Jessica Valenti: Abortion, Every Day (11.22.22) Daily round-up of abortion issues

[Nevilledog]

https://jessica.substack.com/p/abortion-every-day-112222


In the state…

Tennessee Republicans say they’re considering amending the state’s abortion ban to include exceptions for a woman’s life. (Writing that sentence gives me a headache.) The Tennessee Lookout reports that State Sen. Ferrell Haile declined to say whether they were also looking at rape and incest exceptions, and would just say that Republicans were in the “examination phase.” The examination phase of deciding whether to have an exception for women’s lives. Meanwhile, Gov. Bill Lee says he is “satisfied” with the law as it is.

Republicans in Kentucky are also considering adding in exceptions to their abortion ban, likely in response to the pro-choice ballot measure victory. Conservatives have obviously seen the writing on the wall and are hoping that pushing a few exceptions our way will calm down voters. In fact, that strategy isn’t limited to anti-abortion states: Illinois Republican State Sen. Jason Barickman says that the GOP needs to ease up on abortion to win over voters, and “the fact we are unwilling to even say that has created among many, especially women, an unwillingness to even entertain a Republican as a vote.” We can’t let them get away with convincing voters that they’re ‘softening’ on abortion, because as I’ve written many times before, exceptions don’t work.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma abortion rights advocates are moving ahead with a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, State Question 828. Last night, State Rep. Mickey Dollens announced the new initiative petition, which would amend Oklahoma’s constitution to “establish new individual right to reproductive freedom, including right to make and carry out all decisions about pregnancy, such as prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion, miscarriage management, and infertility.” The ballot measure would let the state regulate abortion after fetal viability (which would be determined on a case-by-case basis by a doctor), and ban the prosecution of anyone who obtains or provides an abortion.

Indiana abortion provider Dr. Caitlin Bernard—who treated the 10 year-old rape victim from Ohio—testified yesterday in a court hearing over the Indiana Attorney General’s attempts to subpoena her patients’ private medical records. As a reminder: AG Todd Rokita has been using the power of the state to harass Dr. Bernard after she went public about the girl’s case as an example of the consequences of abortion bans. Rokita’s office claimed that Dr. Bernard didn’t properly report the rape (she did) and is now seeking her patients’ medical records as part of an intimidation campaign. The move is meant to have a chilling effect against any doctor who might consider coming forward about abortion bans. What’s especially frustrating is that the state is shrouding their attacks as an attempt to protect the child’s privacy, claiming that Dr. Bernard was using the girls’s case to “further her own political agenda.” Unbelievable.

*snip*

[Timeflyer]

1. They'll never stop--so sick of this never-ending battle!--

but we must fight the male primate urge to be the boss of females bodies. Sure wish there was a male equivalent to the issues women face around pregnancy.