[[link removed]] Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest
Letter from an Editor | July 30, 2022
Dear John,
As state-level abortion bans go into effect, clinics have been forced to close their doors. According to a new report from the Guttmacher Institute, seven states that imposed bans in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade —Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas—no longer have a single clinic providing abortion care. In 2020 alone, these states accounted for 80,500 total abortions.
What’s more, these clinics often provided other vital services to their communities—including STI testing and treatment, contraception, services to support pregnancy, and much more. Now, people who depended on these clinics will have to find care elsewhere.
Although the House has passed the Women’s Health Protection Act to restore abortion rights in every state, Republicans in the Senate have blocked a vote despite overwhelming public support for assuring abortion access. And this week, Republicans in the Senate went even further, blocking the Right to Contraception Act which had already passed the House (despite 195 Republicans voting against the measure). Senator Patty Murray, one of the Act’s lead sponsors in the Senate, described the Republicans in the wake of the decision:
“The evidence of where Republicans actually stand on birth control is overwhelming. They aren’t standing for women. They aren’t standing for families. They aren’t standing for a right nearly all Americans support. They are simply standing in the way.”
The extremism of Republicans is breathtaking. In North Carolina, the state legislature is debating a Republican-backed bill that would define abortion as first degree murder and authorize the use of deadly force against abortion providers and women seeking abortions. While it currently seems unlikely that it will pass, advocates warn that bills like this one further legitimize violence against abortion providers and patients—which has already escalated in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling. "This violent rhetoric by state political leaders perpetuates a chilling climate and encourages vigilantes to target and harass abortion providers,” said Alison Kiser, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic, speaking to Insider .
At Ms . we are tracking the impact of abortion bans and compiling resources for those seeking abortion services—head to msmagazine.com [[link removed]] for the latest up-to-date information. And we are tracking how voters are taking candidates’ positions on abortion and other equality and social justice issues into account as they look ahead to the mid-term elections. You can count on Ms . to be a trusted source for accurate, timely and actionable information in print, online and through the acclaimed podcasts and programs of Ms . Studios.
There is no doubt in my mind, that with all of us pulling together, we will meet this historic challenge and construct a way forward.
For Equality,
[[link removed]]
Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor
P.S. — And if you want to delve deeper, and learn about the big corporate backers funding the anti-abortion politicians who are proposing these bans, subscribe here [[link removed]] to receive our summer issue today.
This Week's Must-Reads from Ms.
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The Best and Worst States for Gender Parity—and What Works to Increase It [[link removed]] Our Abortion Stories: ‘If He Had Found Out I Was Pregnant, He Would Have Kidnapped Me and the Baby’ [[link removed]]
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[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]] .
After a Supreme Court term unlike any other in nearly a century, confidence in what was once a revered body has sunk to a historic low. On the latest episode, we’re recapping the recently ended Supreme Court term—exploring a slate of critical rulings that will have wide-ranging impacts from abortion access to climate change and beyond.
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
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