We’ve known it was coming for so long that I honestly have nothing to say about it, but I do want to weigh in on one point: as usual the leftists on Twitter are saying that this is yet more proof that the Democrats are worthless and the political system in general has failed us, and voting doesn’t matter. And the liberals are saying wtf, you morons, the whole reason this happened was because you split the vote in ’16.
And hey, they’re both right! I mean, this was a foregone conclusion ever since Hillary lost, and had she won, it would not have happened. BUT she DID win the popular vote! People DID vote! And you can hardly ask people to seriously invest in a system in which the electoral college overrode the will of the people six years ago and there’s been nothing anyone could do ever since to stop this, despite the fact that the majority of Americans think first trimester abortion should be legal and always have, but their opinions and what they want literally do not matter, and all this hinges on the fact that a couple ancient wizards in cloaks who weren’t elected died at an inconvenient time. Like, we’re supposed to invest in a system where two Senators can hold the whole country hostage and there’s not a damn thing anybody can do about it? Not to mention that even liberals agree that your vote literally does not matter unless you live in one of a handful of areas. Please do not try to tell me that spending ten minutes of my precious time every day over the past six years filling up all ten of Ted Cruz’s voicemail machines in offices he has never once visited would have made one goddamn bit of difference to this outcome.
I mean, look, I’m not saying I’m going to stop voting, I’m just saying, you cannot blame people for concluding that political action isn’t especially effective.
Anyway, if you’re moved to do something that really does make a difference, I can attest that donating to local abortion funds really, really does matter. It makes a difference in real people’s lives. After SB8 you all sent so much money to Lilith Fund that we’ve been able to fully pay for almost everyone’s abortions who have contacted us ever since. Every day now, we are able to tell a woman who was laid off in the pandemic and is unemployed with five kids and no healthcare and who just found out that she has to travel out of state that at least her abortion is paid for. So many of our clients burst into tears in relief.
I think some people don’t realize how fucking expensive it is to get an abortion. Before SB8, the least you would pay for the earliest possible abortion in Texas with a needs-based adjustment from the clinic was $550 and that was just for a pill you can take at home. Now you have to pay more than that plus enough gas at inflation prices to get you to Albuquerque and back, and a hotel room. People need your money.
And don’t forget practical care funds, because travel costs are super expensive and abortion funds don’t pay for those, but there are many orgs that do (such as Fund Texas Choice, New Mexico Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and many more). This is a good site to find abortion funds. I would not recommend giving to Planned Parenthood, because they’re going to be unable to provide abortions in the affected states and they do not help people to travel. (Also, they do shit like this.)
Also, if you want a good person on the ground to follow for updates on all this, I recommend Dr. Moayedi, who is an abortion provider here in Texas who’s been doing this work for awhile now and won’t be stopping anytime soon.
Accismus 