The midterms were a resounding win for abortion rights — with one exception

So you voted because of abortion? Here’s what it got you.

By Dylan Scott
Nov 9, 2022

Democrats sought to make the 2022 election a referendum on reproductive rights, and they appear to have been successful: Not only did ballot measures on abortion rights come down repeatedly on the pro-abortion rights side, but the outcomes of important state races should also provide protection for abortion access in states across the country.

In several states, a change in the balance of power within the state legislature or in the governor’s seat would have given Republicans new opportunities to pass new restrictions on abortion across the country.

Continued: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23444732/2022-midterm-elections-results-abortion-rights-nebraska-north-carolina

09.11.2022

abortion in the midterms

Elizabeth Nash

Guttmacher Institute

How are new abortion laws affecting women in the United States?

Al Jazeera
Wednesday, October 12
25 minute video

It’s been more than 100 days since the United States Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion. In that time, life has changed dramatically for millions of Americans when it comes to their healthcare choices.

Giving states individual choice when it comes to providing abortions is spurring the creation of a chaotic patchwork system across the country. The procedure is banned or severely restricted in more than a dozen states, mainly in the south. Nearly 10 other states have bans in the works, but face legal challenges. This means almost one in three American women of reproductive age – disproportionally poorer women and those of colour – now live in a state with no abortion options, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Studies show that this lack of access puts pregnant women at risk for worse financial, health and family outcomes.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/program/the-stream/2022/10/12/how-are-new-abortion-laws-affecting-women-in-the-united-states

Abortion Pill Providers Experiment With Ways to Broaden Access

These new efforts, which test the legal boundaries, have sprung up since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and many states restricted abortion.

By Pam Belluck
Sept. 3, 2022

As bans and restrictions proliferate across the country, abortion pill providers are pushing the envelope of regulations and laws to meet the surging demand for medication abortion in post-Roe America.

Some are using physician discretion to prescribe pills to patients further along in pregnancy than the 10-week limit set by the Food and Drug Administration. Some are making pills available to women who are not pregnant but feel they could need them someday. Some are employing a don’t-ask-don’t-tell approach, providing telemedicine consultations and prescriptions without verifying that patients are in states that permit abortion.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/03/health/abortion-pill-access-roe-v-wade.html

USA – Why rape exceptions in abortion bans are more complicated in reality

Only four states with abortion bans allow the procedure due to rape.

By Mary Kekatos, Video by Jessie DiMartino
August 19, 2022

Since the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade in June, several states have enacted strict abortion bans.

At least 15 states have ceased nearly all abortion services and an additional four states have bans that have been blocked in court and are undergoing legal challenges.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/US/rape-exceptions-abortions-bans-complicated-reality/story?id=88237926

How they won: Kansas organizers unpack their big win for abortion rights

The strategies that worked in Kansas – countering misinformation, building a broad coalition – offer lessons for other ballot measures

Poppy Noor
Fri 12 Aug 2022

In February, long before organizers in Kansas had made the hundreds of thousands of calls, knocked on the tens of thousands of doors; or did the thousands of media interviews needed to win a monumental race against an anti-abortion amendment, they started having parties.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/12/how-abortion-rights-won-kansas-strategies

Inside the Powerful Anti-Abortion Campaign to Convince You That Everything Is Just Fine

Be careful of what you read about miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies right now.

KIERA BUTLER AND MADDIE OATMAN
July 21, 2022

Late last month, shortly after the US Supreme Court stripped away federal protection for abortion rights, Dr. Christina Francis, an OB/GYN based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, took to Instagram with an urgent message: She wanted her followers to know that even in states where abortion will soon be illegal, doctors still would be able to terminate pregnancies to save the life of the mother. “Treating ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages or other life-threatening conditions in pregnancy is not the same thing as an abortion,” she said in a video she took of herself from inside a car. “This is very important to clear up because I know that many women are feeling fearful that they might not be able to receive life-saving care if they need it.” Commenters thanked Dr. Francis for her clarification. “The amount of people that don’t know the difference is disturbing,” said one. “So many people spreading false information. Thank you for sharing and educating!”

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/inside-the-powerful-anti-abortion-campaign-to-convince-you-that-everything-is-just-fine/

“Chaos” for patients and providers after US abortion ruling

Susan Jaffe
July 09, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01268-5
The Lancet - WORLD REPORT| VOLUME 400, ISSUE 10346, P85-86, JULY 09, 2022

The US Supreme Court's bombshell decision overturning Roe v Wade on June 24, 2022, assures Americans that each state can choose whether and under what conditions its residents have a right to a safe and legal abortion. So far, the result is an incoherent and volatile jumble: 16 states have severely restricted or banned the procedure and bans in ten more states are likely to take effect in a matter of weeks. Providers who violate the laws can face as much as 10 years in prison. However, in 22 Democrat-led states and the District of Columbia, abortion access is protected. Several claim to be abortion sanctuaries as they prepare for an influx of health-care refugees who can afford to travel for an abortion no longer available at home.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)01268-5/fulltext

USA – Who and what is behind abortion ban trigger law bills? Two groups laid the groundwork

July 8, 2022
Ximena Bustillo

For two decades, abortion rights opponents have drafted so-called model legislation and lobbied to get the measures to restrict and ban abortions passed in statehouses across the country in preparation for the eventual fall of Roe v. Wade.

The model legislation and concerted political pressure from national organizations that oppose abortion rights resulted in key terms being cemented into laws, the limitation of abortion access and the influence behind the trigger laws that will go into effect in 13 states this summer as a result of the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe.

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/08/1110299496/trigger-laws-13-states-two-groups-laid-groundwork

08.07.2022

Commentary

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Americans United for Life

National Right to Life Committee

Pain Capable Unborn Child Act

Florida could be a critical access point for abortion, but the state’s own battle is just starting

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, the state is poised to become a regional destination for abortion. But with a 15-week ban set to take effect, its own future is unsure.

Shefali Luthra
June 8, 2022

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Herman Miller never asks his patients why they come to his office, but sometimes they tell him anyway. They just need to say it out loud.

There are people who desperately wanted a child and then found out at 16 weeks pregnant that they would give birth to a baby with major health problems — at least one, he recalls, who would have been born without functioning lungs. There are those who had a plan, a partner who would raise a child with them, before they were left on their own. There are patients who drove six hours to get here, who couldn’t get here sooner because rent was due or a kid fell sick. Some just needed a few extra weeks to pull together a few hundred dollars.

Continued: https://19thnews.org/2022/06/florida-abortion-law-access-point-uncertain-future/

Oklahoma approves two laws that could immediately end all in-state abortion access

Gov. Kevin Stitt has indicated that he plans to sign both bills, which would end abortion services at clinics in the state and add to a growing abortion desert.

Shefali Luthra, Health Reporter
April 28, 2022

Oklahoma’s legislature has passed two Texas-inspired laws that would allow civil lawsuits against anyone who might “aid or abet” any abortion. Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, has indicated he plans to sign both bills, which would take effect immediately.

One bill, House Bill 4327, would outlaw virtually all abortions, with an exception if the pregnant person’s life were in immediate danger; pregnancy resulting from rape or incest is only an exception if it has been reported to law enforcement. After amendments were added to it, HB 4327 will go back to the House, which has already passed a version of the bill. The other bill, Senate Bill 1503, would create penalties for abortions done after six weeks of pregnancy.

https://19thnews.org/2022/04/oklahoma-abortion-bans-texas-style/