So if I’m being totally honest, I’ve been sitting in my thoughts for hours now on this @politico article about our clinic, because I have never felt this hopeless about our future before.
politico.com/news/magazine/… To be clear - it’s a great article. But a year in post Dobbs, my optimism is wearing off. And hearing in brutal detail from enemies and allies alike that well, we are probably going to fail, it’s a lot.

So now that we know the result, I have a LOT to say about politicized and unregulated medical boards, the weaponization of HIPAA and the real effects of witch hunts like this. So please buckle up, this will be long. washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/05… for those who don't remember we had a similar issue w Dr. Torres - the state gave her a license until they realized she was doing abortions. Then they suddenly found "issues" with her application. theguardian.com/world/2023/mar…

So Alabama's really going to vote on whether a pregnant person should go to jail for murder if they don't produce a live birth.
legislature.state.al.us/pdf/Searchable…

But hey! The pregnant person can't be prosecuted over miscarriage due to physical or sexual assault from a partner. Generous. Eagerly waiting for all the so-called "prolife" groups to talk Yarborough into pulling the bill or encourage his colleagues to vote no but I'm not holding my breath. Because they *say* they don't want to prosecute, but when given the opportunity....

I talked about this a lot yesterday because this is exactly what happened - red state clinics shuttered/ moved so there's no one to help those who self-manage or provide follow up for those who do leave the state but may have an issue when they get home. rewirenewsgroup.com/2022/04/13/if-… We talked a great deal about what it means to support abortion as a human right - how it's not enough to shore it up in blue states, how shield laws and travel funds can NEVER replace care locally for those who need it.

For those who like to know what is happening down here in Alabama, I finished the monthly numbers for @alabama_west. A thread…. @alabama_west In January we saw 57 individual patients for pregnancy confirmation, contraception, prenatal care, trans health, HIV care, STI testing and miscarriage management. This is our biggest number yet. (We used to see 200 a month pre-Dobbs, but post Dobbs more like 20)

Oh I’m about to have words. I went grocery shopping last night and I’m still seething…. EVERY save money tactic has to do with the exchange of time vs money. And let's be frank, in most places that's the female partner's time. My house is fairly egalitarian, but lately I've been doing most of the cooking because my husband is on a work project with overtime.

“We would never punish the person having an abortion,” the “prolife” movement says.
al.com/news/2023/01/w… “The law specifically states that women receiving abortions cannot be held criminally liable. However, Marshall said women using pills to induce abortions could be prosecuted under the chemical endangerment law.”

Semi-related: There are allegedly 113 hospitals in Alabama. Fabulous, you might think. So many options for people for care! But....
alaha.org/hospital-direc… That big circle with the 7 in it? That's Tuscaloosa. And I can tell you that Tuscaloosa at BEST has two hospitals (DCH, then DCH's satellite in Northport).

I don't know who needs to hear it, but "Let's just get folks to clinics in legal states for their abortions" isn't working... The same red states that made abortion illegal have minimal hospital access, and patients have no place to go for follow up.

the only thing about this that surprises me is that Alabama Political Report is allegedly involved... npr.org/2022/12/19/114… My husband and I were talking about how much our cost of living has gone up since we moved to Alabama, despite everyone claiming it would be so cheap to live here.

The Dobbs decision came down exactly four months ago today and I keep expecting some outlet somewhere to mention that fact or some org to send an email and ... nothing. Like, I knew the outrage wasn't going to last, but the moving on is just a whole lot. But this is how it works. One month, then three months. People will pop in again for the 6 months (or not since Christmas eve). Then a year....

Today is how long it took me to realize that a portion of pregnant Alabamians will literally not have seen a dr even once before they show up at a hospital to give birth. Like, they just go when they are in labor. Because no doctor will see them without insurance. I mean I *should* have realized that by now, obviously. I just never got to the end point that was the logical conclusion. Needless to say, we are learning a LOT from our new prenatal patients.

You know what else is a “dangerous alternative” to an early abortion? Every. Single. Childbirth. liveaction.org/news/popular-p… Also this handwringing over missing potential ectopic pregnancies is hilarious considering patients are telling us the ER waits are too long so they just go home in pain and try again later.

Every time I see a story on this I have to remind myself that people think this is new and unique. Y’all know that abortion provider complaints are filed by antis, don’t you? Like they have orgs dedicated to this? In 2020, just weeks after @LeahNTorres got to AL, a doctor she had never met or heard of filed an “unprofessional conduct” on her for… talking in a podcast and saying something he disagreed with. It was used along with a mistake on her ap to seize her license IN MID CLINIC DAY.

The courts are doing "unprecedented" and "unorthodox" things purposefully so that we are not able to actually navigate post-Roe. We don't just have to be following the laws as they exist, but predict future interpretations that we could run into, too. It's like the abuser who lashes out randomly just to keep you in a constant state of terror.

I will never get over how the answer to this is always "So send more money to funds and hope it works out" vs "Help repro clinics in banned states stay open to provide aftercare for self-managed abortions." theconversation.com/abortion-funds… Because here is the reality - no, there really WONT be enough money to move every patient. It will be nothing but triage for those most able to navigate a new system, and one far more broken down than before.

Good morning amazing and fired up people. I'm starting to come out from under a mass of messages, so since responding to each is too hard I'm going to do a thread to answer the most common questions: Boarding and travel offers: Yes we are probably going to get to the place where we need more homes. While for liability/safety reasons hotels are better, this is a long term state border crossing movement now. If you want to offer your home, contact your local abortion fund first

What. The. Fuck??
nrlc.org/communications… or how about THIS?

Gonna write a book called “the jails.” In it, kids are put into “education prison” and locked up until they graduate to keep them safe from guns. And when you are ill, you are sent to “sick people jail” and locked in to be safe from guns & keep “public” safe from illnesses. If you are one of the “regular” people you work from your home. Alone. So you are safe from office shootings and public mass shootings. That’s the “privilege.” It’s your “employment jail."

Live Action is pushing the Dublin Amendment again (the idea that abortion is absolutely never medically necessary) and their “this isn’t abortion” list is terrible. “You never need abortion you can still have treatment with cancer” usually involves holding off treatment until after the 1st trimester or longer. Obviously ever person should choose their priorities. But ohhhh how these folk love to glorify “Died for their baby” stories…

Just a reminder that the anti-Disney brouhhaha is nothing new and has nothing really to do with their movies or whatever the hell the right is claiming. This has been happening since the 1990’s. It’s just now there is an internet to make it look bigger. In the late 90’s Disney made evangelicals unhappy by the “un-Christian” act of *gasp* allowing gay employees health insurance. They “gave Disney a year” to change their ways. Spoiler, Disney didn’t. cnn.com/US/9706/18/bap…