Pro-tip: if someone ever invites you to see a bunch of dancing abortion pills, the only answer is YES. Abortion Access Front spent last week making a splash at the Democratic National Convention, debuting your new favorite all-pill band, Mife and the Misotones! We cavorted around Chicago, preaching the good word of abortion and making sure everyone we met knew what an abortion is and where to get one. We danced, we sang, we pissed off anti-abortion extremists – chalk this one up as a win.
Speaking of abortion being a winning issue, let’s talk about leaving it up to the states. What could possibly go wrong??
Well, Arkansas, for starters. Arkansans for Limited Government got more than 101,000 signatures to get their abortion rights initiative on the ballot for November in Arkansas (WAY more than was necessary!). But dontcha know it, Arkansas Secretary of State Thurston turned around and rejected their petition on a disputed technicality… which was THEN upheld 4-3 by the Arkansas Supreme Court. Why? BECAUSE IT IS A MAJORITY CONSERVATIVE COURT! This state government just showed Arkansans that it doesn’t matter what they demand – they’ll do anything in their power to stop them. (On a surely completely unrelated note: Arkansas has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country.)
So, what was the heinous rule the pro-choice campaign supposedly broke? They didn’t file an explanation statement with additional signatures submitted in July… because they had already filed one on June 27th! Three copies of a piece of paper they already have are what tanked the will of one hundred thousand Arkansans by a biased conservative anti-abortion government. Make it make sense.
I thought we said, “Let the voters decide??”
How, exactly, are voters supposed to decide when state governments are allowed to engage as many nefarious tactics as they please to stop these petitions and silence the voice of the people? Activists in every state pushing for an abortion ballot initiative have encountered bullying, harassment, and violence, not to mention dealing with state-level red tape from politicians determined to obstruct their efforts to let the people choose their right to abortion. Democracy? They don’t know her!
HOW YOU CAN FIGHT BACK!
Ya mad now? US TOO! So let’s do something about it by clicking this link that takes you to our dope activist calendar full of events and actions to get you involved!
Not feeling like you wanna dig around a calendar? Here are some of this week’s highlights!
IDAHO: SHARE YOUR TRUTH
The most powerful way to change minds is by sharing abortion stories, and the Pro-Voice Project is here to help! Join their writing workshop to help craft your story and make an impact on Saturday, September 7th at 10 am ET – registration link here!
FAITH + ABORTION = <3
We may be biased, but being in community with each other is one of the best feelings in this movement. Our friends at Chicago Abortion Fund are hosting their summer series post-abortion community circle focusing on spirituality and abortion care on Tuesday, September 10th, from 7:30 pm to 8:45 pm CT – registration link here!
SPECIAL REQUEST: SUPPORT THIS INDIE CLINIC!
We just want to gush over how much we love the folks at Women’s Health Center of West Virginia! Abortion? They got you! Birth control? Done! LGBTQIA+ care? HELL YEAH. If you’re in the area and looking for a provider, check them out! If you’re not, do us a favor and still show them some love and throw a few dollars their way- donate here!
WANT MORE AAF? You Got it!
- For the latest abobo news, follow us errywhere you social @abortionfront
- Pod with us! Subscribe to our hilarious weekly abortion podcast Feminist Buzzkills Drops Fridays wherever you pod.
- Video Hilarity! Laugh ‘til ya pee watching our bounty of comedy videos.
Abortion Access Front is taking a much-needed break to rest, recharge, and be ready to rage again in a few weeks!
SEE YA SOON!
