1). “Idaho Becomes Sixth State to Consider Murder Charges for Abortion Patients”, Feb 7, 2025, Jessica Valenti, Abortion, Evey Day, at < https://jessica.substack.com/
2). “Idaho GOP lawmaker wants women charged with murder for seeking abortions, end to exceptions”, Feb 5, 2023, Updated Feb 07, 2025, Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho Statesman, at < https://www.idahostatesman.
3). “South Carolina Bill Would Ban Contraception & Pro-Choice Websites”, Feb 6, 2025, Jessica Valenti, Abortion, Evey Day, at < https://jessica.substack.com/
4). “When Your Home State Also Becomes Your Abuser: The leading cause of death for pregnant women is homicide, most often by an abusive partner with a gun. And Texas is forcing victims to stay pregnant, while making it easier for abusers to get guns”, Mar 1, 2024, Updated Mar 5, 2024, Alanna Vagianos, HuffPost, at < https://www.huffpost.com/
5). “Texas Man Who Murdered Ex-Girlfriend Over Abortion Sentenced to Life in Prison: In May 2023, Harold Thompson killed his partner, Gabriela Gonzalez, for having an abortion. Pregnancy is the most dangerous time for people experiencing domestic violence”, Feb 6, 2025, Kylie Cheung, Jezebel, at < https://www.jezebel.com/texas-
6). “If You’re Pregnant, Here’s What You Should Know About the Medical Procedures That Could Save Your Life: Women experiencing pregnancy loss in states with abortion bans told us they wished they had known what to expect and how to advocate for themselves. We created this guide for anyone who finds themselves in the same position”, Dec. 19, 2024,Kavitha Surana & Lizzie Presser, ProPublica, at < https://www.propublica.org/
~~ recommended by dmorista ~~
Introduction by dmorista: As noted in Item 1)., “Idaho Becomes Sixth State ….”, and Item 2)., “Idaho GOP lawmaker ….” : An Idaho State Senator, and Owner of a lawn sprinkler installation company named Brandon Shippy introduced state legislation to enable the far right's operatives to, execute women for obtaining abortions, either medication abortions in their respective fascistic Red States, or legally performed in a Blue State Clinic. The most extreme Forced-Pregnancy / Forced-Birth faction in the far-right's panoply of coercive and insane operatives have now introduced pending legislation on 6 states, 5 of which have state policies of capital punishment and where Abortion Abolitionists are eager to begin regularly killing women directly.
And let's not allow ourselves to think that Brandon Shippy is just a crackpot (though of course he is exactly that) but the list of co-sponsors of his draconian bill include 4 other state senators and 5 state house members namely: Senator Shippy, Senator Kohl, Senator Zito, Senator Carlson, Senator Zuiderveld and Representative Hawkins, Representative Harris, Representative Leavitt, Representative Cayler, and Representative Rasor. If you want to see an example of the sort of ideologican and strategic support and guidance the are getting take a look at the website of the Foundation to Abolish Abortion, P.O. Box 402, Liberty Hill, Texas 78642 at < https://faa.life/ >. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
A day earlier Jessica posted an article, Item 3)., “South Carolina Bill Would ….”, about a bill introduced in that state, to execute women for obtaining abortions, and in addition that attacks a number of other rights, e.g. making it a felony to even talk about abortion and outlawing pro-choice websites. At this point 6 states South Carolina, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Indiana, Texas, and Idaho all have legislation pending to punish women for obtaining abortions, and 5 of the 6 are Death Penalty States. In an earlier article Valenti pointed out that: “So-called ‘abolitionists’ believe abortion should be punished as a homicide, with patients even getting the death penalty. And while Republicans don’t like to admit it publicly, they’re increasingly signing on to these extremist policies. The Texas GOP agreed to call for abortion to be punishable by the death penalty in their platform, for example, after a lobbying campaign by an ‘abolitionist’ group.” (Emphasis added).
And as pointed out in Item 4)., “When Your Home State ….”, and in Item 5)., “Texas Man Who Murdered ….”, both of which discussed a case in Texas in which an aggreived intimate partner killed a woman who had obtained an abortion. From Item 4):
“Gonzalez, like so many other domestic violence victims in Texas, faced an increased risk of violence from her abusive partner and a higher likelihood he would kill her because of the state’s decision to loosen gun laws and completely restrict access to abortion. Her story reflects the three systemic crises converging in Texas that are creating a deadly new normal for women. Each has resulted from a deliberate policy created by right-wing state lawmakers. (Emphasis added).
“The leading cause of death among pregnant and postpartum women in the U.S. is homicide, most often by an abusive partner with a gun. Pregnant and postpartum women are more than twice as likely to be murdered than to die from sepsis, hypertensive disorders or hemorrhage.” (Emphasis added).
Thus, I am adjusting my statement in which I said that since the overturning of Roe 1,000 American Women were Tortured and Murdered due to Trump Abortion Bans that followed the policies of the Forced-Pregnancy / Forced-Birth Movement, to reflect these facts. I will now state that 3,000+ American Women were Tortured and Murdered since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, due to Trump Abortion Bans. I will further note that a couple of commenters here have consistently pointed this out when I posted statements about the women who have been Tortured and Murdered due to Trump Abortion Bans. And if the Trump-Vance-Musk Regime is able to outlaw abortion in all states rather than see 1,500 American Women who will be Tortured and Murdered annually due to Trump Abortion Bans; the real figure will be more like 4,500 American Women who will be Tortured and Murdered annually due to Trump Abortion Bans. In contrast Item 5 states that: “According to Everytown for Gun Safety, 70 women every month are shot and killed by an intimate partner.” That would amount to about 850 Women killed annually and would result in “only” around 2,400 American Women who would be Tortured and Murdered annually due to a nationally enforced Trump Abortion Ban. Just where the U.S. stands right now, before a general nationwide Trump Abortion Ban is imposed is shown in the map below. If a general Trump Abortion Ban is forced on the U.S. the situation will only grow worse, and the entire U.S. would be colored the dark red of completely outlawed abortion access, like that of the most repressive societies on Earth.
Current Global Abortion Access Map: Here
Finally, for the information of those who read this post, Item 6)., “If You’re Pregnant, ….”, provides a wealth of useful information specifically for the use of women with unwanted pregnancies in the Fascist Red States.
IMHO, we now face the absolutely worst outlook and internal situation in U.S. history. Elon Musk has taken control of the computer programs used to pay the bills and disburse such monies as medicare and social security. Musk and Trump and their associated fanatics want to cut out $2 Trillion from the U.S. budget to allow for and disguise another massive tax cut bill. All the improvements and reforms achieved in the U.S. over the last century are at risk. It appears the far-right is so confident that they are shedding their disguises and showing their hideous face to the public with the confidence that they can impose this agenda on a sleeping public and ineffectual oppposition. Yes they are actually a relatively small minority, but have used voter suppresion, voter purges, and other repression to “win” a narrow electoral victory in a very low turn-out election, in which 17 million low-propensity voters stayed home (the only type they can win btw). They now control the Presidency, the Senate, the House by a very narrow margin, and the Supreme Court and strategically important other courts. It will take very strong public resistance to save anything of the America, with all its warts and failings, that we have lived in. A horrible paranoid society with its harsh regulations enforced by snitches, vigilantes, and bounty hunters is the new normal.
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Idaho Becomes Sixth State to Consider Murder Charges for Abortion Patients
Read for a brief overview or click to skip ahead: All Eyes On Extremism looks at the sixth state to introduce legislation to punish abortion patients as murderers.
You Love to See It shares a fantastic new resource for pregnant people seeking care.
Attacks on Privacy has some good news on Indiana’s move to make abortion reports public records.
In the States, news from Wyoming, Kentucky, Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, Arizona and more.
In the Nation has the latest on the Trump administration’s purge of reproductive health information on government websites, Trump’s gift to the anti-abortion movement, and the latest (sigh) White House confirmation.
Stats & Studies explains how not to poll on abortion.
Keep An Eye On the right-wing media attack machine going after anyone pro-choice.
All Eyes on Extremism
One of my 2025 predictions was that anti-abortion ‘abolitionists’—the extremists who want women charged with murder for having abortions—would go mainstream. These mostly-male fanatics draft and push legislation that classifies abortion as homicide, and in some cases, would even allow the death penalty for patients. Incredibly, they call them ‘equal protection’ legislation.
Just two weeks after that prediction, Abortion, Every Day reported that four states—Indiana, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and North Dakota—were considering such bills. Texas joined soon after. Four of those five states allow the death penalty for homicide.
Now, Idaho has become the sixth state to join this shameful list. Republicans there have introduced the “Idaho Prenatal Equal Protection Act,” which would classify abortion as homicide. And before you ask—yes, Idaho has the death penalty.
The bill comes from Republican Rep. Brandon Shippy, who has a very specific vision for what enforcement of his law would look like. From the Idaho Statesman,
”Shippy, a freshman lawmaker—and owner of a sprinkler installation company—said his bill could authorize law enforcement to investigate women who say they have had a miscarriage but are suspected of having sought an abortion.”
And there it is. But before you let the rage take over, let’s break this paragraph down strategically.
