RePro Roe-D-O 7Mar23

March 7, 2023

Longhorn uterus morph

Texas Bills Seek to Further Block Abortion Access

Did I mention that Texas is a dystopian hellscape? 

I guess they’re not satisfied with their victories to restrict abortion access in the state…

Two new bills introduced in the Texas state legislature are sure to make it even worse!

Censoring Websites and “Love Thy Neighbor”

First up, Republican Representative Steve Toth introduced a new bill on Feb. 23rd.

This bill would block websites that provide abortion support and access to medication.

It also would expand the existing “bounty hunter” law to those helping others get out of state for abortion healthcare.

It’s back to the wild west now with civil lawsuits where you turn on your own neighbors.

Think I’m joking? The bill’s text reads: “Relating to abortion, including civil liability for distribution of abortion-inducing drugs and duties of Internet service providers; creating a criminal offense; authorizing a private civil right of action.”

The bill lists 6 websites that would be blocked, including aidaccess.org, which was mentioned in WE’RE NOT GOING BACK!

Abortion funds and their staffers could face criminal penalties for helping someone travel out of state to get an abortion.

Same for individuals who manufacture or distribute abortion pills in Texas. 

Texas State Representative Republican Steve Toth
Texas State Rep. Steve Toth (R)

Banning Credit Card Transactions

Drew Springer Texas Republican State Senator
Texas State Sen. Drew Springer

Not to be outdone, Drew Springer proposed a different restrictive Bill in the Texas State Senate on March 2nd.

This bill would ban credit card companies from processing transactions for abortion pills.

This is what happens when you leave important topics like abortion access up to the republican-led state legislatures.

At least with respect to the website bans, we wouldn’t be in this mess if we had Federal Net Neutrality.

The Trump administration eliminated net neutrality, leaving it up to the states. 

Like abortion rights, Texas has done away with Net Neutrality, so they could potentially get away with this horrible censorship. 

FCC Nominee Gigi Sohn strongly supports net neutrality. However, the Senate hasn’t yet confirmed her.

Demand that the Senate push her confirmation through!

Update: Later in the day on March 7th after this post was published, Gigi withdrew her nomination, citing the blocks by lobbyists. This is a tragic day for Net Neutrality in the US, but we will continue the fight.

#BoycottWalgreens Trends

On Thursday, March 2nd, Walgreens confirmed it has no balls.

Walgreens pharmacy logo

Republican state Attorneys General wrote to them in February threatening legal action if the company began distributing abortion medications.

This is a counter attack after Biden made dispensing of abortion medications by pharmacies legal as we discussed previously.

Caving, Walgreens said they won’t file to register to dispense abortion pills in several states in the US. 

The list includes several states where abortion , and the medications, remain legal — including Alaska, Iowa, Kansas and Montana.

As news hit, the hashtag #BoycottWalgreens and #WalgreensHatesWomen were trending on Twitter. 

Six other retail pharmacy companies received similar letters from the Republican AGs. So far CVS, Albertsons, Rite Aid, Costco, Walmart and Kroger haven’t picked a side, yet. 

California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom said the state would no longer buy products from Walgreens because of their decision.

See? Not all white men are douches.. 

It’s clear the dividing lines are drawn and corporations have to choose sides in this fight. 

Let’s all choose wisely with our wallets and support those companies that care about women and our right to choose. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D)
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D)

Texas Women Fight Back

Five women denied healthcare due to abortion bans in Texas, filed a new lawsuit on Monday, March 6th

Woman with sign: You can never ban abortion. You can only ban safe abortions. Read it again.
MARK FELIX/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Ever since the so-called “Heartbeat Law” went into effect in September, 2021, there has been confusion about how to interpret the law in life-threatening situations.

This law, called SB-8, bans abortion at the first detection of cardiac activity, which is typically around 6 weeks.

Doctors err on the side of caution for fear of lawsuit, which leaves women without healthcare options.

One of the plaintiffs, Amanda Zurawski, spoke to NBC about her awful ordeal.

She found out at 25 weeks that her fetus was non-viable but she was denied an abortion.

Amanda spent 3 days in ICU with sepsis since they waited to perform her abortion. 

This is the first lawsuit “brought on behalf of women denied abortions” to be filed in a red state since the Dobbs decision last June.

The Center for Reproductive Rights is representing the women in the case.

Yamiche Alcindor, NBC Nightly News

It will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out.

S. Carolina Arrests Woman for Medical Abortion

A South Carolina woman was arrested last month for a medical abortion in 2021, in another example of stifled abortion rights in the US.

woman getting arrested, stock photo

The woman delivered a stillborn fetus after 25 weeks of pregnancy.

Hospital staff claimed she admitted to taking pills to terminate her pregnancy, and turned her in to authorities in October 2021.

Yes, folks, this is where we are now.

Turning in your patients, and arresting people for regular healthcare decisions.

South Carolina is one of the three states in the US, (also Nevada and Oklahoma), which criminalizes self-managed abortion.

She is out on bail, and now awaits trial. 

You can be sure we will watch this space. 

It’s insane that they are going after her over a year after the fact. 

cartoon of sad woman near positive pregnancy test and pills
Stay HisTerical logo

Is this to make an example out of her? 

It’s all about controlling women and our bodies.

We won’t stand for this!

References

https://www.axios.com/2023/03/07/women-lawsuit-texas-states-abortion-laws

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/02/walgreens-abortion-pills-00085325

https://www.thequint.com/neon/gender/united-states-walgreens-not-to-dispense-abortion-pills-netizens-react#read-more

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/03/texas-republican-wants-isps-to-block-a-wide-range-of-abortion-websites/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/03/south-carolina-woman-arrested-abortion-pills

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/group-plans-to-sue-the-state-of-texas-over-abortion-restrictions-164593733832

https://newrepublic.com/article/163656/texas-abortion-pill-law-mexico

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