Most of this diary will be my tribute to Dr. George Tiller, who was murdered 10 years ago, on May 31, 2009, originally published on the Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona blog. So I will begin with a few stories that happened this week that are relevant to women’s reproductive health and freedom. I hope readers will share other stories in the comments.
This Week in the Struggle for Reproductive Freedom
If you thought you knew the worst the government is doing to women seeking asylum at the southern border, think again. Rewire has a story about how some women who give birth while in detention have their babies taken away from them after 48 hours and placed in state custody. We don’t know how many of these mothers manage to get their babies back. This article is the third in a series about pregnant asylum seekers, and has links to the first two.
Clarence Thomas dissented from the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the full Indiana antiabortion law; they upheld the part of the law that required cremation or burial of the aborted embryo (most abortions are of embryos, not fetuses) or fetus, but let the lower court’s ruling barring abortions for reasons of sex, race, or disease or disability of the fetus stand. Thomas based his dissent on Margaret Sanger’s interest in eugenics and her opinions about keeping the “feeble-minded” from reproducing, and on the history of attempts to keep black women from having children and other involuntary interference in their ability to have children. The racist history is true, but not relevant to the decision, since that history has to do with birth control (including the horror of forced sterilization), not abortion.
Ctrl Alt Delete, a sitcom set in an abortion clinic is starting its second season.
Missouri was about to become the first state with no clinic providing abortion as of today, since the state is refusing to renew its license. The state says it’s responding to a patient complaint, but won’t tell the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis what the complaint was, but set several conditions for renewal, including interviews with the five doctors who work at the clinic. The two doctors employed by the clinic were interviewed, but the others are residents in training who cannot be ordered to allow the interviews. However, today a St. Louis district judge ordered the clinic to remain open even when its license expires; the parties will return to court on June 4 for a hearing about an injunction.
Meanwhile, Louisiana’s Democratic governor signed the state’s “heartbeat” bill that bans abortion after six weeks, without exceptions for rape or incest. But the law is on hold until the federal courts rule on Mississippi’s similar law.
As we commemorate Dr. Tiller, I think of a PP Rapid Response Facebook post the other day with a photo of a man who was seen here in Tucson photographing license plates and people entering our local Planned Parenthood, who said he planned to go to people’s homes to “educate” them about abortion. The post warned people to be aware if they are being followed. (By the way, the PP clinic here doesn’t perform abortions.) Meanwhile, in Minnesota a woman logged on to Facebook and found her medical records (including her sonogram) from Planned Parenthood, where she had gone about an abortion, posted in three separate posts. She went to the FBI who have been investigating. The examples of harassment happen almost daily and can be dangerous.
As always, thanks to my partners in crime. This week’s contributors include Tara TASW, elenacarlena, officebss, Angmar, Sandra LLAP.