First: He’s a freshman lawmaker. That means the abortion ‘abolitionist’ crew is working hard to get their people into state legislatures. Second: Shippy’s comment about having police investigate miscarriages didn’t come out of nowhere. Remember, these bills are drafted by and lobbied for by a specific group of ‘abolitionists.’ I’m willing to bet that this is something he heard from them.
In other words, the notion of investigating women’s miscarriages isn’t something one weirdo legislator is suggesting—though that would be bad enough. It’s part of a coordinated effort by a growing, well-organized group of lobbyists who are drafting legislation with the intent of authorizing investigations into women’s pregnancy losses.
And despite Republicans’ constant claims that they don’t want to punish women—that these kinds of bills are just the work of a few fringe extremists—more and more of them are signing on or, at the very least, willing to entertain the idea.
The Idaho bill has ten cosponsors. According to the Idaho Statesman, every Republican on the Senate State Affairs Committee voted to introduce it. And while the Senate GOP caucus says they won’t advance the bill, their official statement said the legislation “will inspire healthy dialogue on this subject.”
I know there’s a lot going on, but I want you to think about this: There are six states considering bills to punish abortion patients as killers, five of which could punish them with the death penalty. And it’s not a front page story. Remember what I said about normalizing?
Abortion, Every Day takes this shit seriously, so please take us seriously back. Upgrade your subscription tonight:
You Love to See It
Leave it to ProPublica! The nonprofit newsroom has published a fantastic resource for pregnant people—an explainer on the lifesaving medical care you’re entitled to and how to actually access it.
The guide covers everything from finding doctors and hospitals most likely to provide the care you need, to preparing for emergencies, to advocating for yourself if a provider tries to deny you treatment.
And yes, it’s bleak as hell that this even needs to exist. But with so much confusion and misinformation out there, this is the kind of service journalism that can genuinely save lives.
Read and share ProPublica’s resource document here.
Attacks on Privacy
Earlier this week, I reported that Indiana abortion reports would now be classified as public records, thanks to a settlement between the state health department and an anti-abortion group hell-bent on getting their hands on them. But here’s some good news: Total fucking hero Dr. Caitlin Bernard is suing to stop it.
Bernard and another OBGYN are taking Indiana’s Health Commissioner and Voices for Life—the group leading this crusade—to court to keep those records private.
If Dr. Bernard’s name sounds familiar, it’s because she’s the abortion provider who became a target of Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita after she came forward about a 10-year-old rape victim forced to leave her state for care. Rokita weaponized the power of his office to go after Bernard’s medical license, even though she did nothing wrong. The goal was to send a message to any other doctors thinking about speaking up: Embarrass Republicans, and we’ll make your life miserable.
For more on the fight over abortion records in Indiana, click here and here. And remember: This isn’t just about one state. It’s a broader strategy that puts all of us at risk.
In the States
Wyoming Republicans claim that their bill to force women into unnecessary transvaginal ultrasounds before having an abortion is about women’s “safety.” But Oil City News reports that Wyoming House Speaker Chip Neiman inadvertently let the truth slip on the floor this week. Neiman, a sponsor of the legislation, said, “Bang, you got me. I want the mother to be able to have time to think about this.”
So much bullshit packed into one sentence! Leaving aside his calling a pregnant woman a ‘mother,’ Neiman is flat-out admitting this has nothing to do with health or safety. It’s about stalling and shaming women. Giving them time to “think?” As if anyone who’s ever had an unwanted pregnancy thinks about anything else!
Also in Wyoming, the wackadoodle bill drafted by Students for Life claiming that abortion medication and fetal remains are poisoning the groundwater passed out of committee and will be debated in the state House. (For more on this legal strategy, click here.)
Meanwhile, Kentucky Republicans have introduced legislation that would make it illegal to prescribe abortion medication to anyone in the state. What makes Senate Bill 106 and House Bill 316 so interesting (in the worst way possible) is that they’re not just banning abortion pills in the state—but crossing state lines and making it illegal to ship abortion medication to a Kentucky resident.
Now, Kentucky can’t tell a New York provider to stop shipping abortion pills; they don’t have jurisdiction. But as we’ve seen from what’s happening in Louisiana, conservative lawmakers and prosecutors are eager to target out-of-state providers regardless. I’ll have more on this as the bills advance.
In better news, Minnesota Congresswoman Angie Craig is sponsoring a legislation to protect access to contraception. It seems like birth control access would be a given, especially in Minnesota, but as Craig said in a statement, “with extreme Republicans chipping away at women’s protective rights by the day, we have no choice but to enshrine this protection into law.”
Illinois Democrats are eyeing legislation to allow abortion providers to keep their names off prescription labels for abortion medication. Earlier this week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law that does just that for providers in my home state; the legislation makes it that much more difficult for zealous out-of-state prosecutors and attorneys general to identify and target New York providers.
Illinois Rep. Kelly Cassidy tells Crain’s, "We are looking at it, talking to colleagues in New York, stakeholders here, and running the traps to make sure we avoid any unintended consequences.” I’ll keep you updated on this one.
Speaking of legislators taking abortion rights clues from other states, Ohio Democrats have followed in the footsteps of Mississippi lawmakers by introducing the “Conception Begins at Erection Act.” The bill would make it illegal for a man to ejaculate without the intent to fertilize an egg—a symbolic piece of legislation meant to draw attention to the way that men’s bodies aren’t legislated.
I have an unpopular opinion on these types of bills: I don’t really like them! I understand the intent, and the idea is clever. But they feel a little too lighthearted for me right now. Feel free to disagree in comments!
Finally, Arizona lawmakers are working to repeal abortion restrictions in the state now that voters passed Proposition 139, which protects abortion rights until fetal ‘viability.’ Democrats introduced eight bills to overturn some of Arizona’s abortion laws. One bill, from state Sen. Analise Ortiz, would repeal 20 of those restrictions in swoop. “The voters themselves spoke loudly in November," she said.
Quick hits:
Colorado Democrats want to codify EMTALA protections for abortion into state law.
Planned Parenthood in Missouri is asking a judge to block the onerous licensing requirements preventing them from providing abortion care.
More on the legislation advancing in Arkansas that would force anti-abortion propaganda into public schools.
And Isthmus on how abortion rights in Wisconsin will come down to the state Supreme Court race.
In the Nation
By now, you all know that the Trump administration is deleting (and ‘modifying’) vital health information from government websites like the CDC and HHS. Abortion, Every Day has been collecting and re-uploading those documents at CDCGuidelines.com—we just added a new batch today.
But Trump’s team isn’t just deleting reproductive health info—they’re actively redirecting people searching for it. The Hill reported yesterday that anyone searching for ‘abortion’ on the CDC’s website is now asked if they’d like to search for ‘adoption’ instead. Hmm.
Meanwhile, the Senate just confirmed Russell Vought—Trump’s pick for White House budget director. (Don’t click the link unless you’re ready for his insufferable smirk.) Vought isn’t just a Trump lackey—he’s a key Project 2025 architect, a former GOP platform policy director, and the guy who rewrote the Republican abortion plank to be even more extreme—then bragged about it. Students for Life once called, “Trump’s most pro-life cabinet member.”
In a statement, Reproductive Freedom for All president Mini Timmaraju put it bluntly, “Trump ran scared of his association with Project 2025 on the campaign trail, but he installed a key player in his cabinet who is eager to set that plan into motion.”
Trump signed an order this week to end so-called “anti-Christian bias” in the federal government—yet another gift to the anti-abortion movement. Trump announced a task force would be dedicated to “fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society,” claiming that anti-abortion protesters were being persecuted and jailed for praying.
The truth? The two dozen extremists Trump pardoned recently were jailed for attacking abortion clinics, assaulting staff members, and blocking patients from getting care.
This is all part of a broader move to appease the anti-abortion movement. In addition to the pardons and this week’s order, Trump also told the March for Life that they’d “never” be arrested again, and had the Department of Justice announce that they wouldn’t enforce the FACE Act—federal protections for abortion clinics.
In other words, he’s given these maniacs the green light to harass and do violence to clinics without fear of consequence.
Stats & Studies
Let’s talk about how not to poll on abortion rights. Yesterday, Brigham Young University put out their annual American Family Survey, which surveys thousands of Americans on issues from marriage and economics to—you guessed it!—abortion.
But the questions that pollsters asked are the textbook example of how we end up with skewed and incorrect data on public opinion on abortion. For example, the American Family Survey reports that only 7% of voters want abortion “fully legal.” But multiple other polls show that the vast majority of Americans don’t want abortion legislated by the government at all—as much as 81%!
So what gives? It’s all in the way pollsters ask questions. Specifically, the America Family Survey adopted a conservative framework, asking people when abortion should be legislated rather than if abortion should be legislated. The result? A skewed picture that buries the reality: Most Americans don’t want the government involved in pregnancy decisions, period.
We’re going to see a lot more studies like this over the next few years—polls designed to suggest that Americans want some vague ‘middle ground’ on abortion. (As if there’s a compromise to be made on our humanity.) It’s a lie. But Republicans are desperate for a way to sell abortion restrictions as ‘reasonable’—anything to make their bans more palatable to voters.
