Repro Rights Roundup: January 29, 2018
Hello and welcome to the Repro Rights Roundup! Let’s get into it.
1. This week, the Senate will be voting on a 20-week abortion ban. The Guttmacher Institute breaks down exactly why this is medically unnecessary and deeply unfair to women, but to sum up: not only does a 20-week ban politicize women’s health and make little medical sense, it disproportionately impacts low-income women and women of color, who struggle to obtain abortions for financial reasons. We’d also like to note that a great deal of late-term abortions are wanted pregnancies, and the cruelty of forcing a woman to carry a child she wants whose birth would kill her, who is unviable, or who has already died is unfathomable. It’s legislation like this that reminds us that so much of the anti-choice presence in Washington and across the country has nothing to do with life or babies, but controlling and hurting women. While it’s not likely that this bill will become law, we urge you to call your senator anyway. Let them know that voting for something so profoundly anti-woman is as good as signing their own pink slip.
2. Texas may soon defund Planned Parenthood. They’re trying to sneak it through, so you know what that means: we have to watch their every move. The Roundup will keep an eye on them for you, but we hope you’ll follow it as well, especially if you or anyone you even remotely like lives in the Lone Star State.
3. Say it with us: reproductive rights are human rights.
4. This is religious freedom we can get behind: The Satanic Temple is suing the state of Missouri on behalf of one of their members, who was subjected to a battery of anti-choice restrictions and regulations prior to receiving an abortion. As Satanists do not believe that a nonviable fetus is a separate, living being, this violated her religious beliefs. How about that!
5. And from our Good News Department, the battle for menstrual equity marches apace!
Thanks for joining us at the Roundup! We’ll see you next week.
Natalie Tyson is a contributor to A Is For. Natalie lives in Virginia, where she writes stuff, bakes stuff, and drinks a truly remarkable amount of seltzer water. You can't find her on any social media - it terrifies her - but she's glad you asked. She accepts tips.