RePro Roe-D-O 19Mar2023 - The HisTerical Society

March 19, 2023

Time for another roundup of reproductive rights news.. Giddyup!

Cartoon from David Horsey, Seattle Times; depicts the US with Red states labeled abortion illegal. "the new mason-dixon line" is the caption — ^{David Horsey, Seattle Times Cartoonist}

Medical abortion is still under attack.

Also, lawsuits in Texas on both sides challenge their SB-8 abortion ban.

Florida catches up with a new 6-week abortion ban bill that is sure to pass.

Just another chapter in the Post-Roe hellscape that is the Divided States of ‘Merica..

Wyoming Bans Medical Abortion

While we are waiting for the Texas judge to make his ruling that could ban one of the two medications used for medical abortion, Wyoming snuck in and passed their medical abortion ban on Friday night.

We warned about this last month in a previous RePro Roe-D-O..

They rammed the bill through faster than women could close their legs, and now Wyomingites are left without basic medical abortion access.

This hits especially hard as the only clinic left open in the state provides medical abortions exclusively.

Mifepristone tablets package being opened. — ^{Caitlin Ochs/Reuters}

In addition to signing the state’s abortion pill ban, Gov. Mark Gordon announced he would let a more sweeping abortion ban become law today, March 19^th, 2023 without his signature.

Now it is a felony to provide an abortion under almost all circumstances.

Texas Judge watch for Mifepristone Ban

We warned on Feb 13^th about this single Trumpy judge in Texas who could really screw the entire country out of medical abortion access as we have been doing for 20 years.

Graphic by Indivisible during Kacsmaryk's nomination; He's against equality for LGBTQ, and women's reproductive rights. — ^{Graphic by Indivisible during his nomination}

Yeah, we should be worried.. This guy is up to no good..

The fate of mifepristone hinges on a right-wing, Trump-appointed Judge in conservative Amarillo Texas.

This dude advanced a last minute, closed door hearing on Wednesday, where it appeared that he was open to pulling the drug off the market.

If he rules as expected, the entire United States could be left without basic medical abortion access.

We are still waiting for his decision now any day.

Pundits are concerned with “how far he will go”, and think it’s not a matter of “if”, but “when” it will happen.

But human rights lawyers will fight this decision every step of the way if it comes down in a way to threaten abortion access.

Lawyers representing the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine after a hearing on the abortion drug mifepristone on Wednesday in Amarillo, Texas.Credit...Nick Oxford for The New York Times — ^{Lawyers leave a hearing in Amarillo, TX; Nick Oxford, NYT}

Watch this space..

Oh Texas, You again?

The first lawsuits out of Texas come to light as three people are sued for assisting someone in getting an abortion.

Cartoon where Mrs. Kravitz asks her husband if she has to split the $ with the rapist if she turns in someone getting an abortion. — ^{John Darkow, Columbia Missourian}

A husband decided to take advantage of the vigilante law in Texas’ SB-8 legislation and sue 3 women who helped his ex-wife obtain the medications to terminate her pregnancy.

Evidence in the case includes text messages in which the women shared websites where the medication mifepristone is available.

The lawsuit alleges the medication was obtained illegally because the pregnancy was terminated in July, 2022 (after Roe was overturned).

It appears that the plaintiff must have taken his ex’s phone in order to get screenshots of the text messages as evidence!

They really won’t stop oppressing women until they control every last one of us..

Here is a direct quote from State Rep. Briscoe Cain, R- Deer Park, who is co-counsel in the lawsuit: “Anyone involved in distributing or manufacturing abortion pills will be sued into oblivion”.

So, this is where we’re at, folks.

The dystopian future has arrived.

Look at this guy, straight out of central casting of the rapist convention..

Briscoe Cain, your mom would be proud.

^{TX State Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park}

Florida Wants Ignorant, Pregnant Girls

I guess Florida got tired of attacking drag queens and critical race theory, so they decided to jump on the abortion ban bandwagon.

^{DeSantis signs 15-week abortion ban in 2022}

In a true “keep up with the “Texan’s” move, Republicans have introduced twin bills that would further restrict abortion access and control public school education in dangerous ways.

First, House Bill 7 has advanced on Thursday and would ban abortions after ~6 weeks.

The 15-week ban they passed just last year wasn’t good enough for DeSantis’ Presidential aspirations, and now they want to go further.

Also, Republican Rep. Stan McClain sponsored another bill that would restrict public school sex education to grades 6 and up.

This would prohibit discussions about menstrual cycles and require schools teach other anti-Trans themes.

Democratic State Rep. Ashley Gantt probed in committee about McClain’s intentions.

“So if little girls experience their menstrual cycle in 5th grade or 4th grade, will that prohibit conversations from them since they are in the grade lower than sixth grade?”