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Idaho GOP lawmaker wants women charged with murder for seeking abortions, end to exceptions
An Idaho Republican state senator wants women who seek abortions to be prosecuted for murder and face other potential criminal charges and lawsuits, with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Sen. Brandon Shippy, R-New Plymouth, introduced a bill Wednesday that would define life as beginning from the moment of conception. It would give embryos and fetuses the same legal defenses and protections “as would apply to the homicide of a human being who had been born alive,” according to the bill.
The proposed legislation defines a “preborn child” as a human being in Idaho’s homicide statute — potentially opening women to murder charges. The bill also would erase exceptions that prohibit women who “harm” their fetus from being charged with aggravated assault — allowing for further criminal prosecution. In addition, it would allow the father of a fetus in utero to file a wrongful death lawsuit over his partner’s abortion.
“Our worth and right to life as human beings is not derived from external circumstances or opinions, but from the Imago Dei,” Shippy told lawmakers Wednesday, referencing the Judeo-Christian God. His bill would prevent the “intentional killing of preborn life” and ensure “justice for preborn children,” he said.
“Homicide laws should apply equally to the preborn,” Shippy said, noting that he views laws on abortion in stark terms. Either the fetus has a “right to life” that the state should protect like any other life, he said, or the state has no business interfering in a woman’s pregnancy at all.
If passed, the bill would not apply the law changes retroactively, only to future instances, and includes an exemption for doctors attempting to save a mother’s life if steps are also taken to save the fetus.
Idaho already has some of the strictest abortion laws in the nation, but they only include punishments for doctors or others who assist with an abortion — not the mother herself. In addition, the laws have exceptions for documented cases of rape or incest, or when an abortion is conducted to save a mother’s life.
Shippy, a freshman lawmaker — and owner of a sprinkler installation company — said his bill could authorize law enforcement to investigate women who say they have had a miscarriage but are suspected of having sought an abortion.
Shippy has also introduced legislation this year to ban mRNA vaccines like those used to combat COVID-19. In an interview with the Idaho Statesman last year, he said that transgender people who seek to change their names are a symptom of social anarchy. Shippy also previously posted on social media that “when a woman takes her husband’s name, she is claiming to be under his authority.”
He is not the only lawmaker who has sought to remove the state’s abortion exceptions. Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, last year introduced a personal bill — which does not move through a committee and is therefore very unlikely to become law — to remove the exceptions in the law for cases of reported rape and incest.
Republican leaders say bill will not progress
Though Shippy’s bill was introduced into the Legislature on Wednesday, Senate Republican leaders said it would be held from moving forward.
Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon, who chairs the Senate State Affairs Committee, said Shippy’s bill would not advance for a public hearing.
All Republicans on the committee voted to introduce it. Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene, moved to advance the bill, calling it “philosophically and morally sound.”
Sen. Treg Bernt, R-Meridian, meanwhile, said he had “grave” concerns about the bill.
Sen. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, the sole Democrat on the committee, was the only no vote.
“The intent of this legislation is to have even a 12-year-old girl who has been raped or is a victim of incest to carry that child to term,” Ruchti, an attorney, told the committee.
The Senate GOP caucus said in a statement that despite not moving Shippy’s bill forward, it “will inspire healthy dialogue on this subject” for a broader debate among lawmakers.
“The majority of the majority caucus would not share the belief that the legislation before us is the proper approach” to the party’s anti-abortion stance, Senate Pro Tem Kelly Anthon, R-Burley, said in the committee hearing.
Shippy “is sincere, he is devout, and he knows that his task before him is to persuade people’s minds and their hearts,” Anthon said.
Idaho’s Planned Parenthood director, Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, told the Statesman in a statement that she was “outraged” by the “hateful” bill, which she said could make women seeking abortions vulnerable to capital punishment.
“This legislation is a cruel attack on our most fundamental rights and a chilling statement on how the state would treat pregnant people in crisis,” she said. “We urge Idaho lawmakers to reject this extremist agenda before more lives are put at risk.”
Idaho’s Democratic caucus also responded Wednesday, calling the bill the latest in a series of “extremist abortion” legislation in the state that conflicts with long-accepted medical practice. Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Idaho has lost more than 22% of the state’s OB-GYNs, and pregnant women have had to be airlifted out of the state for lifesaving reproductive procedures, including abortions, the caucus said in a statement to the Idaho Statesman.
“Since 2022, we have seen firsthand that medical outcomes for women and their families don’t improve when politicians insert themselves into the exam room,” the statement said. “Sen. Shippy’s bill is yet another step in this cruel, draconian direction, and it must be stopped.”
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South Carolina Bill Would Ban Contraception & Pro-Choice Websites
Read for a brief summary or click to skip ahead: Legislation Watch looks at a new South Carolina bill that contains pretty much every nightmare provision I’ve been warning about for years.
In the States, Idaho wants to make abortion pills a controlled substance, Texas is advancing legislation that would allow pharmacists to deny women birth control, and Arkansas Republicans want to force public schools to show anti-abortion videos.
In Attacks on Democracy, Missouri Republicans are trying to override the will of the people.
In the Nation, a few quick hits.
Legislation Watch
Buckle up, this is going to fuck with your night. A just-introduced South Carolina bill would rework the state’s abortion ban to strip away exceptions, increase penalties, redefine contraception so that the morning-after pill and IUDs could be illegal, and force women with life-threatening pregnancies to be forced into labor or c-sections instead of given abortions.
It would also allow women to be criminally charged with abortion and make it a felony to even talk about abortion.
Here’s the good-ish news: Senate Bill 323 was introduced by Sen. Richard Cash, who has tried to pass extreme anti-abortion legislation before and has failed. So the hope is that this legislation won’t go anywhere.
That said, you know I don’t believe in dismissing bills because they won’t pass; these are vital Republican roadmaps. They’re telling us the future they want for American women, and we’d do well to listen.
In fact, SB 323 is basically an anti-abortion blueprint:
The bill would act as a total abortion ban, ending exceptions for rape, incest, and fatal fetal abnormalities. SB 323 strips away language that says abortion patients can’t be prosecuted, and would make abortion punishable as a homicide. It would also allow private individuals to sue over abortion.
In keeping with the trend we’ve seen across several states, the legislation would mandate an anti-abortion propaganda video be shown in public schools. Schools that refuse to do so could be compelled by the Attorney General. Speaking of the state AG, he’d now have the ability to prosecute abortion cases himself in case local district attorneys aren’t doing enough of it.
SB 323 is also a shocking attack on free speech. Under this legislation, it would be a felony to refer a patient for an abortion or even to tell a pregnant person about abortion.
Pro-choice websites would be illegal, as would hosting or maintaining a website that tells women how to get abortions. Advertising abortion medication, whether for sale or for free, would also be illegal.
In continuing with that attack on the helpers, this bill would make it illegal to help a minor obtain an abortion and ban abortion doulas. People who ‘aid and abet’ abortion could be prosecuted under the RICO Act, a law reserved for organized crime.
You know how I’ve been harping for years on the way that Republicans are trying to redefine ‘abortion’ and other medical terms? Well, in SB 323, ‘contraception’ would no longer mean something that prevents pregnancy—but something that prevents fertilization. You know why that matters.
What’s more, the law dictates how women with life-threatening pregnancies be treated. As I’ve warned about so many times, this bill would require critically-ill women to be forced into c-sections or induced labor rather than having an abortion.
And this is all what I found out AT FIRST GLANCE! There’s likely more I’m missing. Don’t let anyone tell you these bills are outliers. Don’t let anyone make you feel crazy for talking about bills that won’t pass. They are telling us who they are, and we need to believe them.
In the States
While we’re on horrific legislation, let’s talk about Idaho. Kylie Cheung at Jezebel reports that Republicans there are following in the footsteps of Louisiana, introducing legislation to make abortion medication a controlled substance. Similar legislation has also been introduced in Texas.
I don’t need to tell you how dangerous this is—but I will anyway. Misoprostol isn’t just used for abortion; it’s a critical medication for controlling hemorrhaging, often kept in obstetric crash carts for emergencies. Now, it has to be locked up with narcotics. In Louisiana, hospitals have even run timed drills to see how long it takes doctors to sprint from a bleeding patient to the locked-up medication and back.
Turning abortion pills into a controlled substance isn’t just about ramping up penalties for those who use or provide them. With so many women in anti-abortion states relying on medication abortion by mail, these laws are designed to instill fear and discourage them from seeking care. On top of that, controlled substances—and the people who prescribe or take them—get logged in a state database, adding another layer of surveillance and intimidation.
Speaking of Republicans messing with prescriptions, check out the latest legislation in Texas: KUT Public Media reports that a new bill would protect pharmacists from disciplinary action if they refuse to fill prescriptions based on their religious beliefs.
The bill was written by John Seago of Texas Right to Life—best known for recruiting bitter exes to sue over their partners’ abortions. Texas Republicans are spinning it as a defense of religious freedom. Rep. Matt Krause claims, “We’re starting to see, across the country, really, the government penalizing individuals for their religious beliefs or sincerely held beliefs on certain issues.”
And what kind of “sincerely held beliefs” is Krause talking about? That women shouldn’t have access to birth control, of course. He pointed to a Washington pharmacy that was supposedly “forced” to sell emergency contraception as proof of government overreach. But don’t worry—Krause reassures us that people will still be able to get their medication if it’s life-saving.
"If it’s like insulin or something like that. But if it's something more elective, I guess, or preferred, then I think it’s a little different."
