This Week in Abortion: Good Reads for the Busy Year Ahead
This Week in Abortion: Good Reads for the Busy Year Ahead
A collection of good reads, events from the week, and policy insights.
Welcome back to your weekly roundup of good reads, news updates, and policy insights on abortion.
The news is still pretty light after the holiday season, so I am starting the year off with a look ahead, articles, and policy resources to help you walk confidently into 2024.
I also hope you’ll participate in a very short poll I’ve included at the end of the newsletter and check out my new refer-a-friend program! Remember, this newsletter is free…so think of this as your way of giving back. 😘
Good Reads to Get You Ready for 2024
Ballot initiatives
In 2024, there just isn’t enough money to go around to make sure each of the 11 pro-access state ballot initiatives is successful. So some choices will need to be made. Which states are worth dumping money into, and which are not? Those decisions come amid a continuing debate within the abortion advocacy community over the basic policies pursued by these initiatives.
Should initiatives amending state constitutions include restrictions on abortion? For example, initiatives in Arkansas and South Dakota propose to enshrine the right to an abortion only up to 18-weeks post-conception and the first trimester, respectively. Most other initiatives secure rights up to viability and with exemptions thereafter. Only a few, like Maryland’s initiative, secure rights throughout a pregnancy without any time restrictions.
It’s a tricky debate, with questions about what polling to trust and how to prioritize long-term gains against the need for short-term relief, in addition to the more familiar moral arguments. In Slate, Susan Rinkunas covers all this as it relates to Arkansas. Amy B. Wang and Leigh Ann Caldwell also provide a nice summary of all the initiatives in play, including one anti-access initiative in Iowa.
State and Local Policy
This year is likely to be a less intense one for other policy changes than the torrent of a year that was 2023. But it’s still certain to be an interesting one. You can see where your state stands today on Guttmacher’s website.
In states with bans in place, we may actually see legislators adding to or clarifying exemptions. A review by KFF explains what some of those exemptions are, and concludes that many of them are “not workable in practice.” At the same time, Jessica Valenti argues, the core of the anti-access movement will still be working to make abortion less culturally acceptable even in risky pregnancies.
In states without bans, there will be a continued push to increase practical access through investment and deregulation. But local government will be the big pressure point. Watch below as one of the anti-access leaders behind this movement talks about his strategy and philosophy. Some of the target cities are listed here. You should also check out ACLU Illinois’s one-pager explaining its opposition to these laws in the state. Danville, IL, passed one of these anti-access ordinances last year.
Supreme (and Other) Court Cases
The first Post-Dobbs court cases will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this year. I again recommend reading Chris Geidner’s write-up on the cases, which challenge existing FDA approvals making the abortion drug mifepristone more accessible. Although most coverage of this case will lead with the impact on abortion policy, the technical question at hand isn’t really about abortion. It’s more about the FDA’s approval process, and it has implications far beyond Mife. If you want to get a sense of what might be at stake, start with this opinion piece from two pharmaceutical industry professionals.
Another issue coming before the court is the conflict between state bans and federal guidance requiring that emergency room doctors perform abortions when necessary. In Texas, an appeals court recently ruled that the federal guidance cannot be enforced, while a judge in Idaho ruled just the opposite. Just yesterday the Supreme Court announced it will hear these cases in April. They also ruled that Idaho can go ahead and enforce the entirety of its ban in the meantime.
Cases will also continue to wind their way through state courts. The Brennan Center is tracking all the cases challenging state bans, which by their count is “a total of 38 cases…in 23 states, of which 24 remain pending at either the trial or appellate levels.” These will be cases that seek to increase access to abortion. For a look at cases that seek to curtail access, see Sofia Resnik’s summary of ongoing lawsuits by the Alliance for Defending Freedom.
That Whole Election Thing
You probably haven’t heard, it’s a presidential election year!? That is going to be the undercurrent of everything all year. Christine Fernando and Andrew Demillo review the landscape for abortion and state supreme court races. The ideological balance of these courts can often flip with a change in just one or two seats.
On the national stage, abortion access is popular. Natalie Allison and Meridith Mcgraw think that Nikki Haley’s “compromise” messaging is going to be the template for the coming year. An article by Bonnie Steinbock from 2021 is still a good review of why such a “compromise” is a problem on policy grounds. And, Irin Carmon explains that political promises about a national compromise are worth less than a playground pinky swear.
Poll
Writers love feedback. The responses to the poll below will help me improve content.
This Week in Abortion is a free newsletter that rests on the work of many passionate individuals who want to learn and share that learning with others. Please consider signing up a friend today. 10 referrals will get you a personal shoutout in the newsletter!
❤️ A big thank you to Rachel Nackman, who copyedited this week’s newsletter. ❤️