For those of you who don't know me, I'm a milk drinkin' corn shuckin' "pop" sayin' midwestern girl. I'm from the great state of Illinois, and that's where I had my abortion when I was 19. I also started #AskAboutAbortion in 2016 to get primary candidates to discuss their plans.
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It's been hard to watch access crumble in the midwest. We need more from candidates than a promise to "protect Roe" because the reality is that Roe is hanging by a thread, and it has always largely been inaccessible to those who have Medicaid insurance. Platitudes won't work.
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For me,
@ewarren is the only candidate with actual plans to protect and expand abortion access. She proposes creating federal, statutory rights that parallel the constitutional right to abortion in Roe v. Wade. We need a law to protect abortion. The courts are barely holding.Show this thread -
I appreciate all of the candidates who say they're only going to nominate Supreme Court justices who support the right to an abortion, but Trump has filled nearly 200 lower court seats held open from the Obama Administration, in addition to the Supreme Court seats. We need more.
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The reality is Roe was gutted back when Planned Parenthood v. Casey was decided and paved the way for all of these restrictions that we've seen enacted over the past 10 years. They're obstacles in the way that don't allow many abortion patients to access their rights.
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Saying you're going to nominate justices who support abortion access also doesn't say how that justice will vote when it comes to young people's access, the Hyde Amendment, and more. We need someone who understands the full breadth of the issue.
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Abortion is not a really right if you can't physically access it, whether via a clinic in your community or medication and herbal abortion with out fear of criminalization. We need a true right to an abortion, unfettered by anti-abortion ideology, stigma, and misinformation.
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She also proposed passing federal laws, like the Women's Health Protection Act, to stop states from passing laws designed to shutdown clinics based on random, medically unnecessary rules that seem to only apply to abortion clinics. That's what the SCOTUS case in 2016 was about.
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Recently,
@ewarren adopted@KamalaHarris' plan to require preclearance for states and local governments with a history of unconstitutional practices, which means if they want to restrict abortion, they'd have to prove the law is necessary before it can go into effect.Show this thread -
Fun Fact: All of the restrictions on abortion that states have been passing over the past decade are medically unnecessary.
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Additionally,
@ewarren is pushing for a guarantee of reproductive health coverage as part of all health coverage and repealing the Hyde Amendment which makes it so those who are on Medicaid aren't able to use their insurance to pay for an abortion.Show this thread -
Financial and logistical barriers to abortion are some of the most difficult for abortion patients to overcome. This means people who have health insurance cannot use it when they're trying to get an abortion—but they can if they're continuing a pregnancy. It's discrimination.
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@ewarren has also spoken about the actions we as a nation need to take to end clinic violence, which can harm patients seeking care, creates violent workplaces for clinic employees, and has led to the murder of so many by several anti-abortion activists.Show this thread -
She's also given full throated support for the fight for reproductive justice and ensuring that Black and Brown folks are at the center of this work and creating the solutions.https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1220103871017705473?s=21 …
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Of course I was really interested in
@ewarren with these plans, but I wanted to#AskAboutAbortion myself because as an expert in this field, I have different questions that I want answers to than the moderators will ask or campaigns generally talk about. So for@Playboy I did.Show this thread -
For
@Playboy, I emailed all of the candidates to ask their stance on abortion access and reproductive justice; everything from self-managed abortion to supporting pregnant and parenting teens. Article: https://www.playboy.com/read/voting-on-the-future-of-abortion-access … Full answers:https://medium.com/@RBraceySherman/why-i-asked-about-abortion-for-playboy-88c175632cfa …Show this thread -
Only four candidates replied to my multiple inquiries for the piece, and not all of the candidates replied to all of my questions on the first go around.
@ewarren did. In her answers, 2 things stuck out to me: her understanding criminalization & supporting pregnant young people.Show this thread -
@ewarren's answer about criminalization was clear; not only did she understand that providers are being targeted for criminalization, but also that abortion patients are as well—particularly those who are self-managing their abortions.https://medium.com/@RBraceySherman/why-i-asked-about-abortion-for-playboy-88c175632cfa …Show this thread -
Additionally, she was able to give a clear answer that she does not support laws that require young people to notify or get consent from their parents when they want an abortion, and would ensure her Dept. of Education supports the needs of pregnant and parenting young people.
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Politicians often frame "teen pregnancy" as a moral failure in society and place a disproportionate amount of shame on young people, but also refuse to support parenting young people in their communities and school. This is important to me for a candidate understand.
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Lastly, I appreciate that
@ewarren understood that some people who want abortions won't be able to get them, thus, we need to upend our economic system to ensure they have the supports they need in our communities. She simply gets it and has a plan for that.Show this thread -
I am a huge supporter of
@JulianCastro too because he talked about reproductive justice, and the impact racism and classism has on abortion access. He's also talked about ensuring trans people have access to healthcare, including abortion. I'm glad they're working together.Show this thread -
All that to say, Iowans, If you care about abortion access, caucus for
@ewarren tomorrow. She truly does have a plan for that. Love, A Fellow MidwesternerShow this thread -
You can read
@ewarren plans here: https://elizabethwarren.com/plans/action-to-protect-choice … And you can read the candidates answers to my questions here:https://medium.com/@RBraceySherman/why-i-asked-about-abortion-for-playboy-88c175632cfa …Show this thread
End of conversation
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