Calling birth control “preferred” is enough to give me a rage migraine. Because in a country where pregnancy can be deadly—and maternal mortality is on the rise—contraception is life-saving.
All eyes on Arkansas, where lawmakers are considering legislation that would force anti-abortion propaganda videos into public school classrooms. Republicans won’t admit that of course—they call it a “human development” video, instead. But this supposedly-scientific lesson is produced by the extremist anti-abortion organization Live Action. This is an organization specifically-known for their deceptively-edited videos!
I first flagged this legislative trend a little over a year ago. Since then, multiple states have passed similar legislation requiring the ‘Baby Olivia’ video—a false, computer generated representation of fetal development.
As I’ve noted previously, this legislation is part of a broader move to indoctrinate American children: The anti-abortion movement knows that young people are the most pro-choice demographic in the country, and they’re desperate to turn that around.
What’s especially alarming is how hard Republicans are working to package these efforts as neutral and scientific. In 2023, for example, I flagged this Newsweek op-ed from the leader of Contend Projects—a conservative anti-abortion organization disguising themselves as an educational institute. CEO Brooke Stanton wrote that the reason Republicans are losing elections on abortion is due to “widespread scientific ignorance.”
The answer, she wrote, is changing the national educational guidelines around what school children are taught about human development:
“Science education in schools is the most effective way to shape future generations. If pro-life leaders want to win the battle against abortion, they need to recognize and release the untapped potential of K-12 science education standards, by ensuring human embryology is in America's science classrooms. If they fail to do so, the abortion industry will continue its winning streak at the ballot box for many generations to come.”
In other words, these aren’t just isolated bills—they’re part of a coordinated campaign to rewrite educational standards and mislead kids. Conservatives know that the more people learn about pregnancy, the more likely they are to be pro-choice. So instead of letting students access real science, they’re pushing propaganda to manipulate the next generation.
Quick hits:
A new poll shows that over 60% of Virginia voters support codifying abortion protections in the state constitution;
More on the individual abortion reports being released by the Indiana health department;
And Ms. magazine on New York’s refusal to extradite an abortion provider to Louisiana.
Attacks on Democracy
What’s happening right now in Missouri should scare every single one of us. It’s been months since voters passed an amendment to repeal the state’s abortion ban, but abortion is still unavailable. What’s more, Republicans are working right now to override the will of voters entirely.
Amendment 3, which enshrines abortion rights until ‘viability’ in Missouri’s constitution, passed in November. In response, a judge struck down the state’s total abortion ban—but left Republican-imposed licensing restrictions in place, effectively ensuring that no clinics can open. (Which, of course, is the entire point—it’s a TRAP law.)
But that’s not all—Missouri Republicans are now trying to overturn Amendment 3 entirely. Their excuse? That voters didn’t really understand what they were doing when they passed the measure, so the issue should go back on the ballot.
This week, legislators held a hearing on House Resolution 54, which would ask voters to support an amendment that bans abortion with narrow ‘exceptions.’ Republicans insist their amendment is a ‘compromise’ that allows more access than the state’s current total ban. But I have to ask: Why are we even debating this?
Missouri voters had their say! They chose to repeal the state’s ban and codify abortion rights until ‘viability.’ There’s no need to talk about a middle ground or compromise because voters already decided!
Republican Rep. Melanie Stinnett, who sponsored HR 54, claims that they’re not undermining democracy, they’re just enhancing it:
"I know that some will try and say that presenting House Joint Resolution 54 will undo the will of the people. But it is important to understand the full process of a house joint resolution. If passed through our legislative process, the language of this HJR will be presented for a vote of the people in Missouri by being placed on the ballot."
And Republican Rep. Jamie Gragg says, “This is not politicians making decisions for you, your doctor and your healthcare…This is actually letting you guys make that decision again.”
Give me a total fucking break.
We shouldn’t be surprised, I suppose. Missouri Republicans pulled out all the stops to stop Amendment 3 from even getting on the ballot—because, like all Republicans, they know voters want abortion to be legal. Just some of the nonsense that anti-abortion lawmakers and activists pulled ahead of the election:
The Attorney General refused to sign off on a cost estimate for the measure, claiming that restoring abortion rights would cost billions of dollars instead of the thousands estimated by the state auditor.
The Secretary of State drafted a biased ballot summary that claimed Amendment 3 “would allow for “dangerous, unregulated and unrestricted abortion” by those without a medical license.”
Anti-abortion groups sent voters text messages to Missouri voters claiming that pro-choice petitioners were trying to steal their identities. (Activists were even caught on tape admitting how they were coordinating efforts with Republicans to stop voters from having a say on the measure.)
Abortion, Every Day has been connecting the dots since Roe was overturned. Help us keep doing this vital work by signing up for a paid subscription:
Now, I hate to give any oxygen to Republicans’ new amendment—because, again, voters already had their say. But it’s important for you to know regardless. From HR 54:
“The proposed amendment would ban abortion except for in medical emergencies, when a fetus has abnormalities, or in cases of rape or incest, with rape or incest cases requiring a police report and subject to a 12-week limit. It would also prohibit public funding for abortions. What’s more, it would ban providing surgeries, hormones or drugs to assist a child with a gender transition, procedures that are already illegal in Missouri.”
That’s right, they snuck in some anti-trans language for good measure! What’s also notable about this amendment is that Republicans are framing it as a middle ground, because it ‘allows’ for some abortions.
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South Carolina Bill Would Ban Contraception & Pro-Choice Websites
Read for a brief summary or click to skip ahead: Legislation Watch looks at a new South Carolina bill that contains pretty much every nightmare provision I’ve been warning about for years.
In the States, Idaho wants to make abortion pills a controlled substance, Texas is advancing legislation that would allow pharmacists to deny women birth control, and Arkansas Republicans want to force public schools to show anti-abortion videos.
In Attacks on Democracy, Missouri Republicans are trying to override the will of the people.
In the Nation, a few quick hits.
Legislation Watch
Buckle up, this is going to fuck with your night. A just-introduced South Carolina bill would rework the state’s abortion ban to strip away exceptions, increase penalties, redefine contraception so that the morning-after pill and IUDs could be illegal, and force women with life-threatening pregnancies to be forced into labor or c-sections instead of given abortions.
It would also allow women to be criminally charged with abortion and make it a felony to even talk about abortion.
Here’s the good-ish news: Senate Bill 323 was introduced by Sen. Richard Cash, who has tried to pass extreme anti-abortion legislation before and has failed. So the hope is that this legislation won’t go anywhere.
That said, you know I don’t believe in dismissing bills because they won’t pass; these are vital Republican roadmaps. They’re telling us the future they want for American women, and we’d do well to listen.
In fact, SB 323 is basically an anti-abortion blueprint:
The bill would act as a total abortion ban, ending exceptions for rape, incest, and fatal fetal abnormalities. SB 323 strips away language that says abortion patients can’t be prosecuted, and would make abortion punishable as a homicide. It would also allow private individuals to sue over abortion.
In keeping with the trend we’ve seen across several states, the legislation would mandate an anti-abortion propaganda video be shown in public schools. Schools that refuse to do so could be compelled by the Attorney General. Speaking of the state AG, he’d now have the ability to prosecute abortion cases himself in case local district attorneys aren’t doing enough of it.
SB 323 is also a shocking attack on free speech. Under this legislation, it would be a felony to refer a patient for an abortion or even to tell a pregnant person about abortion.
Pro-choice websites would be illegal, as would hosting or maintaining a website that tells women how to get abortions. Advertising abortion medication, whether for sale or for free, would also be illegal.
In continuing with that attack on the helpers, this bill would make it illegal to help a minor obtain an abortion and ban abortion doulas. People who ‘aid and abet’ abortion could be prosecuted under the RICO Act, a law reserved for organized crime.
You know how I’ve been harping for years on the way that Republicans are trying to redefine ‘abortion’ and other medical terms? Well, in SB 323, ‘contraception’ would no longer mean something that prevents pregnancy—but something that prevents fertilization. You know why that matters.
What’s more, the law dictates how women with life-threatening pregnancies be treated. As I’ve warned about so many times, this bill would require critically-ill women to be forced into c-sections or induced labor rather than having an abortion.
And this is all what I found out AT FIRST GLANCE! There’s likely more I’m missing. Don’t let anyone tell you these bills are outliers. Don’t let anyone make you feel crazy for talking about bills that won’t pass. They are telling us who they are, and we need to believe them.
In the States
While we’re on horrific legislation, let’s talk about Idaho. Kylie Cheung at Jezebel reports that Republicans there are following in the footsteps of Louisiana, introducing legislation to make abortion medication a controlled substance. Similar legislation has also been introduced in Texas.
I don’t need to tell you how dangerous this is—but I will anyway. Misoprostol isn’t just used for abortion; it’s a critical medication for controlling hemorrhaging, often kept in obstetric crash carts for emergencies. Now, it has to be locked up with narcotics. In Louisiana, hospitals have even run timed drills to see how long it takes doctors to sprint from a bleeding patient to the locked-up medication and back.
