Antiabortion groups plan new crackdowns, emboldened after election

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Antiabortion groups plan new crackdowns, emboldened after election

Distressed by rising use of abortion pills, activists devise aggressive new action now that Republicans will be in charge.


Antiabortion demonstrators rally outside of the Supreme Court ahead of opinion announcements in Washington. (Allison Robbert/The Washington Post)

By Caroline Kitchener
November 20, 2024 at 2:10 p.m. EST

Antiabortion advocates are moving aggressively in the wake of the election to devise new measures to punish people and organizations that help women get abortions, feeling emboldened to crack down on the flow of abortion pills into states with bans and no longer burdened by fear of political backlash.

A leading national antiabortion organization is seeking a meeting with Matt Gaetz, Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, to discuss prosecuting abortion pill providers under a long-dormant law from the 19th century. ... A Texas lawmaker introduced a bill one week after the election that would allow private citizens to sue internet providers for hosting abortion pill websites, part of a broader legislative push to target online clinics. ... And the largest antiabortion group in Texas is planning a new wave of legal action in early 2025, looking for men interested in suing people who helped their female partners get abortions.

“You will see lawsuits filed now that were strategically not filed before the election,” said John Seago, the president of Texas Right to Life, who has spent much of the past year sounding the alarm on the thousands of abortion pills flowing into Texas by mail. “We have donors who fund that stuff who said, ‘Let’s wait until after November.’”

{snip}

By Caroline Kitchener
Caroline Kitchener is a reporter covering abortion at The Washington Post. She won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. follow on X @CAKitchener

[Dulcinea]

1. The McFelon doesn't care about abortion.

How many has he paid for? Hillbilly Vanilli is the one who cares about abortion. Not enough white babies being born, to his way of thinking. Strange coming from a guy with 3 mixed-race kids.

[Blue_Tires]

2. All that talk about "Roevember" and "Women never forget"

Turned out to be a total mirage 😔

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Sure, if you ignore all those constitutional amendments. NT

[Blue_Tires]

4. ??

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. You may not be aware of this, but measures to protect access to abortion have been

voted on In several states since Dobbs.

Ballot Tracker:
[link:womens|Outcome of Abortion-Related State Constitutional Amendment Measures in the 2024 Election]

Last updated on November 6, 2024
Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs  decision overturning Roe v. Wade, voters in 16 states have weighed in on constitutional amendments regarding abortion. In 2024, 10 states voted on abortion measures that sought to affirm that the state constitution protects the right to abortion. Nebraska voted on two measures: one seeking to protect abortion and the other seeking to ban abortion after the first trimester. Measures protecting abortion rights succeeded in 7 states – Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York – and failed in 3 – Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The measure constitutionally prohibiting abortions after the first trimester passed in Nebraska. Prior to the 2024 election, the side favoring access to abortion prevailed in every state that voted on abortion constitutional amendment ballot measures. In 4 of these states – California, Michigan, Ohio, and Vermont – measures amending the state constitution to protect the right to abortion were approved by voters and in the other 2 states – Kentucky and Kansas – measures seeking to curtail the right to abortion failed.

{snip}

And good evening.

[Blue_Tires]

6. Donnie can override all that with one signature