Reporter, abortion & politics. Contributing writer
@Jezebel
. Seen in Slate, The New Republic, The Guardian.
@wgaeast
council. 📩 susanrinkunaswrites @ gmail
Former Kentucky clerk Kim Davis is appealing a jury award to a gay couple whose marriage license she denied by arguing that Obergefell v. Hodges should be overturned like Roe. Her 6th Circuit brief cites arguments from Justices Thomas and Alito in Dobbs
NEW: A Nebraska mother who helped her daughter end her pregnancy with abortion pills has plead guilty to three charges. The daughter plead guilty in May and will be sentenced next week. Both face two years in prison for accessing healthcare the state made unavailable
It’s genuinely refreshing to see a huge celebrity uplifting the work of abortion funds—local ones at that
"For the North American GUTS world tour, Olivia will partner with local chapters of the National Network of Abortion Funds [
@AbortionFunds
]"
NEW: A $500 donation Matthew Kacsmaryk made to Josh Hawley in 2018 has been scrubbed from
@OpenSecretsDC
. Hawley's wife Erin argued the abortion pill case in front of Kacsmaryk. Hawley joined an amicus brief in the case.
Idaho has banned almost all abortions—and now it will no longer investigate pregnancy-related deaths. It has the dubious honor of being the only state that won't review maternal deaths
NEW: The Nebraska teenager charged for allegedly taking abortion pills that her mom ordered has plead guilty to one felony and faces up to two years in prison. Her mom faces up to eight
We’ve heard countless stories about women almost dying when hospitals denied them emergency abortions.
But we’re not grappling with the thousands of people unable to get abortions and forced to give birth. Those are also horror stories. Me in
@Jezebel
NEW: Rep. Cori Bush calls to repeal the Comstock Act, becoming the first elected lawmaker to do so (I believe). Republicans want Trump to enforce Comstock to ban abortion nationwide
The Comstock Act must be repealed. Enacted in 1873, it is a zombie statute, a dead law that the far-right is trying to reanimate.
The anti-abortion movement wants to weaponize the Comstock Act as a quick route to a nationwide medication abortion ban.
Not on our watch.
I need people to remember that a black man won the popular vote twice and a woman won the popular vote once but lost bc (among other things) of electoral college/bad strategy. Do not let people say this country won’t vote for a woman. The majority of voters literally did lol.
Someone tipped off police that the teen had a stillbirth and cops obtained a warrant for Facebook messages between her and her mother. Meta complied and forked over their chats.
Threads doesn't have DMs yet but wow don't talk about private stuff there
Anti-abortion Secretary of State Frank LaRose ordered the purge of voter registrations before voters decide on Issue 1, which would codify abortion in the state. People can re-register—but not in time to vote on the ballot measure. The deadline for this election was Oct. 10.
A woman says that a Massachusetts anti-abortion center failed to diagnose her pregnancy as ectopic. It ruptured, she was rushed to the emergency room, and doctors had to remove her fallopian tube. She filed a class action lawsuit:
How important is it to warn people about fake ultrasounds from crisis pregnancy centers? A Massachusetts woman says a CPC failed to diagnosed her ectopic pregnancy—which then ruptured. She filed a class action lawsuit:
Jezebel forever. Abortion is the story of the 2024 election and I'm ready to cover it with the rigor and resources it deserves. Reach out: susanrinkunaswrites
@gmail
.com
Jessica Burgess initially faced 8 years in prison on 5 charges. The state dropped 2 of the charges in a plea deal. Self-managed abortion isn't explicitly banned in Nebraska but the case shows how prosecutors criminalize people for abortion/miscarriage
Judge James Ho—sworn in by Clarence Thomas in Harlan Crow’s library in 2018—said anti-abortion doctors have standing in the abortion pill case because they like looking at babies. He cites "aesthetic injury" from cases involving wild animals and plants
The latest bullshit federal lawsuit: The dad never claimed any of his 3 daughters actually went to a Title X clinic for birth control—or ever intended to. He just said the very existence of the program undermined his ability to consent to their medical care under Texas law
NEW: Why did pro-choice North Carolina Rep. Tricia Cotham vote to ban abortion? A former Cotham adviser believes it wasn't a genuine change in beliefs or even a payoff, but her insistence that Democrats were mean to her. "She will always be the victim"
NEW: The 5th Circuit grants a Texas father the right to deny his daughter access to birth control, holding that Title X does not override parents' "right to consent to their teenagers’ obtaining contraceptives" under state law.
h/t
@MikeSacksEsq
Celeste Burgess was 17 and her mother allegedly helped her end her pregnancy in April 2022—months before Roe was overturned. They're both facing prison time. This is Purvi Patel plus Jennifer Whalen, and it's going to happen more often.