Turning abortion pills into a controlled substance isn’t just about ramping up penalties for those who use or provide them. With so many women in anti-abortion states relying on medication abortion by mail, these laws are designed to instill fear and discourage them from seeking care. On top of that, controlled substances—and the people who prescribe or take them—get logged in a state database, adding another layer of surveillance and intimidation.
Speaking of Republicans messing with prescriptions, check out the latest legislation in Texas: KUT Public Media reports that a new bill would protect pharmacists from disciplinary action if they refuse to fill prescriptions based on their religious beliefs.
The bill was written by John Seago of Texas Right to Life—best known for recruiting bitter exes to sue over their partners’ abortions. Texas Republicans are spinning it as a defense of religious freedom. Rep. Matt Krause claims, “We’re starting to see, across the country, really, the government penalizing individuals for their religious beliefs or sincerely held beliefs on certain issues.”
And what kind of “sincerely held beliefs” is Krause talking about? That women shouldn’t have access to birth control, of course. He pointed to a Washington pharmacy that was supposedly “forced” to sell emergency contraception as proof of government overreach. But don’t worry—Krause reassures us that people will still be able to get their medication if it’s life-saving.
"If it’s like insulin or something like that. But if it's something more elective, I guess, or preferred, then I think it’s a little different."
Calling birth control “preferred” is enough to give me a rage migraine. Because in a country where pregnancy can be deadly—and maternal mortality is on the rise—contraception is life-saving.
All eyes on Arkansas, where lawmakers are considering legislation that would force anti-abortion propaganda videos into public school classrooms. Republicans won’t admit that of course—they call it a “human development” video, instead. But this supposedly-scientific lesson is produced by the extremist anti-abortion organization Live Action. This is an organization specifically-known for their deceptively-edited videos!
I first flagged this legislative trend a little over a year ago. Since then, multiple states have passed similar legislation requiring the ‘Baby Olivia’ video—a false, computer generated representation of fetal development.
As I’ve noted previously, this legislation is part of a broader move to indoctrinate American children: The anti-abortion movement knows that young people are the most pro-choice demographic in the country, and they’re desperate to turn that around.
What’s especially alarming is how hard Republicans are working to package these efforts as neutral and scientific. In 2023, for example, I flagged this Newsweek op-ed from the leader of Contend Projects—a conservative anti-abortion organization disguising themselves as an educational institute. CEO Brooke Stanton wrote that the reason Republicans are losing elections on abortion is due to “widespread scientific ignorance.”
The answer, she wrote, is changing the national educational guidelines around what school children are taught about human development:
“Science education in schools is the most effective way to shape future generations. If pro-life leaders want to win the battle against abortion, they need to recognize and release the untapped potential of K-12 science education standards, by ensuring human embryology is in America's science classrooms. If they fail to do so, the abortion industry will continue its winning streak at the ballot box for many generations to come.”
In other words, these aren’t just isolated bills—they’re part of a coordinated campaign to rewrite educational standards and mislead kids. Conservatives know that the more people learn about pregnancy, the more likely they are to be pro-choice. So instead of letting students access real science, they’re pushing propaganda to manipulate the next generation.
Quick hits:
A new poll shows that over 60% of Virginia voters support codifying abortion protections in the state constitution;
More on the individual abortion reports being released by the Indiana health department;
And Ms. magazine on New York’s refusal to extradite an abortion provider to Louisiana.
Attacks on Democracy
What’s happening right now in Missouri should scare every single one of us. It’s been months since voters passed an amendment to repeal the state’s abortion ban, but abortion is still unavailable. What’s more, Republicans are working right now to override the will of voters entirely.
Amendment 3, which enshrines abortion rights until ‘viability’ in Missouri’s constitution, passed in November. In response, a judge struck down the state’s total abortion ban—but left Republican-imposed licensing restrictions in place, effectively ensuring that no clinics can open. (Which, of course, is the entire point—it’s a TRAP law.)
But that’s not all—Missouri Republicans are now trying to overturn Amendment 3 entirely. Their excuse? That voters didn’t really understand what they were doing when they passed the measure, so the issue should go back on the ballot.
This week, legislators held a hearing on House Resolution 54, which would ask voters to support an amendment that bans abortion with narrow ‘exceptions.’ Republicans insist their amendment is a ‘compromise’ that allows more access than the state’s current total ban. But I have to ask: Why are we even debating this?
Missouri voters had their say! They chose to repeal the state’s ban and codify abortion rights until ‘viability.’ There’s no need to talk about a middle ground or compromise because voters already decided!
Republican Rep. Melanie Stinnett, who sponsored HR 54, claims that they’re not undermining democracy, they’re just enhancing it:
"I know that some will try and say that presenting House Joint Resolution 54 will undo the will of the people. But it is important to understand the full process of a house joint resolution. If passed through our legislative process, the language of this HJR will be presented for a vote of the people in Missouri by being placed on the ballot."
And Republican Rep. Jamie Gragg says, “This is not politicians making decisions for you, your doctor and your healthcare…This is actually letting you guys make that decision again.”
Give me a total fucking break.
We shouldn’t be surprised, I suppose. Missouri Republicans pulled out all the stops to stop Amendment 3 from even getting on the ballot—because, like all Republicans, they know voters want abortion to be legal. Just some of the nonsense that anti-abortion lawmakers and activists pulled ahead of the election:
The Attorney General refused to sign off on a cost estimate for the measure, claiming that restoring abortion rights would cost billions of dollars instead of the thousands estimated by the state auditor.
The Secretary of State drafted a biased ballot summary that claimed Amendment 3 “would allow for “dangerous, unregulated and unrestricted abortion” by those without a medical license.”
Anti-abortion groups sent voters text messages to Missouri voters claiming that pro-choice petitioners were trying to steal their identities. (Activists were even caught on tape admitting how they were coordinating efforts with Republicans to stop voters from having a say on the measure.)
Abortion, Every Day has been connecting the dots since Roe was overturned. Help us keep doing this vital work by signing up for a paid subscription:
Now, I hate to give any oxygen to Republicans’ new amendment—because, again, voters already had their say. But it’s important for you to know regardless. From HR 54:
“The proposed amendment would ban abortion except for in medical emergencies, when a fetus has abnormalities, or in cases of rape or incest, with rape or incest cases requiring a police report and subject to a 12-week limit. It would also prohibit public funding for abortions. What’s more, it would ban providing surgeries, hormones or drugs to assist a child with a gender transition, procedures that are already illegal in Missouri.”
That’s right, they snuck in some anti-trans language for good measure! What’s also notable about this amendment is that Republicans are framing it as a middle ground, because it ‘allows’ for some abortions.
But let’s be real, this is not some kind of reasonable compromise: The amendment would mandate victims file a police report and only get care in the first weeks of their pregnancies. And what the resolution says about fetal anomalies is deceptive: it would only allow women to end their pregnancies if the fetus’ diagnosis was fatal. In fact, the amendment explicitly says it would be illegal to end a pregnancy after getting a prenatal test that shows disability, no matter how severe.
These people are nightmares. And by the way, Republicans won’t just try to pass their amendment; they’ll also try to change the ballot measure rules to make it harder for voters to make their voices heard. Just look at what Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is up to!
For more on what’s happening in Missouri, read fellow Substacker Jess Piper (who testified this week against HR 54) or some of Abortion, Every Day’s past coverage:
In the Nation
Jacobin writes that the anti-abortion war on telehealth isn’t working.
The Cut reports on Donald Trump giving anti-abortion extremists the green light to attack clinics without fear of consequence, while Axios notes that abortion clinics are girding themselves in response.
Eurozine outlines why “big tech shouldn’t punish women for seeking abortions.”
Carrie Baker at Ms. magazine writes about the new study on the drug in emergency contraceptive Ella and its political implications.
And The Onion always comes through with a LOLSOB headline.
“Our organization was built to pass, protect, and expand safe, legal, and accessible telemedicine. We’re going to keep on doing that…These are human rights that transcend state borders.
But let’s be real, this is not some kind of reasonable compromise: The amendment would mandate victims file a police report and only get care in the first weeks of their pregnancies. And what the resolution says about fetal anomalies is deceptive: it would only allow women to end their pregnancies if the fetus’ diagnosis was fatal. In fact, the amendment explicitly says it would be illegal to end a pregnancy after getting a prenatal test that shows disability, no matter how severe.
These people are nightmares. And by the way, Republicans won’t just try to pass their amendment; they’ll also try to change the ballot measure rules to make it harder for voters to make their voices heard. Just look at what Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is up to!
For more on what’s happening in Missouri, read fellow Substacker Jess Piper (who testified this week against HR 54) or some of Abortion, Every Day’s past coverage:
In the Nation
Jacobin writes that the anti-abortion war on telehealth isn’t working.
The Cut reports on Donald Trump giving anti-abortion extremists the green light to attack clinics without fear of consequence, while Axios notes that abortion clinics are girding themselves in response.
Eurozine outlines why “big tech shouldn’t punish women for seeking abortions.”
Carrie Baker at Ms. magazine writes about the new study on the drug in emergency contraceptive Ella and its political implications.
And The Onion always comes through with a LOLSOB headline.
“Our organization was built to pass, protect, and expand safe, legal, and accessible telemedicine. We’re going to keep on doing that…These are human rights that transcend state borders.”
