Hard to Believe It's Only Tuesday: V.A. to Provide Abortion Care to (Some) Veterans

Here's what happened in abortion news, tweets, toks, and takes this week — plus action items.

September 02, 2022

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: for the first time ever, doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs could “perform abortions on federal property, even in states where it has been outlawed,” — but only in cases of “rape, incest, and pregnancy that endanger the life or health of a woman.”

The Top Headlines

The Takes

  • Me in DAME Magazine on blue-state liberals calling to boycott the entire South and Midwest over abortion: “Do we have to fly to New York for our abortions and our book festivals now? Cultural events are incredibly important community spaces, not to mention drivers of economic support for local businesses, artists, activists, and creators. Especially in places where it can be difficult or even dangerous to have progressive political beliefs, let alone hold identities and experiences that challenge white supremacy, Christian religious hegemony, and heterosexual normativity (just to name a few). Erasing these opportunities—or, ironically, making them as hard to access as abortion—is just another form of silencing already marginalized voices. It’s hard to see how declining to host an event in Memphis or San Antonio (heavily Democratic cities, both) in favor of Portland or Boston helps people get abortions, or register to vote, or meet other like-minded folks in our communities with whom we might organize or simply find emotional and social support during this nationwide crisis.”

  • Texas-based abortion provider Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi and Texas Policy Evaluation Project researcher Whitney Arey are in Rewire with the receipts on how abortion bans endanger safe, best-practice pregnancy care writ large: “As states pass bans that include limited exceptions for the life of the birthing person, various hospital systems, legal teams, and individual providers will interpret these very narrow exemptions differently. Physicians are already being placed in positions where they have to wait until their patients are “on death’s door” to feel emboldened enough to apply exemptions. Physicians are telling us that they feel like “worse doctors” when they are unable to offer patients timely, evidence-based care.”

The Tweets and Toks

  • The Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund tweets an ask for folks to support their efforts to provide their community in Jackson with drinkable water — work they’ve been doing long before the most recent crisis made headlines. Donate to support their work and spread the word that locals can pick up water beginning Friday, September 2nd at the Fundshack from 3-8pm, or any time at the free pantry. Here’s more from the Mississippi Abortion Access Coalition.

  • Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg tweets a thread on the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act, an effort to stop crisis pregnancy centers from using lies and deception to spread misinformation about abortion.Subscribe now

The Fuck Are We Supposed To Do About It?

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.