An Arkansas Nightmare is Anti-Choice 'Victory'
Care Denied
The Arkansas Times has an important but devastating story this week about a woman who was forced to carry a dying fetus, even as the pregnancy put her health and life increasingly at risk.
Just when you think it can’t get any worse: Lee’s OBGYN was worried that she’d need emergency care at a moment when he was unavailable, so he asked his colleagues if in that circumstance anyone would be willing to help her. They all said no.
Knowing that her life was at risk, Lee and her husband had conversations about what to do if she died. I want to just pause here a moment. Leaving aside the physical torture and risk we are forcing women to take on—the mental suffering caused by these bans is absolutely inhumane.
After Lee gave birth to her dead daughter, reporter Stella Hufhines writes that the Arkansas became seriously depressed. “You go there with a baby and you leave with a box,” Lee told her.
Now that you know Lee’s story, please take a look at the headline below from the National Catholic Register.
This is what they’re celebrating.
The War on Birth Control
Yesterday, Republicans made their birth control stance very clear, blocking federal legislation to protect access to contraception. The only two GOP lawmakers to vote in support of the the Right to Contraception Act were Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins. (The Washington Post has a breakdown of how all the senators voted.)
From Reproductive Freedom for All president Mini Timmaraju:
Republicans said they didn’t support the bill because “there is no threat to access to contraception.” Yet—as I reported yesterday—they introduced their own birth control legislation in order to ensure that emergency contraception wasn’t protected. Seems like there’s a reason to be worried after all! Here’s what Sen. Elizabeth Warren said about the vote on Morning Joe:
You can watch Warren’s full appearance above. I also want to give kudos to Sen. Patty Murray: in addition to her incredible questioning this week of anti-abortion extremist Christina Francis, she’s been raising the alarm about the way that conservatives are trying to redefine certain kinds of contraception as ‘abortifacients.’
“This should be an easy vote,” Sen. Patty Murray said. “It almost shouldn’t be necessary.”
By the way, if you want to know how totally wacky those on the Right are getting around birth control messaging, check out Life News’ coverage of the legislation (if you can stomach it). Mary Szoch, director of the Center for Human Dignity at Family Research Council, said this:
Um…what?? Honestly, I think the more we connect Republican lawmakers to this kind of absolutely bonkers (and strange) extremism, the better. That’s what was so powerful about the moment with Sen. Murray and Christina Francis—voters need to know that these aren’t just random weirdos, but the people dictating American policy.
In the States
Anti-abortion activists plan to use Louisiana’s law classifying abortion medication as a controlled substance as a model for the rest of the country;
Illinois is boosting funding for Planned Parenthood;
Florida Democrats are calling out U.S. Sen. Rick Scott for his “phony support” of IVF;
Buzzfeed on Allie Phillips, the Tennessee woman who is running for state office after being denied an abortion;
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on the 25% drop in OBGYN residency applications in Missouri;
And Center for Reproductive Rights attorney Molly Duane and plaintiff Amanda Zurawski respond to the Texas Supreme Court ruling.
Misinformation Watch
I’m glad to see the Associated Press taking on anti-abortion misinformation: There are viral social media posts going around claiming that a 75-year old woman “in poor health” was sentenced to two years in prison “for praying” outside of a Washington DC abortion clinic. And conservative outlets like the National Catholic Register are running headlines like this: “Locked Up: Meet the Elderly and Infirm Women Now in Prison for Pro-Life Activism.”
The truth? These women were convicted of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) Act after pushing their way into a clinic, blocking patients from receiving care, and harassing clinic staff. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said the defendants have simple “been held accountable for using force, threatening to use force and physically obstructing access to reproductive health care.”
This kind of fact-checking is really important, especially in a moment when anti-abortion groups want to make it seem as if their violence and harassment is really just peaceful grandmas praying on sidewalks.
Mis- and disinformation like this is happening at the same time that anti-abortion lawmakers and activists are trying to do away buffer zones outside of clinics and repeal the FACE Act. They claim it’s a first amendment issue, and that efforts to stop extremists from screaming in patients’ faces is a violation of their free speech.
In the Nation
The Supreme Court released some rulings today, none of which were the decisions in two-major abortion cases. I’ve gotta say, my stomach was in knots waiting to see if the mifepristone or EMTALA ruling would be announced. (Once they are, I’ll make sure to have some explainers and backgrounders here for you.)