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How Texas Created A Deadly New Normal For Domestic Violence Victims
Gabriela Gonzalez had been dating her abusive boyfriend, Harold Thompson, for four months in the spring of 2023 when she got pregnant.
Police records show that Thompson had physically abused Gonzalez several times throughout their relationship, including when she was pregnant. Thompson strangled Gonzalez and “recklessly caused bodily injury” in a December 2022 incident, according to court records. She told her family she wanted to leave him, but she was terrified.
“He was so angry that she wanted to get away from him,” Mileny Rubio, Gonzalez’s sister, told a local Dallas outlet. “She would always tell me that she wanted to leave, but that she couldn’t.”
Gonzalez knew she couldn’t continue the pregnancy because she did not want to be tied to her abuser for the rest of her life. But she lived in Dallas, Texas, where by last spring, abortion had been banned for nearly a year. So she drove to Colorado ― at least an 18-hour journey there and back ― to get an abortion.
The day after Gonzalez returned, Thompson found out about the abortion and confronted her in a gas station parking lot. Surveillance video, described in a police report, shows Thompson put Gonzalez in a chokehold before she was able to shrug him off. That’s when Thompson pulled out a gun and shot Gonzalez in the head. The video shows Thompson firing several more bullets into Gonzalez’s body before fleeing. He was charged with murder and is awaiting trial.
Gonzalez, like so many other domestic violence victims in Texas, faced an increased risk of violence from her abusive partner and a higher likelihood he would kill her because of the state’s decision to loosen gun laws and completely restrict access to abortion. Her story reflects the three systemic crises converging in Texas that are creating a deadly new normal for women. Each has resulted from a deliberate policy created by right-wing state lawmakers.
The leading cause of death among pregnant and postpartum women in the U.S. is homicide, most often by an abusive partner with a gun. Pregnant and postpartum women are more than twice as likely to be murdered than to die from sepsis, hypertensive disorders or hemorrhage.
“Pregnant and postpartum women are more than twice as likely to be murdered than to die from sepsis, hypertensive disorders or hemorrhage.”
Experts tell HuffPost other states with abortion bans are also seeing an increase in domestic violence, but Texas stands out for a few reasons. The state was the first to severely restrict abortion in 2021, forcing women to stay pregnant nearly a year before Roe fell and exposing domestic violence victims to more violence with fewer ways to escape. At the same time, the Lone Star state has the largest rate of gun sales in the country and continues to have lax firearm restrictions. The state is so firearm friendly that gun rights groups chose it as the testing ground for a Supreme Court case that will determine if domestic abusers get to keep their guns.
In the last decade, the amount of women shot and killed by an abuser has nearly doubled in Texas.
Even though Gonzalez was able to get an abortion, her abuser still had access to a firearm. Women who travel more than 150 miles to get an abortion are more likely to experience physical violence from an abuser than those traveling less than 50 miles. Gonzalez, who leaves behind three young children, traveled at least 500 miles on the last trip of her life.
HuffPost spoke with a dozen people working in advocacy services in the state ― ranging from abortion funds and family attorneys, to shelter directors and hotline staff ― who believe that the state’s abortion bans coupled with its lax gun laws are fueling intimate partner violence. Survivors and advocacy workers are terrified that this new normal will lead to more dead women in Texas: The state has made it easier for a man to obtain a gun to kill his partner than it is for a woman to access abortion care.
Domestic Violence Victims Are Especially Vulnerable To Abortion Bans
For Holly Bowles, a sexual assault victim advocate working in Texas, the hardest part of her job is telling someone they’re pregnant.
Bowles and her colleagues at SAFE Alliance, which is based in Austin, normally see people in the immediate aftermath of an assault. They serve around 6,000 Texans every year who have experienced emotionally and physically devastating violence. The nonprofit works with survivors of child abuse, human trafficking, intimate partner violence and sexual assault. Their hotline, which hears from around 2,000 callers a month, connects people to housing assistance, legal services — or to advocates like Bowles, who can support a victim through a rape kit exam or legal trial.
Around half of the survivors Bowles supports have experienced intimate partner violence, or are still in active situations. Most of the victims she sees can take emergency contraception after they finish the forensic exam, but for women in abusive relationships, some may already be pregnant from a prior assault by their partner. And they might not know it.
Recently, a staff member on Bowles’ team was sitting with a woman during a rape kit exam when the advocate had to tell her she was pregnant. “This was actually the fifth time I believe that her partner had gotten her pregnant intentionally so that she would stay,” said Bowles, who works as the director of SAFE’s sexual assault victim advocacy program.
Before Roe v. Wade fell in 2022, Bowles could connect victims with abortion clinics or even schedule an appointment for them. Now with a total abortion ban in effect in Texas, as well as a law criminalizing those who help people seeking care, Bowles has to tread extremely carefully.
“It’s very difficult to think about, in that immediate moment, what we can and can’t talk about,” she said. “We’re very limited in the things that we can do if someone does find themselves in that situation because of the laws in Texas.”
Since the Supreme Court repealed Roe, calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline about reproductive coercion ― an umbrella term that includes when an abusive partner controls pregnancy outcomes, coerces someone into unprotected sex or tampers with birth control methods ― have doubled across the country.
Pregnant women were already more likely to be murdered by an intimate partner in states where abortion was restricted before Dobbs, according to a new study published in the Journal of American College of Surgeons. With 21 states now severely restricting or banning abortion altogether, “This problem is only going to be exponentially worse,” said senior author of the study Dr. Justin Cirone, a trauma surgeon and assistant professor of surgery at Wake Forest School of Medicine.
Millions of Texans are dealing with the repercussions of these bans, but victims of domestic violence are particularly vulnerable. An estimated 324,000 pregnant people are abused each year by an intimate partner, and research suggests that abortion access plays a critical role in reducing intimate partner violence.
For some victims, pregnancy can mean an increase in the severity of violence. For others it can actually initiate abuse in a relationship that was not violent beforehand often because of the financial and emotional stress pregnancy can create.
In Texas, specifically, calls citing firearms in situations of intimate partner violence have increased dramatically (47%) between 2022 and 2023. Adding a firearm into the mix increases the likelihood that the victim dies: Women are five times more likely to be killed in a situation of intimate partner violence if a gun is present.
The Supreme Court could make it even easier for domestic abusers to access firearms legally sometime this year. Following SCOTUS’ unprecedented reinterpretation of the Second Amendment in 2022, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a conviction of a Texas man, Zackey Rahimi, who was found with several firearms despite a previous arrest for domestic violence.
Under federal law, the protective order for domestic abuse against Rahimi stripped him of his right to possess the guns found in his home. The court of appeals overturned Rahimi’s conviction, ruling that the federal law violates people’s constitutional right to bear arms. The Supreme Court is set to make a decision in the case later this year.
Gun reform advocates and anti-domestic violence groups have worked tirelessly to close what many refer to as the “boyfriend loophole” ― a statute in the Violence Against Women Act that has allowed unmarried partners who are convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence to buy or own firearms. The Biden administration narrowed the loophole but did not fully close it, though many states have their own laws banning convicted domestic abusers from owning guns.
If SCOTUS sides with Rahimi, the consequences for victims of intimate partner violence will be deadly. “This [case] is essentially putting firearms into the hands of abusive partners and that equation means lethality for survivors,” Crystal Justice, the chief external affairs officer at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, told HuffPost. “Lives will be lost if the wrong decision is made in the Rahimi case.”
More Pregnant Domestic Violence Victims, Less Options
Recently, Marta Peláez started noticing more and more pregnant women and mothers with newborns seeking services at her San Antonio organization, the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter. She kept hearing from staff that more women were coming in with babies, and they needed help getting necessities like diapers and formula.
When Peláez looked at the intake data, there was a 12% increase in pregnant women or women with a baby under 12 months seeking services from 2022 to 2023. “To me, there is a big chance that this is because of their impossibility to get an abortion, plus the dynamics of how pregnancy plays a role in domestic violence,” she said.
Peláez is witnessing firsthand what statisticians are finding in their research. Birth rates in states with abortion bans have increased since Roe fell, according to the Institute of Labor Economics. Texas had the largest birth rate increase in the country in 2023, in part because the state is so large and there are longer travel times to the nearest abortion clinics. The year before, Texas had nearly 10,000 more births than expected in the last nine months of 2022 ― correlating to the state enacting the six-week ban in 2021.
When victims of intimate partner violence are forced to stay pregnant, they are likely to face more violence from their abusive partner and a heightened lethality of violence. Even if a survivor makes it through pregnancy and the postpartum period, and even if she’s able to escape at some later date, she’ll always be linked to her abuser through their child.
Research suggests that abortion access helps reduce domestic violence. The Turnaway Study, landmark research published in 2020, followed 1,000 women over the course of 10 years and analyzed the long-term impact of abortion access. The study found that after 2 1/2 years, the women who were denied abortions were more likely to experience violence from the men involved in the pregnancies because they have ongoing contact with them, even if they are no longer in a romantic relationship.
“You can’t trust your partner, you can’t ask someone for help, your neighbors are now hunting you ― it makes the entire world unsafe,” Lisa Pous, a survivor of intimate partner violence whose pronouns are she/they, told HuffPost. “How are we supposed to leave [our abusers]? What is the point of leaving?”
“To me, these laws say that my government doesn’t care if I die, the same way my partner didn’t.”
