This Week in Abortion - November 5
A collection of good reads, events from the week, and occasional insights from me, Rachel Leven.
Election day is Tuesday. Obviously, go vote. But then, take a deep breath. No matter what happens, the world is not going to fall apart on Wednesday. Midterms were important for abortion access - in some states more than others - but the work was always going to be there regardless of the outcome of the election.
Good Reads
Michigan Public Radio spent nine days in an abortion clinic, the piece includes audio of an abortion procedure. Listen for yourself, then read the surplus of anti-access coverage of it. Don’t skip the order. Framing is a powerful thing.
Abortions may have only fallen 2% in the months after Roe v Wade was overturned, thanks largely to the increasing availability of medical abortions. And, that doesn’t account for seasonal change (summer is apparently a less common time to get abortions).
I’m continuing to think about abortion in mainstream media. Abortion and miscarriage are intimately linked and so I think it’s a healthy thing for all of us if fans are right and Taylor Swift is singing about her loss.
MA Republican Gov. Charlie Baker came up in conversation this week. Yes, he is a Republican in a blue state. But, he is not just standing to the side, he is signing off on some of the most forward-looking abortion policies in the country.
I came across an anti-access article that struck me. My own conclusion reading it is that to prevent “late-term” abortion, we need to increase access to “early-term” abortion drastically, but the author’s conclusion seems to be the opposite. An interesting reminder of how personal biases matter. (FWIW I also think the authors of the original study cited by the article would agree with my conclusion.)
Events in the News
On Texas’s border, individual towns are continuing to take sides.
The “Mobile Health Clinic,” is nearly up and running in southern Illinois. Shout out to Julie Lynn who I know has been working tirelessly on this along with many others.
It’s happened again. A “Right to Life” endorsed politician (MI Supreme court incumbent Brian Zahra) was outed as having had (i.e. donated sperm to and then paid for) an abortion. It’s easy to be against something until the moment you need it. And, it really doesn’t take that much mental gymnastics, in fact it’s pretty natural, to discount an act the moment you walk out the door. That doesn’t make it right, just not surprising.
Legal Updates
A doctor sued Indiana's attorney general, demanding an end to investigations seeking medical records about patients and their abortions.