Brosectomies, Supreme Court, and The Vagina Privacy Network
Brosectomies, Supreme Court, and The Vagina Privacy Network
A collection of good reads, news, and policy insights.
Welcome back to This Week in Abortion - Your roundup of good reads, news updates, and policy insights on abortion. It’s looking like a looooooooong summer. But, it’s a holiday weekend. So, I won’t even mention the debate or groan that while Hillary Clinton couldn’t cough without the world falling apart our democracy is now in the hands of two unstable old men. (Happy Independence Day!)
What we’ve actually got: Supreme Court recap 😞 followed by the Vagina Privacy Network 🌷, Brosectomies 😂, and more abortion news.
One Supreme Court - Three decisions
The Supreme Court released three more decisions in the last two weeks that will affect abortion—the first you have probably seen. Moyle v United States challenged federal EMTALA rules that required and protected doctors performing abortions when the procedure is needed to address a medical emergency. The justices sent the case back to lower courts. The good news is that doctors in Idaho are protected - for now. Although HHS says that all doctors must comply, it’s less clear how the court’s decision affects other states, or how long this will last - because the justices did not address the merits. So, this is a small reprieve, not a conclusion.
The other cases aren’t obviously about abortion. Loper v. Raimondo overturned prior rulings (Chevron) that said judges should defer to federal agency rules when Congress is vague - which it nearly always is. Then, Corner Post, Inc., v. Board of Governors added more chaos with a ruling allowing an “injured” party to challenge government regulations decades after federal rules are made - instead of the six-year limit that had long existed.
These two cases have major implications for federal regulations (See Government Executive and The Economist). Regulations like those covering abortion.
Elizabeth Dias explains how the rulings affect healthcare agencies as a whole.
Lisa Heinzerling walks through the easter eggs the anti-access movement laid in these rulings. And,
Jill Filipovic’s article from May is a good reminder that these same legal avenues can be used in attempts to prevent access to birth control.
The Vagina Privacy Network
In principle, it’s great for everyone to speak openly about their abortions - to normalize the procedure. But, for people living in states with bans, speaking openly is not a great idea, a courageous one, to be sure, but not the most sensible. In fact, in these states, patients probably want to leave as little trace as possible. Even for those of us living in states without bans this isn’t the worst idea. Going public with your healthcare information is your choice, you don’t want someone doing it for you. The problem is that everything we do today leaves some kind of digital trail.
Enter the Vagina Privacy Network.
The website has a “‘VPN' with a step-by-step protocol for those who want to stay anonymous online — so your private parts stay private.”
Love it!
Brosectomies
The last few weeks male contraception has been all over the news. Yes, it’s finally, maybe, a reality! But, long before there was (maybe) a lotion to rub on your shoulders, there were Brosectomies.
That’s Va-sectomy with a “Bro,” because life is indisputably cooler with a “Bro.”
A brosectomy is when men get over the understandable fear of the big snip by going to get it with friends. I’ll let Lindsey Hunter Lopez explain, “After getting back-to-back surgeries—the procedure takes only a couple of minutes—they either head to a hotel to recover or spend the rest of the day lazing around the clinic, where they might watch sports or movies, enjoy a decadent dinner, and knock back some booze.” To be fair not all men are focused the chance to knock back booze. Take the genuine Bro-thers in the video below explaining how the brosectomy is their way to support each other while taking responsibility for family planning.
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I actually love this. It’s great to see men stepping up and showing meaningful support for each other.
BUUUUUUT, as one friend observed, “Guys get to do, like, no heavy lifting and relax with ice for several days after a vasectomy. Women shove a human out of their vagina or have it surgically cut out and they’re like ‘Ok! Don’t sleep for 6 months and feed this thing from your boobs. Here’s some Motrin!’”
So, here is my proposal. Let the guys have their brosectomies. Vasectomies have been increasing ever since the Dobbs decision, so they need this. But, women should be allowed to have fun too. Tubal ligation (tube tying), which is also on the rise, and IUD insertion should come with an afternoon off where you and your ladies hang a hotel with some hot water bottles and trash TV.
IUD-Day? Ligation and Lunch?
Okay, the concept needs work, especially since tubal ligation is a relatively lengthy procedure that requires general anesthesia. But, you get the point.
More News
👍 It’s a good week for reproductive health in Michigan. A judge threw out a state requirement for a 24-hour waiting period for abortions as well as other burdensome access rules on the grounds that they violate the state’s constitution, amended in 2022; ACLU Michigan is suing to force the state to include abortion in Medicaid coverage; And, a bipartisan bill with policies to address maternal and infant mortality is making its way through the legislature.
👍Advocates in Kansas are celebrating too. The state’s Supreme Court struck down a ban on dilation and evacuation and a host of general burdensome restrictions on patients and providers.
👍 Delaware says public and private insurance has to cover abortions.
😅 Ballot measures are moving forward. As longtime readers will know, I have a lot of feelings about abortion ballot measures - the policies and the politics.
👎 A recent study associates Texas’s abortion ban with a 12.9% increase in infant deaths. Though not conclusive, the study points to an increase in congenital anomalies as a likely cause. Basically, women carrying a pregnancy with life-threatening defects were forced to carry to term and endure all the trauma and cost that come with it.
👎 A federal judge ruled that the EEOC can’t require companies to give abortion leave/accommodations in Louisiana and Mississippi. The ruling just applies to those states.
👎 The Iowa Supreme Court dissolved an injunction on the state’s 4-6 week abortion ban, which means most abortions in the state will be illegal starting later this month.
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