Slavery Makes a Comeback
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Happy Saturday Healthcare Advocates
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Sounds Like Slavery to Me
The Washington Post ran a story last week by Caroline Kitchener and reported that 51 cities in Texas have made it illegal to drive on their roads if you are you are taking someone out of state to get an abortion. Their hope is to target the interstates and the roads around airports to block off routes out of Texas and keep pregnant women trapped in their anti-abortion state. Here is a link to an in depth review of the matter by history professor Heather Cox Richardson.
In Texas anyone may sue a person or organization assisting someone to obtain an abortion - so-called abortion trafficking. As with so many anti-abortion laws, this one is meant to intimidate and instill fear in anyone who wants to travel out of the state for an abortion or any friend, relative, or colleague who wants to help them. This is the hallmark of an authoritarian regime where free citizens are no longer free to travel. Does not the U.S. Constitution allow all of us the right to travel freely between states?
Professor Richardson brings up another good point in her article. This kind of legislation hearkens back to 1850 and the Federal Fugitive Slave Act. Then free Black persons needed to carry papers that indicated they were not slaves - are we going back to that now? Do women need to carry proof they are not pregnant in order to travel out of Texas?
The Fugitive Slave Act forced the return of slaves who escaped to free states back to their owners in the South. It also included fines of $1000 for anyone who had assisted a slave to escape. Quite a substantial sum - about three years wages.
The US Supreme Court’s decision to reverse their previous Dobb’s ruling and return to state’s rights is in fact a return to slavery for women in states where abortion is banned.
We cannot allow this to stand. There are several actions we need to take right away.
We need to let our Congressperson, Senators, and the White House know this is going on and and there is legislation they need to support to turn this around.
We can let the U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Butttigieg and Shailen Bhatt, the new administrator of the Federal Highway Administration know about this illegal misuse of public roads. After all, according to the Texas Department of Transportation 2022 report, about 1/3 of the Texas highway budget comes from the federal government.
We can notify the Department of Justice that this appears to be a violation of civil rights and that we want them to investigate.
Let’s let them know.
ACTION 1 - Congress & White House
Call or email your Congressperson and Senators and President Biden and let them know. Their contact info is in the Resources section at the bottom of the newsletter. You can also use Resistbot from your cellphone by texting to 50409 SIGN PPOTFR to send the message below. Thank you to Chop Wood, Carry Water by Jessica Cravens and Indivisible (more info here).
I'm your constituent. All of us in the US deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. You may not be aware but 51 cities in Texas have made it illegal to traverse their roads when taking a pregnant person out of state to get an abortion. This is an authoritarian throwback to slavery (Fugitive Slave Act) and a violation of a citizen’s right to travel freely in the US. And we pay for 1/3 of the roads in Texas. Those cities who implemented these laws want to block highways and interstates that lead to airports and nearby states where abortion is a right. Here is a link to the Washington Post article - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/01/texas-abortion-highways/
I want you to actively support and pass the Women’s Health Protection Act to make abortion legal everywhere in the US. I also want you pass
H.R. 782 -- Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act
This bill affirms that everyone has the right to travel across state lines to seek abortion care.
H.R. 3420 -- My Body, My Data Act of 2023. This bill would create privacy standards so that our personal health data stays personal.
H.R. 4303 -- Abortion Justice Act—This bill would remove systemic barriers to care and address disparities and systemic racism in reproductive health care.
Lives are at stake. Please act like it. Thank you.
ACTION 2 - US Transportation & Federal Highways
Let’s call U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Shailen Bhatt, Federal Highway Administrator.
Here are their contact data
Pete Buttigieg - (202) 366-4000
Shailen Bhatt - 202-366-2240
Here is a sample text:
“My name is [name] and I live in zipcode [zipcode]. All of us in the US deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. You may not be aware but 51 cities in Texas have made it illegal to traverse their roads when taking a pregnant person out of state to get an abortion. This is an authoritarian throwback to slavery (Fugitive Slave Act) and a violation of a citizen’s right to travel freely in the US. And we pay for 1/3 of the roads in Texas. Those cities who implemented these laws want to block highways and interstates that lead to airports and nearby states where abortion is a right. The Washington Post ran this story last week. I want you to actively consider how to bring pressure on Texas to stop this, perhaps as a civil rights violation or by withholding Federal Highway funds. Please do something and help stop this type of slavery.”
ACTION 3 - Department of Justice
The Department of Justice may be contacted by phone at the following: Department Comment Line: 202-353-1555 or use their comment page here.
Sample Script
“My name is [name] and I live in zipcode [zipcode]. All of us in the US deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. You may not be aware but 51 cities in Texas have made it illegal to traverse their roads when taking a pregnant person out of state to get an abortion. This is an authoritarian throwback to slavery (Fugitive Slave Act) and a violation of a citizen’s right to travel freely in the US. And we pay for 1/3 of the roads in Texas. Those cities who implemented these laws want to block highways and interstates that lead to airports and nearby states where abortion is a right. The Washington Post ran this story last week. I want you to actively consider how to bring pressure on Texas to stop this, perhaps as a civil rights violation. Please do something and help stop this type of slavery.”
RESOURCES
Find My Elected Officials
Contact the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Contact State and Federal Representatives
https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/addr/
Important Healthcare Resources
League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit
Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare
Healthcare Advocacy Reading List
Organizations to Contact
National Nurses United Medicare4All
Physicians for a National Health Plan
Reproductive Health
NARAL - Pro Choice America
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
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
Your reporting means a lot to me. I really think healthcare is the #1 domestic issue.
First, I live in Texas. My question is “how do they know who is pregnant that needs to be stopped and who stops them? Maybe this ole grandma needs to teach the younguns how to hide a pregnancy.