okay friends, let’s sit down and have a talk, because it is definitely time.
FACT: There is absolutely no way that the next Trump appointee won’t vote to overturn Roe. That’s inevitable. Work from that assumption.
Other fact: We don’t KNOW for sure that Roberts would overturn Roe, but it’s probably safe to assume he will. Yes, he likes “precedent” but obviously we’ve hit “court can do what it wants” status these days.
So assume we are about to have a 5-4 overturn at some point down the line. Start from there.
The reason the pro-life movement was so successful is because they were planning how fight legal abortion even before abortion actually became legal. So we need to start now.
What do we need to know? When (yes, already done with “if” personally) Roe is overturned, abortion is still legal in the country. not every state will revert. guttmacher.org/state-policy/e…
yes, there could be a push for a federal law, but I doubt it. At least not for a long time (I SEE YOU, @jkfecke)
winnowing down to just a 10-20 states that allow abortion is still a pretty major step, and one I personally thing activists will stop at for a short period because face it, they are in electoral power right now, they love it and they don’t want to jeopardize it too much
So we are back to “if you can travel, you can have an abortion.” And the realization that many can’t. the poor can’t. Undocumented can’t. I would expect a federal “no minors can get an abortion in another state” bill, so under 18 can’t.
Now ask yourself - what are you willing to do? We are going to need homes near clinics for people to stay at for free, we will need transportation from state to state, etc. Prepare to think about what you can do to contribute financially, resources wise, and so on.
and hardest of all for us, we need to STOP WORRYING ABOUT TERRITORY. This needs to organize from the ground up, not from the top down. The people IN the states know what the patients IN their states need. No, we don’t get to fight on this one.
You are also going to need to think about what level of risk you feel comfortable with. True talk - prolife people are still getting themselves thrown in jail to stop abortion. What are you willing to do? The best time to figure that out is before the situation comes up.
Check if your state is one that will keep abortion legal. If so, think about how you organize with others locally. Are you involved with making sure your state govt keeps it accessible? Are you involved at a city level to stop attacks via zoning laws and other tricks?
When Roe is overturned, the right will refocus on closing those remaining clinics in legal states one by one. Your job will be to protect them.
and work on how you - as a person, a political force and a community - will organize to respond to the peripheral attacks that will come from abortion being outlawed. Plan your response to the inevitable jailing of women who miscarry, who are then accused of secretly aborting.
Plan your responses for pharmacists who refuse to fill misoprostal or other prescriptions because they suspect a pregnant person is lying about miscarriage to get a secret abortion
Plan your actions against police departments who decide that trying to ID fetal remains and find the person who gave birth under the guise of “making sure there aren’t any complications."
obviously, there is a lot more than that to do, but this is a start. We have time. Use it to think about what you want to do next.
oh and also reminder - you can be an individual member of @AbortionFunds if you want to do something right now. Tell them Kennedy sent you. abortionfunds.org/individual-mem…
@AbortionFunds so I’m just now getting a chance to see all of the replies and am trying hard to respond to everyone but WHOA a lot. So a little follow up coming
People are talking a lot about Jane. I obviously have no public opinion. Again, always about what people are willing to risk. I can say these things, for informational purposes only….
there is plenty of info available about how miso works. The WHO has a protocol. There is info that can be looked at here on this website, and knowing, discussing and sharing information IS NOT ILLEGAL abortionpillinfo.org/en/using-abort…
as a historical note, prior to legal abortion there were people who provided “menstrual extraction.” google searches would take you to places like this, where you can learn a lot about this practice. womenshealthspecialists.org/self-help/mens…
it’s even not totally difficult to find more extensive information online if a person wanted to search for it. I found things like this with a little googling. workbook.pressbooks.com/chapter/steps-… As we all know, I like to read every just to know everything I can.
Again, all of this is just info, and easily googleable. In the end the best option is always a legal abortion in a reputable clinic.
or, here most of this is in an easier to read form. huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-…
