Mike Pence's NYT op-ed is a perfect example of why I publish Abortion, Every Day: His column uses pretty much every language trick I've warned about for the last two years.

He also repeats debunked lies about abortion that I sort of can't believe made it past a fact-checker nytimes.com/2024/04/20/opi… I've warned, over and over, that Republicans had done away with the word 'ban', replacing it with words like 'consensus' and 'standard'.

Here's something I wrote a year ago alongside a section of Pence's op-ed

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.

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.

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

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

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."

ohiohouse.gov/news/republica… They are literally saying they're going to strip the Courts of power in order to overturn the will of Ohio voters.

A couple of things about this story:

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

https://twitter.com/JessicaValenti/status/1719443605448741290

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

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.

There's been lots of coverage about Alabama AG Steve Marshall wanting to charge anyone who help patients get out-of-state abortion care - but they're missing something vital.

Marshall also argued in his filing that the state can restrict *women themselves* from leaving the state Marshall lays the legal groundwork to enact restrictions on interstate travel by claiming the state has "strong, legitimate interests including preserving unborn life" & you're not going to believe the case he cites to make his argument

Remember when I wrote yesterday that the anti-abortion movement was targeting interstate travel by passing 'trafficking' ordinances in small towns? Check out the Washington Post today:
washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/… I just started reading the article, but I am SO GLAD to see mainstream media coverage of this. It's incredibly important

Please don't let anyone tell you that you're being hysterical about abortion rights Republicans are coming for our right to leave the state:

-The Alabama AG wants to arrest anyone who helps a person leave the state for abortion care

-A county in Texas passed an ordinance making it illegal to drive someone from or through the county for an abortion out-of-state

When it comes to abortion, Republicans want to talk about 15 weeks vs 6 weeks because it's a lot easier than talking about women going septic.

So if they want to talk numbers, let's talk numbers
jessica.substack.com/p/the-abortion…
Thirteen. That’s the age of a Mississippi girl forced into childbirth after being raped.

It was 14 Texas women who sued after their lives were endangered by the state’s abortion ban.

And it was one of those women became so distressed that she vomited while on the stand.

Nearly 2 million American women live in a county without abortion access *or* maternal health care. It's not hard to see where this is going. I've been calling this 'the care crisis' over at my newsletter, but I don't think that fully articulates how bad this is. I don't know that any term can really capture it

Today in abortion news:

-19 state AGs want access to the medical records of women who get out-of-state abortions

-A Kentucky woman was denied an abortion despite a fatal fetal abnormality

-Iowa's abortion ban was signed into law without details of criminal penalties for docs Also today, the anti-abortion attacks on democracy continue:

In Ohio, Sec. of State Frank LaRose didn't count the votes of those who accidentally turned in old absentee ballot forms *if they opposed Issue 1*

When Issue 1 supporters did the same thing THE VOTES WERE COUNTED

I've seen folks tweet that if Jonah Hill wanted a gf who didn't post bathing suit pictures or have guy friends he shouldn't have dated a surfer.

But here's the thing: Emotionally abusive & controlling men don't want 'submissive' women, they want to take strong women down a peg That's the whole entire point! Also, men like that will never, ever be happy - once you stop posting bikini pics they'll find something else to hold over your head. The fun for them is in the control, not the result

I write a lot about how abortion exceptions aren't real. Here's a perfect example:

A Louisiana woman was denied an abortion even though her fetus' fatal condition was SPECIFICALLY LISTED IN THE LAW'S EXCEPTIONS
jessica.substack.com/p/abortion-eve… 'Exceptions' were never intended to be used - they're Republican PR, that's it

Before you read on, please know that this is a distressing piece about a severe fetal abnormality—and there’s no real way to soften the blow:

I interviewed a 21-year old woman in Texas who was denied an abortion despite her fetus having no head. jessica.substack.com/p/an-american-… Texas’ abortion law requires women to carry pregnancies even when the fetus has no chance of survival:

“I want Greg Abbott or anyone who voted for this law to look me in the eye and tell me that I deserved what happened." jessica.substack.com/p/an-american-…

Two-thirds of Americans - including most Republicans! - want abortion medication to be legal
jessica.substack.com/p/abortion-eve… Something to keep an eye on when it comes to Republican messaging on abortion: They are working overtime to redefine what "the middle" is.
jessica.substack.com/p/abortion-eve…

In both Alabama and Tennessee, Republicans have been talking about "streamlining" the adoption process post-Roe. One lawmaker said they want to “make it easier, cheaper and faster to adopt.”

This should make people very nervous!
jessica.substack.com/p/abortion-eve… What that means in practice is that they want to pass legislation that would speed up the timeline for terminating parental rights. Basically, they want to make it easier to take someone's kid's from them.

And it's not rich white people who are going to be targeted by the state

To give you a sense how big this loss of rights is: Florida has the same population as Greece and Sweden combined.
jessica.substack.com/p/abortion-eve… Two top Florida Democrats were arrested tonight protesting the 6-week ban

https://twitter.com/erichm/status/1643057057057177602?s=42&t=-oc0-WMNVGk2qnOJfT00lQ

Florida passed a 6-week abortion ban today - once signed by the governor, it will devastate care across the South. jessica.substack.com/p/abortion-eve… The law says that anyone who "actively participates" in an abortion is breaking the law: That could mean the person getting the abortion, a friend who drove them to get care, or a family member who loaned them money for the procedure.