PSA, especially to people in states with abortion bans:
“Women are reporting unexpected pregnancies while taking [Ozempic] — even if they’ve struggled with infertility or are using birth control”
This woman was just sentenced to prison for an abortion that happened while Roe v. Wade was the law of the land.
Now that Roe is gone, we can expect even more charges like this. The “hysterical” people were right.
(re-sharing without her photo)
All three of these alleged abortions—Whalen, Patel, Burgess—happened while Roe v Wade was still on the books. So this is not new, it's just going to become more common.
Linked in story and sharing here too:
Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles Canady heard arguments today in a case that could trigger a six-week abortion ban in the state —a ban that his wife, state Rep. Jennifer Canady (R), co-sponsored. He didn’t recuse himself.
NEW: A Nebraska mother who bought abortion pills for her teen daughter will be sentenced tomorrow—without a court-ordered psychological evaluation, which a lawyer said is "fucking fucked up." She faces 2 years in prison for helping her teen access care the state made unavailable
Johnson was one of nearly 200 Republicans to vote against the right to birth control in the wake of the Dobbs decision. That was 15 months ago but he “really doesn’t remember”
Wow. Mike Johnson on Fox News Sunday doesn't rule out voting against access to contraception but then says "I really don't remember any of those measures" when asked about his past votes against reproductive health care
This is absolutely terrifying: state-funded researchers in Poland have developed lab tests that can detect if a person has taken abortion pills and they've used them to investigate pregnancy outcomes. The tests work for both mifepristone and misoprostol.
No rebrand in the world can fix the problem of people nearly bleeding out from miscarriages, teen rape survivors having to go out of state for abortions, or of families sinking into poverty from babies they were forced to have. Abortion bans are politically toxic. The jig is up.
I think about Purvi Patel a lot. I also can't forget about Jennifer Whalen, the Pennsylvania mom who went to prison for helping her daughter end her pregnancy when clinic care was inaccessible
BREAKING: A judge sentenced a Nebraska teen to 90 days in jail and two years' probation for ending her pregnancy with abortion pills in April 2022.
Self-managed abortion isn’t illegal in Nebraska, but prosecutors charged her under other laws
SCOOP: Democrats say leading abortion rights groups are directing them to not introduce legislation to repeal the Comstock Act, which conservatives want Trump to enforce as a federal abortion ban
There’s “a lot of internal tension,” one House Dem told me
Self-managed abortion is only explicitly illegal in 2 states—Nevada and South Carolina—but prosecutors can and do charge people for other crimes. Yes this story involves a warrant for Facebook messages, but it's often a human who sets off the investigation
This woman was just sentenced to prison for an abortion that happened while Roe v. Wade was the law of the land.
Now that Roe is gone, we can expect even more charges like this. The “hysterical” people were right.
(re-sharing without her photo)
BREAKING: A Nebraska judge sentenced a woman to two years in prison after she bought abortion pills for her teen daughter and helped bury fetal remains in early 2022. Self-managed abortion isn't illegal there, but the case shows a desire to target helpers
Vice had many evil executives but I want to give a special shoutout to former CEO Nancy Dubuc. She waited until the union demanded a meeting about reports that Vice ignored sexual misconduct complaints about an EIC to say that the company didn't have HR records prior to Nov 2017
Conservative judges: Abortion providers don't have standing to challenge abortion laws
Also conservative judges: Anti doctors have standing bc they "delight in working with their unborn patients—and experience an aesthetic injury when they are aborted"
long overdue but very good news! Over the past 30 years, the state has given more than $113 million to deceptive anti-abortion facilities that provide no medical care. That era is over for now.
Kacsmaryk's donation still appears on the FEC's site.
