6/4: Carole Joffe

What are the threats to a legal abortion in the U.S.?

• Dobbs happened three years ago, June 22, Roe was overturned, everyone thought the number of abortions would go down, but the number actually went up. How did this happen? An incredible amount of money was donated “Rage Spending” it was donated to many different places. The Comstock law was passed in 1873 by an anti-sexual deviancy fanatic who got congress to pass the banning of mailing anything to do with abortion or birth control or anything “pornographic”. The Birth Control part was overturned but the abortion part remained. Roe V Wade negated Comstock, but it’s still able to be used today, especially with the overturning of Roe V Wade. The Trump administration could withdraw FDA approval of mifepristone altogether, or they could say that you have to go to a clinic in order to get mifepristone, even if you’re too far away from a clinic for that to make sense. We don’t yet know what they’ll do.

What would you do if you could rewrite Roe v Wade?

• Over the years, the reproductive justice and pro-choice movements have criticized Roe V Wade over the years. The Hyde amendment was passed a few years afterward that federal dollars could not go into paying for abortions. About 17 states have overturned this and use their state medicaid to pay for abortions. To start from scratch, say in 2028 we get a Democratic president and house/senate, assuring payment for people who qualify to get the abortion would be a big part of it. The Reproductive Justice Movement has offered a better blueprint for what we want in reproductive reform (abortions and the right to have the children that we want). 1 out of 10 (before Dobbs) had to travel outside of their state to get an abortion and now it’s 1 out of 5. What we want is not just free and accessible abortion and without travel, and integrated with other health care services. We want legal, accessible, culturally respected prenatal care, the ability to raise our children, etc. It’s not just abortion, it’s respecting the lives that people want to live. to deliver the way you want to, no unnecessary cesareans or sterilizations, etc.

Question from Carole: What are the right lessons to draw? There are rogue providers where women either die or are horribly injured in unsanitary conditions and don’t follow the standards, so what is the lesson? This is what happens when abortion care is not a part of medical care. If they could have gone somewhere where they could have been really taken care of, then things would have been different for the women who were hurt by these rogue providers.

Considering your lived experiences in the 60s and 70s, how would you recommend someone who wants to get started in activism for this cause but don’t know where to start or where to find like-minded people?

• Was in grad school in Berkeley during the anti-war movement and there were many things going on all at once. While we don’t have all of that now, after Dobbs there was an explosion of pro-choice feeling, and we’ve seen the impact of that. Since Dobbs, there have been 9 or 10 measures in a few states where pro-choice measures on the ballot have won to everyone’s surprise. We also have opposition to the Trump administration. June 14th, all over the country, there will be a “No Kings Day” and there should be demonstrations in Sacramento, in the Bay Area, in the south, etc. The reproductive justice and pro-choice movements will be a part of this. There was a huge women’s march on the day after Trump was inaugurated in 2016 all over the world. At the moment, we don’t have that kind of separate pro-choice presence, but going to the demonstrations on the 14th will be promoting reproductive justice and abortion on-demand without apology. These demonstrations will not stop.

• Abortions is still legal and paid for by medical, but now the anti-abortion extremists have come to California to protest here because the ones where they’re from have closed down. Volunteer as an escort at these clinics to help shield these women from the hurling of insults by these extremists.