- Lisa Pous, domestic violence survivor
Pous was able to escape a 13-year abusive relationship in 2006 with the support of SAFE. Now, she’s the founder and director of the organization’s Survivor Peer Support program which offers emotional support and other resources to victims of intimate partner violence.
The program works with 300 survivors every year, with a small but mighty staff of five, including Pous. Their time is spent speaking with people in active domestic violence situations as well as survivors who are trying to get back on their feet. When the state passed the six-week abortion ban in 2021, survivors were confused and scared. Pous and her staff organized several talking groups so that people could ask questions and discuss their feelings about the law.
“We can’t tell the difference anymore between who’s harming us,” Pous said, referring to the Texas government and abusers. “To me, these laws say that my government doesn’t care if I die, the same way my partner didn’t.”
Pregnant people who have the resources are traveling out of Texas to get abortion care. But victims of intimate partner violence don’t have the money or freedom to travel; financial abuse is present in 99% of domestic violence relationships. Those who try to find resources and travel support through abortion funds are taking tremendous safety risks if their abuser finds out.
“The amount of times I’ve heard from clients who say, ‘He can’t know I had an abortion,’ or ‘I can’t have this child because I’ll be tied to this person forever,’ or ‘The last time I was pregnant, that’s when it was the worst.’ It was all the time,” said Anna Rupani, executive director at Fund Texas Choice, an abortion fund that offers travel support. It’s routine, Rupani said, to ask if it’s safe to call clients because so many are experiencing domestic violence.
Cathy Torres told HuffPost sometimes her staff at the Frontera Fund will field calls where the client is whispering over the phone because her abuser is in the next room. The majority of Torres’ clients at Frontera Fund, an abortion fund based in the Rio Grande Valley, are undocumented, which brings its own set of barriers.
“If someone is undocumented, abusers will say, ‘OK, I’ll call ICE on you or I’ll call customs,’” Torres said. “That has always been the case, always. But now they’re just emboldened.”
Time and time again, interpretations of state law very rarely end up supporting the pregnant person. Last year, a Texas man used the state’s six-week abortion ban to bring a $1 million wrongful death suit against three women for allegedly helping his ex-wife self-manage an abortion. The husband was emotionally abusive, according to court documents, and routinely threatened the wife including promising to drop the lawsuit if she had sex with him.
The three friends who helped the woman get abortion pills wrote in a countersuit that the ex-husband “did not file this lawsuit because he is interested in ‘protecting life’... Instead, he wanted to control a life.”
When The State Becomes The Abuser
Many victim advocates in Texas are now experiencing the same dreadful reality physicians are facing when it comes to abortion care: turn patients away, or give the standard of care and risk legal ramifications or the loss of funding.
All of the people working in advocacy services that HuffPost spoke with were afraid of Texas law enforcement, and deeply concerned about confidentiality.
“The biggest priority we have all the time is privacy and confidentiality,” one Texas advocacy worker, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid repercussions from the state, told HuffPost. “Now we’re being even more careful, we’re telling staff members: ‘Do you know about tracking devices on your phone?’ Because just the way we counsel people to be safe around their abusers, I feel like as an agency we have to do the same thing with our government now.”
Dr. Leila Wood, a professor at the Center for Violence Prevention and School of Nursing at the University of Texas Medical Branch, said physicians and advocates are at risk of experiencing a concept called “moral injury.”
“I see providers talking about the same thing in all of these pockets, which is the idea of: ‘I’m having to do something that is counter to my protective caring instincts with this vulnerable population’ or ‘I have to risk my own safety and security,’ and it’s a decision that people make differently,” said Wood, who has led statewide research on intimate partner violence in Texas.
Bowles, the sexual assault advocate with SAFE, has a hard time getting victims to be forthcoming in those initial conversations after she tells them they’re pregnant from intimate partner rape.
She’s always worried that the detailed medical records the forensic exam nurses take could be turned over to law enforcement for investigation if a pregnant rape victim contemplates abortion. Now, Bowles asks nurses to step out of the room before discussing next steps.
“We’re not violating [Texas’ abortion ban] or S.B. 8 in those conversations, but we put so much more thought and caution into how we give information to survivors because of that risk,” Bowles said.
Conversations with victims about reproductive health care could threaten an entire organization’s ability to help other victims. Many of the groups HuffPost spoke with don’t just provide anti-domestic violence services, they offer other critical community needs like housing and legal services for immigration or child custody disputes.
“Our programs receive state and federal dollars. Drawing attention to these issues is not necessarily super safe for us,” said a former employee of a large anti-domestic violence nonprofit in Texas.
Pous, the survivor of domestic violence who is now at SAFE, said many of the victims she works with feel trapped ― first by their abuser and now by their home state. She said it feels like a repetition of their entire life, working so hard to escape an abuser just to be met with more violence once they’re back on their feet.
She’s proud of the work she’s doing, and she will continue to support survivors as best as she can, but she’s exhausted and worries for the future.
“A lot of us really thought we were finding ways out of violence,” she said. “When the laws changed, we realized… we may never make it out.”
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Texas Man Who Murdered Ex-Girlfriend Over Abortion Sentenced to Life in Prison
In May 2023, Harold Thompson killed his partner, Gabriela Gonzalez, for having an abortion. Pregnancy is the most dangerous time for people experiencing domestic violence.
On Monday, a Texas judge sentenced Dallas man Harold Thompson to life in prison. Thompson’s sentencing comes after a jury convicted him of killing his partner, Gabriela Gonzalez, for having an abortion.
Texas has enforced a total abortion ban since 2022, and a near-total ban since 2021. In May 2023, Gonzalez traveled to Colorado for the procedure. According to affidavits for Thompson’s arrest, the following day when she returned, he confronted her while the two were in a parking garage. At one point, he placed her in a chokehold. Gonzalez broke free, but shortly after, Thompson fatally shot her several times and fled the scene. Investigators determined that Thompson killed Gonzalez for her decision to have an abortion.
Before Thompson shot Gonzalez, he reportedly had a history of abusing her. Affidavits show he’d previously punched and tried to strangle her, which domestic violence experts say is the highest predictor of murder. Just earlier that month, after a reported altercation, Thompson told police officers Gonzalez was pregnant with his child and admitted that he struck her.
“I knew she wasn’t OK, but we couldn’t help, we didn’t know how,” Gonzalez’s sister told NBC 5 shortly after her death. “He was so angry that she wanted to get away from him. She would always tell me that she wanted to leave, but that she couldn’t.“
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, 70 women every month are shot and killed by an intimate partner. Pregnancy is the most dangerous time for people experiencing domestic violence, and homicide is a leading cause of death for pregnant people in the U.S. Individuals who seek and are denied abortion care are more likely to face domestic violence.
HuffPost’s Alanna Vagianos pointed out that Texas is forcing victims to remain pregnant while simultaneously relaxing gun laws in recent years: The state, she wrote, “has made it easier for a man to obtain a gun to kill his partner than it is for a woman to access abortion care.” Between 2018 and 2022, the number of Texas women who were shot and killed by an abuser doubled. Firearm-related intimate partner violence situations increased by 47% in Texas from 2022 to 2023.
The Texas Council on Family Violence told Jezebel that, between 2017 and 2023, it had tracked 72 Texas women killed by their intimate partners when they were pregnant or within one year postpartum. And in May, a new study showed a direct link between anti-abortion laws that are designed to shut down abortion clinics (called “TRAP” laws, which stands for Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) and risk of intimate partner violence-related homicide.
Since Gonzalez’s murder in 2023, domestic violence experts, as well as reproductive rights advocates, have said it’s possible Thompson would have killed Gonzalez whether abortion was legal in Texas or not. But it’s also possible that the added necessity of leaving the state made her abortion more difficult to conceal, producing a deadly outcome.
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If You’re Pregnant, Here’s What You Should Know About the Medical Procedures That Could Save Your Life
We heard the same story again and again this year:
The women were having miscarriages. They were bleeding and in pain.
They needed a medical procedure to clear their uterus, but their doctors delayed it or didn’t even counsel them about it. Our yearlong investigation found that abortion laws are affecting how physicians treat pregnancy loss and other complications because the procedures used in these cases are also used for abortions.
We spoke to women who survived terrifying experiences, and we interviewed family members of those who died without care. They all felt unprepared as they entered emergency rooms, unaware of how abortion laws were reaching into pregnancy care.
They wished they had known what to expect and how to advocate for themselves and their loved ones.
We created this guide for them and anyone who finds themselves in the same position.
We wrote it in consultation with dozens of doctors, including those who hold positions at leading medical organizations and those who regularly treat patients who are miscarrying.
This guide does not provide medical or legal advice. We encourage you to seek out other reliable resources and consult with experts you trust.
In this article:
What Is a Miscarriage?
When a pregnancy has stopped developing before 20 weeks, that is considered a miscarriage.
This is common — it happens in up to 1 out of every 4 known pregnancies. The medical term for miscarriage is “spontaneous abortion.”
During a pregnancy loss, someone might experience symptoms like bleeding and cramping and pass pregnancy tissue. Or an ultrasound might show that there’s no fetal cardiac activity even if the patient had no miscarriage symptoms.
While most miscarriages resolve on their own, some lead to dangerous complications, including hemorrhage and infection.
