[[link removed]]Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest
Letter from an Editor | January 22, 2022
Dear John,
This Saturday, Jan. 22, we mark the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade , which ruled the Constitution protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. Normally, anniversaries are a day to celebrate. But this Roe Day is a somber one.
In a few short months we face the likelihood the Supreme Court will overturn Roe . Already, 2021 was the worst year for abortion rights in half a century. In Texas, abortion has already been virtually outlawed for almost five months. And now the Supreme Court has issued yet another decision that will ensure S.B. 8 will remain the law in Texas for months to come.
As these laws continue to make their way through the courts, every day they are in effect has a dramatic impact on real people. As explained in the 2016 Supreme Court decision in Whole Women’s Health and reiterated by Justice Sonia Sotomayor during the Dobbs hearing in December, abortion is 14 times safer than carrying a pregnancy to term—and abortion restrictions can lead to death in women even with a wanted pregnancy. If this really is Roe ’s last anniversary, in a post- Roe world, pregnancy-related deaths will no doubt increase substantially.
In 1972, Ms . ran a bold petition in which well-known U.S. women declared they had undergone abortions—despite laws in many states rendering the procedure illegal. In 2006, Ms . issued a renewed call to stand up and speak truth to power. We know it is time again, and why we are re-launching the We Have Had Abortions petition.
One of the 2006 petition signatories, actor Amy Brenneman, joined Michele Goodwin on the most recent episode of “On the Issues” podcast, to reflect on Roe ’s anniversary and to discuss her abortion story and how it led to her activism.
“I’ve had an abortion. I’ve used birth control. I’ve done in vitro fertilization and I have a special needs daughter. All of those are connected to choice and taking on what I feel like I can responsibly take on as a human and as a mother.”
The silver lining of this fraught era for reproductive rights seems to be that a large swath of Americans who oppose overturning Roe v. Wade will be motivated to vote in the mid-term elections this fall. Polls show that abortion is increasingly becoming a decisive factor for voters—particularly young women voters.
Abortion bans have been labeled “the new Jane Crow,” for they “[ensure] a permanent underclass for pregnant women,” according to Lynn Paltrow of National Advocates for Pregnant Women. But we must not forget the original Jim Crow—the series of discriminatory laws that relegated Black Americans to second-class status—nor can we stop reckoning with its legacy. The Senate attempted to do exactly that this week, in an effort to advance the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act and revamp the filibuster. But ultimately, an anti-democracy bloc of Republican senators, joined by two Democrats, blocked both measures.
Of course, the way to truly protect reproductive freedom is twofold: Increase voter power and mobilization and secure women’s full legal equality under the Constitution with the Equal Rights Amendment.
I know you’re frustrated. Me too. But we must remember the words of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “Don’t agonize. Organize.”
And you can start by adding your name to the “We Have Had Abortions” petition. [[link removed]] Whether you yourself have had an abortion, or you are a supporter of abortion rights, know that your name and your voice will make a difference. And when you sign the petition [[link removed]] , we ask that you help Ms. by promoting the petition to your friends, family and others across the country to join our fight to save abortion rights.
Onward - for equality,
[[link removed]]Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor
This Week's Must-Reads from Ms.
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]“We Have Had Abortions” Petition Relaunches 50 Years Later—With Support From Original Signatories [[link removed]]
On Roe Day, Women in Congress Speak Out on Abortion Rights: “We Are Witnessing an All-Out Assault on Reproductive Freedom” [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]Online Abortion Provider and “Activist Physician” Michele Gomez Is Expanding Early Abortion Options Into Primary Care [[link removed]]
From the Vault: Between a Woman and Her Doctor (Summer 2004) [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]In its 1972 preview issue, Ms. magazine ran a bold petition in which 53 well-known U.S. women declared that they had undergone abortions—despite laws in most states rendering the procedure illegal. We know it is time again.
Today in Texas, abortion has been outlawed for the vast majority of women and girls. And in a few short months, the Supreme Court is likely to rule in a case that is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade and will impact abortion access nationwide.
Add your name to the petition. [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on
Apple Podcasts [[link removed]] + Spotify [[link removed]] .
Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, marks the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade . But it may very well be its last. In a few short months we face the likelihood the Supreme Court will overturn Roe . Already, 2021 was the worst year for abortion rights in almost half a century. In this episode, we discuss the relaunch of the iconic “We Have Had Abortions” petition, the history of the evolution of abortion access in the U.S. and the future of abortion rights in a possible post- Roe world.
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
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