This Week in Abortion - August 19

This newsletter is a collection of abortion-related reads and events from the week curated by me - Rachel Leven

Good Reads: 

• An understanding in the Republican party is forming over the need to protect "access" to abortions when medically necessary and in cases of rape. The AP has a good overview of the political tension. Also, an SC rep recently spoke out on this point, as did Joe Rogan. 

• Telemedicine is shaping the struggle for and against abortion rights like never before and is part of a broader trend in the US, including women's health. 

• I have often wondered why there isn't more push from pro-rights groups to focus on women and children outcomes as a way to redirect some supporters from the anti-rights movement (a "Care First" movement, if you will). There are likely many reasons for this, not least the difficulty of selling even a slightly more complicated narrative. But, with that in mind, I am sharing, this NPR article "States with the toughest abortion laws have the weakest maternal supports". Slightly biased, but a good overview. Additionally, I'll point out that some of these same states give already stretched TANF funds to "pregnancy centers," which is just demonstrative of so many, many issues. 

• A view from the anti-camp: "acknowledging the child’s humanity only at the moment of birth is also arbitrary" (Opinion)

Events in the News: 

• A South Carolina Senate bill stirred up first-amendment controversy but is likely going nowhere. Meanwhile, the SC house advanced legislation on a near-total ban.

• Google employees asked for abortion policy changes including protections for product users.

• Kansas will recount abortion amendment votes. The recount comes after a procedural request from an anti-abortion group. While it may lead to the usual mishigas over election fraud, the count is nearly certain to affirm a referendum that roundly rejected an anti-abortion constitutional amendment. 

  •  https://ground.news/article/kansas-to-recount-abortion-vote-by-hand-despite-big-margin_ec3a92

  • https://www.ksat.com/news/politics/2022/08/14/activist-offers-to-pay-for-kansas-recount-of-abortion-vote/?utm_source=ground.news&utm_medium=referral

Legal Roundup: 

• South Carolina's Supreme Court temporarily blocked the state’s six-week abortion ban.  

• In North Carolina, a federal judge ruled that abortions are no longer legal after 20 weeks of pregnancy. NC is one of the South's few remaining safe havens. 

• Louisiana and Idaho's supreme courts ended injunctions against anti-abortion laws while core legal challenges continue. Meanwhile, in Kentucky, the Supreme Court allowed restrictive laws to remain in place.

  • Louisiana: State Supreme Court denies appeal in hotly contested abortion case, keeping ban in place

  • Idaho: Idaho bans abortion at 6 weeks, trigger law to take effect

  • From the anti-camp: https://www.theblaze.com/news/louisiana-supreme-court-rejects-appeal-in-abortion-case-letting-state-ban-take-effect, https://www.lifenews.com/2022/08/12/louisiana-supreme-court-rules-abortion-ban-can-keep-saving-babies/ 

ALSO: 

• More on telemedicine - reversing an abortion?  

• More on chaos for patients and clinics thanks to legal confusion  

• More on cities protecting the right to abortion, including serious costs.