Eight in 10 miscarriages occur in the first trimester. A pregnancy that ends after 20 weeks is considered a stillbirth, but sometimes it is still referred to as a miscarriage.
Other rare complications, like premature rupture of membranes (when the water breaks too early) or preeclampsia (life-threatening high blood pressure), can develop in the second trimester of pregnancy and endanger both the pregnant patient and the fetus. Choosing not to intervene may mean there is some chance the fetus could survive, but it also may put the patient at risk of developing life-threatening complications.
Each situation is unique. In these circumstances, doctors should talk to patients about the risks and benefits of continuing the pregnancy and the option of ending it to protect their health, experts said. Sometimes these cases are referred to as a miscarriage.
What Are the Treatment Options?
When a patient is having a miscarriage or is at high risk for one, they should be offered three choices, according to major medical organizations like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists:
- Expectant management: Waiting to see if the body will pass the pregnancy on its own.
- Medication: Taking medicine to help the body clear the tissue. This can include misoprostol or mifepristone with misoprostol, which causes the uterus to contract and can speed up the process
- Procedure: Getting a dilation and curettage (D&C) in the first trimester or a dilation and evacuation (D&E) in the second trimester to empty the uterus.
All of these can be safe choices for an uncomplicated miscarriage, and a first trimester-miscarriage is rarely an emergency. The standard of care is for doctors to explain all options along with their risks and benefits, and then let their patients choose what they prefer. All major medical societies say that patients should be given that choice.
If a patient is bleeding heavily or showing signs of infection, doctors should recommend a procedure (D&C or D&E) to protect their health, medical experts say.
What Is a D&C?
A D&C is a procedure to empty the uterus and is one of several safe ways to navigate pregnancy loss.
The term D&C stands for dilation and curettage and the procedure is often called “surgical” — but that’s a bit of a misnomer. It is more accurately called “uterine aspiration.” Doctors don’t need to make incisions or use sharp tools. They insert a straw-like tube into the uterus and use suction to gently draw out pregnancy tissue. The patient can be awake, sedated or asleep. It only takes a few minutes and typically ends the bleeding quickly.
When this suction procedure was popularized in the 1970s, after abortion became legal nationwide, “it was a real awakening” in maternal health care, said Dr. Philip Darney, a reproductive health care expert at the University of California, San Francisco. It made emptying the uterus faster, safer and more accessible, he said, saving countless lives.
Today, the simple procedure is usually used for pregnancies up to 12 weeks. Some prefer it as a quick and thorough way to complete a miscarriage and minimize ongoing pain and bleeding, as well as infection risks. For patients with heavy bleeding or infections in the first trimester, a D&C could be lifesaving, doctors told us.
What Is a D&E?
A D&E, or dilation and evacuation, is a procedure used in the second trimester to empty the uterus. The doctor uses suction and tools like forceps. The patient is sedated or asleep in an operating room. It takes less time than an induction, allows the patient to avoid a labor experience and generally is associated with less blood loss and infection risk than other options. For patients with heavy bleeding or infections in the second trimester, a D&E could be lifesaving, doctors told us.
How Have D&Cs and D&Es Been Affected by Abortion Bans?
The same procedures are used for both abortions and miscarriages; whether they’re used to remove pregnancy tissue because of a complication or because the patient has decided to end the pregnancy for another reason, there’s no difference in how the procedures are carried out, and most state abortion bans aren’t clear about when physicians are legally allowed to perform them. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the leading organization representing OB-GYNs, calls the language these laws use to describe exceptions “unclear” and “inherently vague.”
This can create confusion and fear around the procedures. For example, a patient can be in the process of miscarrying, but there might still be fetal cardiac activity. Some doctors consider intervening to be a risk because managing the miscarriage in that situation could be defined as an abortion.
The laws attach criminal penalties to a violation — in Texas, for example, doctors can face up to 99 years in prison for performing an abortion. State laws usually include exceptions for “medical emergencies.” (Patients can check their state law and discuss it with their doctors.)
Many physicians have told us, however, that the exceptions do not account for how quickly emergencies can develop or how medical decisions are made. While many miscarriages resolve on their own, infections and other complications like heavy bleeding can rapidly become life-threatening, leaving doctors little time to intervene.
While some OB-GYNs who work in abortion-ban states interpret these laws as allowing them to offer all options for a miscarriage, sticking to longstanding medical best practices, our reporting has found that confusion around the grey areas in the laws and the need for extra documentation have caused some doctors to change their approach to counseling and treating miscarriages, even in cases where there is no fetal cardiac activity.
We have found that sometimes doctors didn’t talk about any procedures or medication management options with patients and only told them about the “watch and wait” approach. We’ve heard from doctors who say that it can be difficult to get these procedures approved by their hospitals and that sometimes other medical staff such as OB-GYNs, anesthesiologists or nurses don’t feel comfortable participating. In still other cases, we have reported on doctors delaying care while they take extra steps to document that there is no fetal heartbeat.
At least five women — Amber Thurman, Candi Miller, Josseli Barnica, Nevaeh Crain and Porsha Ngumezi — died after they didn’t receive these procedures in time, we found.
How to Find Doctors Who Will Offer All Options
Talk to people and organizations you trust for recommendations. This can include local doulas, midwives, nurses who work on labor and delivery wards, and reproductive health organizations.
Medical experts suggested asking physicians direct questions like: I’ve seen stories about patients who were unable to get care for miscarriage or pregnancy complications because of state abortion laws. Can you explain to me how the law in our state could affect my care?
They suggested following up with questions like:
- Considering the law in our state, are there options you would not be able to offer?
- If I were having a miscarriage, would you do a D&C if I wanted one? Would you do a D&C if I needed one for medical safety?
- If I were having a miscarriage in the second trimester, would you perform a D&E?
- Are you allowed to tell me my options or give me information in the event of a miscarriage?
- If you can’t provide these services, where should I go?
How to Prepare for Emergencies
Experts told us patients can talk to their doctors early about what to do if something goes wrong.
Here are some questions they recommend asking:
- If I think I’m miscarrying, can I receive care at your office, or do I need to go to the ER?
- Do you do D&Cs and D&Es? How often and where?
- If my water breaks in the second trimester, do you offer the option of abortion care or do you wait until there are signs of infection?
- Which hospital do you recommend if I need emergency care?
How to Choose a Hospital
Here are some things doctors and patients told us you can do:
- Ask to see the hospital’s miscarriage management guidelines.
- Ask whether doctors are expected to counsel patients on all three treatment options and provide whichever the patient chooses.
- Ask if the hospital has any physicians who have expertise in D&Es. One sign that a doctor may be well-qualified to perform this procedure is if they have done a Complex Family Planning fellowship.
- Check what organizations a hospital is affiliated with. Hospitals with religious affiliations sometimes don’t perform procedures to empty the uterus. Hospitals affiliated with universities tend to provide more comprehensive care and are more likely to have doctors with extra training in D&Es.
- Don’t delay seeking emergency care, even if it’s difficult to find an ideal hospital.
What to Do if You’re Experiencing Signs of a Miscarriage
Cramping and bleeding can be signs of miscarriage, but not always. Call your doctor or midwife to discuss symptoms first.
- You may be advised to wait and monitor your symptoms. Most miscarriages resolve without intervention within two weeks.
- If a doctor says to go to a hospital or a clinic, experts suggest asking for:
- An ultrasound to guide your care
- An OB-GYN to be involved in your care
- Information about all three treatment options
- The treatment option you prefer to get
- Be on the lookout for symptoms like high pulse and feeling faint, which could mean you have a serious complication. Bleeding heavily, such as soaking a pad in 30 minutes or less, is a reason to ask doctors if it’s necessary to empty the uterus, experts told us.
What to Do if You Aren’t Getting Care You Need
Medical experts recommend the following:
- Documenting the care.
- Asking directly for the desired treatment.
- Asking why care is being denied.
- Asking to see another doctor if the one assigned to the case is not providing the desired care.
- Requesting a transfer to another hospital if the one you’re at will not provide the care. Patients can cite EMTALA, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, and remind physicians that federal law requires hospitals to stabilize anyone experiencing an emergency. If they can’t, they must transfer the patient to another hospital that will.
- Showing doctors evidence-based standards of care from professional medical organizations to explain that you should be offered these options. Here are guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
- Asking to speak with patient advocates, who work at hospitals to help patients understand their rights and answer questions about their care. Or asking to speak to the hospital’s legal team. Hospitals have processes for escalating concerns.
- Asking for an ethics consult if you still aren’t getting straight answers or are being denied a procedure. Another option is an interdisciplinary meeting with your doctors and nurses, nursing leaders and hospital administrators.
- Reminding doctors that you are being denied the standard of care, which could mean the providers are committing malpractice.
- Filing complaints with the state survey agency, if you think EMTALA was violated, and with the state medical board.
- Calling your state representatives or contacting legal advocacy groups that can advocate for patients’ rights, including the Repro Legal Helpline at If/When/How (844-868-2812), the Center for Reproductive Rights (917-637-3600), the American Civil Liberties Union or the National Women’s Law Center.
- You can also reach out to journalists at ProPublica at reproductivehealth@propublica.org. We are continuing to investigate cases of denied care.
