I recently wrote up this brief primer on some of the horrific laws that are being proposed and being signed into law around the country, for a secret local feminist activist Facebook group I’m a part of, and wanted to share it here for all Feminist Oasis members and folks interested in feminist issues.
Disclaimer: this is a very not-comprehensive write-up, informed by reading a variety of articles, mostly linked below. If you see anything that is factually inaccurate, please let me know either by commenting here or email me directly at crystal@feministoasis.com. I hope this information helps you at least begin to wrap your mind around these horrific assualts. This is a feminist oasis, but there can be no oasis without action and vigilance — which is why we take action! Members receive a bi-monthly action plan with a variety of personal, business, community and governement actions to do. Please contact us if you have ideas for specific actions to include in our next Action Plan. Thank you!
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A brief primer regarding assaults on reproductive justice in Georgia, Alabama and Ohio
Our current administration is aggressively pursuing their goal of overturning Roe v Wade. I’ve seen a lot of outrage and information circulating online around these horrifying laws, so I thought I’d get the conversation going with some facts that I’ve been able to glean in reading about these laws.
First up, Georgia:
- Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (you may know him from his fraudulent election win over Stacey Abrams, while he was both Secretary of State and on the ballot for Gov, which he narrowly “won”) signed this bill into law which goes into effect on Jan. 1 2020 — so it’s not in effect yet, and many pro-choice organizations will be mobilizing to challenge the law in hopes of overturning it before it goes into effect.
- It not only outlaws abortion within the state (which has been the effect of many “TRAP laws” in various states like TX, where abortion providers simply cannot exist anymore) — it actually CRIMINALIZES abortion and makes women and people who GET abortions able to be charged with life in prison or even the death penalty for having an abortion.
- Under this law, a Georgia woman can be charged with murder even if she travels out of state to access an abortion which may be legal outside of Georgia — she can still be charged when she returns.
- Some have pointed out that this law and others like it are actually more regressive and more specifically aggressive towards women than ever before — before Roe v Wade was even law. We’re talking real next-level appalling stuff.
Next up, Alabama:
- The vote on this law got delayed yesterday after an actual fight broke out over its imminent passing. Similar to the Georgia law (hmm it’s almost as if some single entity is making a concerted and coordinated effort to pass anti-choice legislation across multiple states!!), it outlaws abortion, this one making performing an abortion a felony punishable by up to 99 years in prison.
- The Lt. Gov of Alabama straight up has said that this is part of an effort to overturn Roe V Wade.
DIS-honorable mention: Ohio
- This one has just been introduced, but is worth mentioning because the bill is written as if science doesn’t exist — it is a law that … I don’t even know how to phrase this because it’s stating as if fact a thing which is medically impossible… it states that ectopic pregnancies (typically a fertilized egg that implants in the fallopian tube (v dangerous to the mother if it continues developing) or in rare cases in other places outside of the uterus, such as in the abdomen) will just be… relocated! to inside! the uterus! Wow, what a great idea! If only that were possible, we would have saved many mothers’ lives and likely many wanted pregnancies, too.
- Here’s a good Twitter thread by a doctor about the fact that is just isn’t a thing that we currently have the technology to do:
https://twitter.com/DrDGrossman/status/1126201292886437889
I will leave you with this twitter thread of places in Georgia that are currently still providing reproductive health services (remember the new Georgia ban doesn’t take effect until 2020) and could use our moral, activist and financial support right now.
https://twitter.com/dopegirlszine/status/1126493151097700352
Stay strong, feminists! If anyone has a specific action or mobilization idea, please reach out — leave a comment below or contact us privately. I have some ideas… please add yours below, too!