I'm seeing so many Republican women talking about a national abortion ban as a Democratic 'scare tactic' - they're repeating the GOP talking point that they'll never have enough votes for a federal ban.
So let me tell you why that doesn't matter & they can ban abortion anyway
The first thing another Trump administration would do is replace the head of the FDA and reverse approval of abortion medication. Right off the bat, they're doing away with 63% of abortions.
Then they'll replace the head of the DOJ. The new lead will interpret the Comstock Act - a 19th century law that bans the mailing of 'obscene' materials - as applicable to abortion.
That means no shipping not only of abortion pills - but tools or supplies clinics need
As a result, it would be near-impossible to end a pregnancy—even in a pro-choice state.
These aren't predictions I'm making, but tactics that conservatives have explicitly laid out *in writing*
Republicans don't need the votes to ban abortion nationally, they just need Trump
If you're going to vote Republican, at least go into it with your eyes open ffs
I write about this every day at my newsletter, link in bio
Yes to this. Because remember, conservatives have spent years trying to redefine certain kinds of contraception (IUDs, morning after pill) as 'abortifacients'
Some breaking news in Abortion, Every Day right now: Republicans in Tennessee & Oklahoma have introduced abortion travel bans (aka 'abortion trafficking' laws)
Link in bio
Under these laws, an aunt or grandma who helps a teenager get an abortion would be a 'trafficker'.
And when I say "helped" a teen get an abortion I don't mean just drive them out-of-state—giving the phone number to a clinic would be illegal and punishable by years in prison.
This is exactly the legal battle happening in Idaho right now over their 'abortion trafficking' law - it's (deliberately) written so broadly that it makes speech illegal.
Everything about the oral arguments in front of the Texas Supreme Court over the state's abortion ban yesterday pissed me off but there was one moment that stuck out in particular
When a Justice asked the lawyer for the state, Beth Klusmann, whether acrania would qualify under the ban's exceptions, Klusmann *didn't know what acrania was*
I just find that jaw dropping
Acrania is a fatal fetal anomaly that a layperson wouldn't necessarily know - but the lawyer defending Texas' abortion ban sure should fucking know what it is!
But when the Justice asked, Klusmann laughed and said, “You’re testing my medical knowledge here”
I have a truly wild story in the newsletter about an Arizona Supreme Court Justice who refuses to recuse himself from the state's abortion ban case even tho he's protested in front of Planned Parenthood & accused them of genocide on Facebook
And that's not even the wild part
AZ Supreme Court Justice Bill Montgomery issued an order explaining why he's not biased and can preside over the state's abortion ban case:
He says that when he wrote on Facebook that Planned Parenthood was genocidal he didn't specify Planned Parenthood Arizona so it's a-okay
In this order, Montgomery discloses that in 2015 some cleaners found records from Planned Parenthood Arizona while clearing out a building once occupied by the org. They turned them in to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO), which Montgomery led at the time.
What the everloving fuck. Writing about this in the newsletter today but I had to share now:
Ohio Republicans say that "to prevent mischief by pro-abortion courts with Issue 1, Ohio legislators will consider removing jurisdiction from the judiciary."
They are literally saying they're going to strip the Courts of power in order to overturn the will of Ohio voters.
The whole release is bananas: they're claiming that there was "foreign election interference" in passing Issue 1 and therefore they're not going to let it repeal their abortion bans??
It's complicated, sad, and involves people clearly having a difficult time in life. That's not surprising; law enforcement tends to target the most marginalized among us—esp those they believe won't be sympathetic
Second thing to note: Geolocation data and phone records played a big part in how law enforcement gathered evidence. They were able to place a teen, her boyfriend and his mother near an Oregon abortion clinic using their cell phone data
Also super important: Idaho prosecutors clearly know that the 'abortion trafficking' law might be blocked soon. (There's a challenge being heard right now and a decision is expected soon.) So they did something sketchy...
In the newsletter tonight: The Republican running for Kentucky governor signed a pledge to criminalize birth control. Not joking!
In a 2023 questionnaire from Northern Kentucky Right to Life, state AG Daniel Cameron—running for Gov.—agreed to codify personhood from fertilization, support legislation that prohibits state funding for abortion & criminalize anyone who provides abortion or pays for an abortion.
But here's the thing:
The organization—IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE—defines abortion to include “the so-called ‘morning after pill,’ Norplant, Depo Provera, or the so-called ‘standard birth control pill.’”