Missouri Senate Candidate
@LucasKunceMO
told Jezebel that Senators shouldn't be allowed to vote on judicial nominees who donated to them—or to lobby on court cases benefitting an immediate relative.
Here are the facts. And yes, Erin Hawley, a lawyer at Alliance Defending Freedom, isn’t simply working on the abortion pill case—she *argued it* in front of Judge Kacsmaryk last month.
NEW: A lawyer is seeking the names of every donor to nine Texas abortion funds.
It's part of a larger "campaign of terror" orchestrated by Jonathan Mitchell and others to scare people out of seeking abortions and keep them trapped in states with bans
once again asking people who claim to be pro choice—even ardently so—but support bans/arrests later in pregnancy to read this.
@RHAVote
is now an activist opposing bans at any stage. People deserve abortions as early as possible and as late as necessary
@ElectProject
"To raise enough cash to make the deal happen, [private equity firm] Golden Gate sold off Red Lobster's real estate to another entity — in this case, a company called American Realty Capital Properties — and then immediately leased the restaurants back."
NEW: The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) has faced criticism from advocates who say Republican politicians could weaponize it to target LGBTQ content. But
@ACLU
@EFF
and
@fightfortheftr
told me state AGs could also use it to censor info about abortion.
Ohio Republicans' plot to kneecap a statewide vote on abortion has failed—and it looks like it's going down by about 40 points. Incredible pro-choice victory tonight
Biden seems to only use the word "abortion" to stigmatize the procedure, recently invoking "abortion on demand" in a defensive crouch. Women demand abortions because they need them. Biden should treat pregnant people like full human beings. Me in
@Slate
"I didn't say 'lock her up'" -- Trump, on Fox & Friends and facing possible jail time, tries to distance himself from the ubiquitous "lock her up" chants about Hillary Clinton at her rallies
It looks like we know the outcomes of both abortion cases this term, so I'm here to say: These are punts, not vindications. Justice Jackson rightfully warns us that "storm clouds loom ahead"
I’m here on a new account after getting suspended for doing Alito jokes in support of an abortion clinic. Smash that follow button and RT to let your pals know I’m here
VICE Union is devastated by today's mass layoffs affecting dozens of unit members and around 100 employees overall. These workers are suffering the consequences of years of poor decisions they played no part in.
JD Vance says that Kamala Harris is a “childless cat lady” who is “miserable” with her life because she didn’t have children, and that not having children means that she doesn’t have “a direct stake” in America. Story.
An Oklahoma Republican introduced a bill that would ban emergency contraception—and restrict IUDs. He said he wrote HB 3216 with Alliance Defending Freedom and his intent was to revert over-the-counter EC to Rx-only. They are coming for birth control.
How important is it to warn people about fake ultrasounds from crisis pregnancy centers? A Massachusetts woman says a CPC failed to diagnosed her ectopic pregnancy—which then ruptured. She filed a class action lawsuit:
@highbrow_nobrow
@Jezebel
@SusanRinkunas
We need a running national fundraiser for this kind of thing, if there isn't one already. If the fascists can raise millions for murderers, surely we can do the same for victims of Republicans.
This is legitimately a big deal—the Biden admin is updating HIPAA to clearly state that doctors and nurses can't report their patients' abortions to the cops. Yes, HIPAA currently allows this.
Great news, but of course they should have done it sooner :)
@LEBassett
That plus: wear good shoes indoors (like sneakers or Birkenstocks) from moment you wake up, roll golf ball/tennis ball under your arches, and, for me, calf stretches
I'm gonna lose it. Of the 3 South Carolina Republican state Senators in this
@nytimes
story lauded for blocking a near-total abortion ban, two voted for a six-week ban. That's also a near total ban. The third wants a 15-week ban.
gift link:
NEW: North Carolina Rep. Tricia Cotham has given pro-abortion speeches and said in January she wanted to codify Roe, so why did she just vote for an abortion ban? It may have to do with her extensive ties to charter schools
@ChaseOdell7
I can’t expect people to read the whole piece when they’re busy trading away other people’s rights, so I will even highlight a relevant section. There’s more, ctrl+F for “viability”
Gov. Roy Cooper will veto the 12-week abortion ban and clinic shutdown law today, setting up a veto override vote.
