happy (canceled) 50th to roe
we will always have abortions
Sunday would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that recognized abortion as a constitutional right nationwide. But as you know, the Dobbs v. Jackson decision from last summer overturned Roe. It set off a wave of outrage, fear, and confusion, and a lot of shitty things started happening. Trigger laws went into effect, banning abortion in many states overnight. People who already had appointments scheduled weren’t sure whether they could still go to them. Clinics were forced to close. Abortion funds had to figure out how to move forward, or not.
For some people, it was the first time their access to abortion felt tangibly threatened. But let’s be serious: accessing abortion care was impossible for so many people way, way before that. By white supremacist design!
With Roe in place, we still had:
TRAP laws which place unnecessary restrictions on abortion providers like requiring unnecessary admitting privileges to hospitals, mandatory unnecessary ultrasounds - some requiring doctors to force people to view the ultrasound, unnecessary waiting periods - requiring an arbitrary period of time between an initial consultation with a provider and being able to get an abortion, “fetal personhood” laws that give full constitutional rights to a fertilized egg, bans ranging from an arbitrary week of pregnancy to total bans, laws like SB8 here in Texas that allow private citizen bounty hunters to sue people (for $10,000!) who help others access abortion, a lack of providers in rural areas, a lack of health insurance coverage for abortions or lack of health insurance at all, and a lot more things.
These restrictions and bans target and disproportionately harm BIPOC, poor people, people in rural areas, disabled people, and immigrants. Codifying Roe won’t be enough, because Roe was never enough. Our right to bodily autonomy is absolute, and not determined by SCOTUS.
We deserve more than Roe. And we’re moving forward, with or without it. We deserve to have abortions, help each other have abortions, and openly talk about abortion - free of any barriers, stigma, or shame. And eventually we (yeah ok maybe our progeny) are going to get there. So let’s talk about how!
Here are some of my suggestions - I’d love to hear yours in the comments.
Say the word abortion! Manufacturing shame is one of the grossest and most pervasive weapons of anti-abortion zealotry. By saying abortion when we mean abortion, it helps to normalize people’s experiences and decrease that shame from deep-rooted stigmatization. Also, consider making the switch from pro-choice to pro-abortion! A full argument for that can be found here.
Learn about abortion pills and self-managed abortion and share the info with everyone you love!
Abortion pills (mifepristone and misoprostol) are extremely safe, when taken in clinic or at home.1 However, there might be a legal risk. If you are criminalized for or are worried about being criminalized for an abortion (at home or in a clinic), pregnancy loss, or for something that happened during your pregnancy: Repro Legal Helpline.
Abortion pills work at all body weights2
If you need them now or if you’d just like to have them on hand, you can order abortion pills online in all 50 states - check out Plan C Pills for information. Again, there might be a legal risk.
Support people who have abortions without any caveats! None of that “I’m pro-abortion, but” talk.
Become a monthly donor to your local abortion fund and/or indie clinic to support people who have abortions! Psst: lots of these orgs also have merch, and wow do we love to see pro-abortion messaging in public!
some notable (and less notable) things
I highly recommend The Craftsman on HBO - it’s a really wholesome and relaxing show about a woodworker in northern CA who restores beautiful things and lays down some serious life wisdom.
The chocolate olive oil cake from Baking by Feel was included in this Cosmo roundup 31 Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes That'll Make Anyone Fall in Love!
I’m considering “Bec” as a new nickname for my new era
I spent a nice afternoon putting on very cute press on nails and working on these Van Gogh themed diamond paintings.
weekly abortion affirmation
If you haven’t yet, check out the Monday thread of abortion affirmations from y’all! there’s still time to add yours.
baking tip of the week
If you don’t feel like baking but do feel like eating cake, these are very good (I don’t care what the reviews say).
my current fave pic of Otie
xoxo,
your favorite becca