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Arizona Abortion Chaos
The Arizona Legislature devolved into shouts of “Shame! Shame!” on Wednesday as Republican lawmakers quickly shut down discussion on a proposed repeal of the state’s newly revived 1864 law that criminalizes abortion throughout pregnancy unless a woman’s life is at risk. House Democrats and at least one Republican tried to open discussion on a repeal of the 1864 abortion ban, which holds no exceptions for rape or incest. GOP leaders, who command the majority, cut it off twice and quickly adjourned for the week. Outraged Democrats erupted in finger-waving chants of “Shame! Shame!” (AP)
How Far Is Reproductive Healthcare?
In a few weeks, Florida and Arizona are set to join most states in the southern U.S. in banning abortion. ... Caitlin Myers, an economics professor at Middlebury College in Vermont, has been tracking abortion facilities and travel distances since 2009. She analyzed how these latest rulings will affect the access map. "Because of these bans, it's about 6 million women of reproductive age who are experiencing an increase in distance of more than 200 miles," she says.
Above is a map showing, over time left to right - as bans tool place, how far women have to travel for an abortion - red is > 200 miles. The rightmost map is the situation after Florida and Arizona bans take effect. (NPR)
For people in Arizona, after the 1864 law takes effect, their nearest destinations are pretty long drives. They're going to be facing hundreds of miles to reach southern California, New Mexico, or Colorado.
Floridians who are seeking abortions after six weeks will have to travel nearly 600 miles to North Carolina, which has a 72-hour waiting period.
This is just abysmal. This has been a long path to subjugate women. It involved the takeover of major religious denominations, who previously supported women’s reproductive rights by tele-evangelists like Jerry Falwell. It involved making sure the news did not have to provide even handed equal coverage - removing the federal fairness doctrine. It involved the Citizen’s United vs FEC case before the Supreme Court that allowed corporations to fund election campaigns. It involved reversing civil rights in elections legislation to make sure that it is harder to vote. It included allowing political gerrymandering of states to lock in minority rule to complete the subjugation. It included not allowing a president to have a supreme court justice reviewed by the Senate. It involved loading 3 justices onto the Supreme Court who had a hidden agenda to overturn Roe v Wade and apparently chose to not be honest about it when questioned.
It is a long path and it is up to us to fight back and win. The first thing we can do is make sure that women who don’t have enough money to get the abortion they need can get it - that’s Action 1.
The next thing we can do is be a big pain in the butt to our elected representatives in Washington and tell them to pass legislation that protects women. They need to think their jobs depend on that.
ACTION 1 - Help those that need help
Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP) is the only independent 501 (c) 3 abortion fund that provides urgently needed financial assistance, on a national level, to those seeking abortion or emergency contraception.
Not only can we donate to help fund the work they do, but we can also write letters of support to clinics or the women they serve.
We can donate or send a note of encouragement here. I did. (Rogan’s List)
ACTION 2 Legislation to Protect Women
You can use RESISTBOT by texting SIGN PRFHOB to 50409 to send the email below to your representatives or call/email them with a similar message. (202) 224-3121 and democracy.io for email.
RESISTBOT let’s you send the message once. You can use the phone or email to send the message over and over.
“I am your constituent and I strongly support S.701 and HR. 12, the Women’s Health Protection Act to give women the right to an abortion and the right to travel to get one without interference. I want you to cosponsor and support the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA).
While I have your attention I also strongly support the Joint Resolution Affirming the Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and I want you to support it and be vocal about it and convince your colleagues to support it NOW. 38 states have passed the ERA and it is high time that women and girls have their equal status affirmed in our constitution.”
Resources
Healthcare Advocacy (Us)
Website
Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare
Healthcare Advocacy Reading List
Find My Elected Officials
Contact the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Contact State and Federal Representatives
By phone: (202) 224-3121
By email: democracy.io
Important Healthcare Resources
League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit
Organizations to Contact
National Nurses United Medicare4All
Physicians for a National Health Program
One Payer States
Healthcare Now
Reproductive Health
NARAL - Pro Choice America
Charley. chatbot abortion resource - make sure to use a secure incognito browser if you live in a state that has banned abortion
Planned Parenthood
Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.
United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.
Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org
Claims Denials and Appeals & What to Do
Appeal a Healthcare Decision
Appeal/Negotiate a Hospital Bill
Disinformation Management
Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency
Save Democracy
Chop Wood, Carry Water by Jessica Cravens
RESISTBOT
Link to the RESISTBOT site to learn more
Link to Chop Wood, Carry Water RESISTBOT write up
Thanks for reading Healthcare Advocacy! Subscribe for free to receive new posts
Hi Alan,
RESISTBOT is an incredibly effective tool. It also has a built-in feature that people can use to make their appeal to their elected officials even more effective. How do you choose the option to review your message before sending it? That’s the built-in feature that lets people edit and personalize their messages, something that shows the staff member reading it that this is actually an appeal from an individual voter instead of someone signing onto a mass effort. Perhaps you could mention that feature whenever you describe the tool. It will increase our impact when we use it. I think I got this right. Please correct me if I didn’t.