@PPSATNC
: “Rep. Cotham has one last chance to [protection abortion access]—to honor her personal experience and to stay true to her word."
People Taking Weight Loss Drugs Are Accidentally Getting Pregnant. Prescriptions Are Booming in States With Abortion Bans.
All GLP-1s can affect oral meds like birth control pills but only one telemedicine prescriber I contacted warns patients about it.
Uh, this was news to me: “The group infamously endorsed a Democrat, North Carolina state Rep. Tricia Cotham” who switched parties and delivered an abortion ban. “Cotham is the cousin of Emily Cain, who was then the executive director of EMILY’s List.”
Open Secrets has updated Kacsmaryk's page to reflect "inadvertently excluded" data. It now shows the Hawley donation plus an additional July 2012 gift to Sen. Ted Cruz. All told, Kacsmaryk has donated $2,000 to Cruz-linked groups
@SusanRinkunas
During a routine update earlier this week, records from earlier election cycles in our database were inadvertently excluded from data searches. All records are still in our database, unaltered.
Our site is updated and you can see the $500 donation here:
@themaxburns
Hey Max this aggregated story incorrectly says that the abortion was illegal when that is not true. I’d appreciate you uplifting my reported piece for Jezebel for the full context here
As if the murder of Gabriella Gonzalez could get any worse, she went to Dallas police in March to say her boyfriend had strangled her and there was a warrant out for his arrest. Strangulation is a key predictor of homicide in domestic violence situations
Hearing even one member of Congress say “IVF is a state’s rights issue because of Dobbs” should send chills down the spine of every person who relies on birth control or whose marriage was federally unprotected before 2015. Behold, two Senators:
NEW: Sen. Elizabeth Warren tells Jezebel that if the Supreme Court tries to revive a zombie abortion ban, Congress has "a responsibility" to act. Hints she's prepared to defang the Comstock Act of 1873, which activists want Trump to use for nationwide ban
.
@abigailtracy
reported Kacsmaryk's Hawley donation on 3/23 citing Open Secrets. As of this am, OS shows 12 donations—none to Hawley. But a link archived on 3/30 lists 13 donations, incl the $500 to Hawley. It disappeared sometime btwn then and now. OS told me it's a "tech issue"
let me get this straight: Alliance Defending Freedom is arguing in the mifepristone case that federal law (Comstock) trumps state law, but they're saying in the Idaho case that state law trumps federal law (EMTALA). Sounds like Calvinball for abortion
Both Hawley and Cruz voted to confirm Kacsmaryk in 2019. The facts are still the same, and underscore Lucas Kunce's larger point: there's an appearance of improper influence.
In the Senate, I’ll vote to restore Roe. But I'll also fight for rules to end corruption like this, starting with:
1. Barring Senators from voting on judicial nominees who've given to their campaigns.
2. Barring Senators from lobbying any court to benefit an immediate relative.
It feels like we should be talking more about how individual abortion funds are increasingly spending over $1 million a year to help people get healthcare.
The Supreme Court took another abortion case, but the real threat is the media narrative. SCOTUS will likely swat the case away on standing grounds, earning headlines about “protecting abortion.” But a GOP president could still enact a national ban in 2025
NEW: Nearly 150 Republicans in Congress asked the Supreme Court to slash access to the abortion pill by ending telehealth prescriptions—even in states w/ legal abortion. They cite the Comstock Act of 1873 which bans mailing abortifacients. Full list here:
A married Texas Lawmaker allegedly invited an underage intern over to his apartment to drink, then gave her a "loyalty test"
Rep. Bryan Slaton has called drag queens groomers and proposed property tax credits for straight, married couples with 4+ children
Today's episode of The Daily (
@nytimes
) says the Supreme Court "effectively enhanced the availably of abortion" this term, which, no they didn't.
Instead, read These Are Not Abortion Victories by
@SusanRinkunas
who explains it way better than Adam Liptak
I couldn't stop thinking about how mad Justice Alito got when the DOJ lawyer called out the logical endpoint of his "unborn child" question. He was irate after Prelogar pointed out that, when fetuses are people, pregnant women are not. For
@newrepublic
: