Reproductive Health reworks the headlines for media outlets to better reflect the reality of the abortion access landscape. A smart/depressing thread begins:

• UCSF professor and public health expert Ushma Upadhyay tweets a thread on how the New York Times bungled framing on the new post-Roe abortion data by, as leading repro research outfit ANSIRH put it, “skewing and misrepresenting data.”

The Takes

• A number of repro health, rights, and justice experts offer insights in this CNN roundup on our “unprecedented” post-Roe reality, among them this newsletter’s frequent flyers legal scholar Mary Ziegler and We Testify’s Renee Bracey Sherman. There are also a couple of anti-abortion perspectives included, which I think are worth reading for the notable shift in tone away from the fetus-fetishizing, fear-mongering, and aggression typical of the pre-Roe anti-abortion lobby to something much softer, more vague, very touchy-feely-democracy-and-love-them-both-we’re-all-in-this-together 👀.

The Fuck Are We Supposed To Do About It?

• Anywhere: For Friday, November 4th only, pay-what-you-wish for a Phoebe Bridgers + Maggie Rogers song benefitting the Brigid Alliance.

• Online: Dallas’ Afiya Center is reading Dorothy Roberts’ Killing the Black Body; sign up for their next discussion on Thursday, November 10th.

• Online: The next installment of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice’s self-managed abortion webinar series will focus on SMA and gender violence. Webinar is Thursday, November 10th. RSVP by November 9th.

• Houston: Head over to Lil Danny Speedo’s Go Fly A Kite Lounge on Sunday, November 13th for an Ovary Action fundraiser benefitting Frontera Fund.

• Fort Worth: TCU’s Women & Gender Studies department is hosting a Reproductive Justice Advocacy Day on Friday, November 18th with the Texas Equal Access Fund.

• Atlanta: Feminist Women’s Health Center and Amplify Georgia Collaborative are hosting an abortion storytelling workshop on Sunday, November 20th. Details + RSVP here.

• 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 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:

  • Read the National Immigration Law Center’s know-your-rights-guide to abortion access for immigrants and share widely.

  • 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.

• Sign and share:

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

  • Anywhere: All Above All*’s petition asks President Biden take immediate steps to ensure abortion justice for immigrants.

• Texas: 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 Instagram, and I’ll try to add follow-ups as I’m able.