Florida Supreme Court Rules on Abortion

The Court allows 6-week ban & for voters to decide in November

JESSICA VALENTI
APR 01, 2024

The Florida Supreme Court came down with two abortion rulings today, one good and one very, very bad.

The Ron DeSantis-packed Court ruled that privacy protections in the Florida constitution don’t apply to abortion—undoing decades of precedent. A response to a challenge against the state’s 15-week ban, this decision means that a newer, 6-week ban—one that DeSantis signed into law last April—will go automatically into effect within 30 days. As we know, a 6-week ban in practice is not that different from a total ban.

Continued: https://jessica.substack.com/p/breaking-florida-supreme-court-rules

USA – Study: Abortion Bans Creating OBGYN Crisis

Docs in anti-choice states are depressed, scared, and getting worse

JESSICA VALENTI
FEB 1, 2024

A new study shows that abortion bans have created an “occupational health crisis” for OBGYNs in anti-choice states, 93% of whom report that they or a colleague have been unable to follow standards of care because of abortion laws.

Researchers from Harvard’s School of Public Health, Boston College, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, report “deep and pervasive impacts” not just on patient outcomes—but physicians’ own health, and on state workforce sustainability.

Continued: https://jessica.substack.com/p/study-abortion-bans-creating-obgyn

01.02.2024

Commentary

Jessica Valenti

mental health and abortion

mental health crisis for abortion providers

occupational health crisis for Ob/Gyns

State Democrats are leading on abortion policy. D.C. Democrats don’t want to get left behind.

Democrats in Washington want to show voters they're working on abortion rights ahead of the 2024 election, with most of the action in the states.

Jan. 18, 2024
By Julie Tsirkin and Kate Santaliz

WASHINGTON — After several successful state efforts to codify abortion access, Democrats are marking the 51st anniversary of the defunct Roe v. Wade ruling with an all-out reproductive freedom campaign — in an election year when abortion rights could once again help determine the balance of power in Washington.

Senate Democrats held a briefing on abortion access Wednesday focusing on the impact of state abortion bans. More than half of the Democratic caucus, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, heard from and questioned medical professionals and experts.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/state-democrats-are-leading-abortion-policy-dc-democrats-dont-want-get-rcna128932

18.01.2024

Democrats condemn ‘cruel’ abortion bans ahead of 51st anniversary of Roe

‘Extreme’ Republican-backed bans have caused untold ‘suffering’ for women, senators say, and vow to restore federal abortion rights

Jessica Glenza
Wed 17 Jan 2024

Senate Democrats underscored their commitment to abortion rights in a press conference on Wednesday, ahead of the 51st anniversary of Roe v Wade. The now-overturned supreme court case provided American women with a constitutional right to abortion for nearly 50 years.

Experts at the briefing described Republican-backed abortion bans across the country as “cruel”, “extreme” and causing untold “suffering” for American women, thousands of whom are forced to travel across state lines for abortions or be forced to remain pregnant.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/17/democrats-restore-abortion-rights-roe-v-wade-2024-election

17.01.2024

USA – The Catholic Hospital System Killing Women

How Ascension hospitals are fueling the maternal death rate

JESSICA VALENTI
JAN 11, 2024

Earlier this week, The New Yorker published a piece about a young woman killed by Texas’ abortion ban. Yeniifer Alvarez-Estrada Glick, the first reported post-Dobbs death, had diabetes, hypertension, and a history of pulmonary edema; she went to the emergency room with breathing problems just seven weeks into her pregnancy, and multiple times thereafter with ever-increasing issues. Yet even as Yeni got sicker and sicker, at no point did a doctor advise an abortion. No one even mentioned the possibility.

… The very same day that Yeni’s story was shared with the world, National Nurses United (NNU) released a report showing how Ascension is fueling the U.S. maternal mortality crisis. In fact, NNU called Ascension, which has 140 hospitals in 19 states, “one of the nation’s worst offenders for closing obstetrics units.”

Continued: https://jessica.substack.com/p/the-catholic-hospital-system-killing

NO INDICTMENT for Brittany Watts

Grand jury dismisses charges against Ohio woman arrested for miscarriage

JESSICA VALENTI
JAN 11, 2024

It’s rare to be able to bring you good news, so I’m thrilled to tell you that a grand jury has declined to indict Brittany Watts, the Ohio woman charged with ‘abuse of a corpse’ for flushing her miscarriage.

Brittany’s lawyer, Traci Timko, told The New York Times that when Brittany heard the news, she began to cry:

“It’s just been an emotional roller coaster that she has been on. I’m happy Brittany is able to now begin to heal through all of this and I hope and believe that her story is going to be an impetus for change.”

Continued: https://jessica.substack.com/p/no-indictment-for-brittany-watts

11.01.2024

It’s 2023, but certain men are desperately grasping for control of women’s bodies

Barrington Salmon
DECEMBER 30, 2023

America harbors a profound and deep-seated hatred for women. The misogyny is pervasive, leaching into just about all areas of life, tainting, polluting and poisoning relationships, the home, marriages, the workplace, friendships, education, intimacy and the privacy of the bedroom.

This toxic brew continues to percolate into the pores of the US consigning the distaff gender to second-class citizenship and systematic discrimination. This despite women comprising approximately 51.1 percent of the U.S population.

Continued: https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/12/30/its-2023-but-certain-men-are-desperately-grasping-for-control-of-womens-bodies/

Study Finds 16% Increased Infant Mortality in States that Restrict Abortion

The study also found that the mortality rate for Black infants was more than twice that of white infants.

By Zane McNeill , TRUTHOUT
October 18, 2023

States with abortion restrictions suffer a 16 percent increase in infant mortality rate, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

“What’s also notable is that the data is pre-Dobbs — it came from 2014–2018. That means these numbers are likely to get much, much worse,” abortion advocate Jessica Valenti said.

Continued: https://truthout.org/articles/study-finds-16-increased-infant-mortality-in-states-that-restrict-abortion/

USA – The GOP’s Plan to Ban Birth Control (Part I)

Redefining Contraception as 'Abortion'

JESSICA VALENTI
AUG 14, 2023

For years, feminists have warned that Republicans want to ban birth control. We’ve pointed to legal and cultural trends showing how contraception is in danger, only to be told again and again that we’re overreacting or being hysterical. Remember how well it turned out when our warnings about Roe were ignored?

This disbelief over the danger to contraception isn’t just run-of-the-mill misogyny—though that’s certainly part of it. Some people simply can’t comprehend why lawmakers who claim to be against abortion would prohibit birth control, which prevents unwanted pregnancies. They haven’t caught onto the fact that Republicans’ real end goal is a return to traditional gender roles, and that overturning Roe was simply a means to that end.

Continued: https://jessica.substack.com/p/the-gops-plan-to-ban-birth-control

USA – Doctors Should Break the Law to Offer Abortions Sometimes, Says New Guidance From Medical Leaders

“Attempting to comply with reckless government interference…is dangerous to the health of our patients,” argues the American Medical Association.

Abigail Weinberg
Nov 20, 2022

The people who write laws banning abortion are usually not doctors. As a result, medical providers in states that have restricted abortion access after the fall of Roe v. Wade have been left in the dark about when the termination of a pregnancy is legally permitted. One particular point of confusion: How close must a woman be to dying to qualify for an abortion exemption to “save the life of the mother”?

In new guidance, the American Medical Association tried to clear things up, advising that medical providers should act in the interest of their patients’ well-being—even if it means violating the law.

Continued: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/11/abortion-rights-american-medical-association-guidance-
doctors-ethics/

20.11.2022