When you’re a woman of a certain age living in a red state, you honestly don’t have anything to lose.
Over the better part of the last decade, we’ve watched in complete horror as everything we were “hysterical” about in the early morning hours of November 8, 2016 has come to pass. I remember November 9 distinctly; I was inconsolable.
I was told over and again that I was blowing things out of proportion. It wouldn’t be that bad. It simply couldn’t be. There were guardrails, like the Constitution and Roe and the Senate.
Calm down, already, was the response.
Except that other women I locked eyes with that morning had the same knowing, panic-stricken look.
We knew.
Of course it turns out that my fears – our fears – were fully founded. Rational, even. The guardrails that institutionalists claimed would save us all are either completely obliterated, or have massive, structural cracks in them.
There wasn’t anything wrong with me for seeing the danger ahead. Heck, in hindsight I look like a genius. The problem was with the folks who didn’t listen to women like me – people who are living in red states, who could see the writing on the wall because it was written just above our heads.
It’s not like the Christian nationalists and MAGA wingnuts have been hiding their intentions. It’s that well-intentioned folks don’t want to believe that neighbors and fellow Americans would harbor those thoughts.
But being a woman in a red state (even if you’re in a blue district) means that you have to come to terms with the fact that not only are those folks out there breathing the same air as you. They’re the ones writing the policies that decide whether you live or die.
Last week, the Arizona Supreme Court decided to resurrect a Civil War-era abortion ban that was written before Arizona was even a state. In May, a 6-week abortion ban that was passed by the Florida state legislature will take effect because the state supreme court found there is no right to privacy in the state constitution, after all.
In response, a woman who had serious complications after being denied an abortion told Florida women: “Run,” she said. “Run, because you have no help here.”
It’s good advice, with a caveat.
Where do you run to?
Go look at this map and then tell me that we didn’t have every right and reason to be hysterical in the early morning hours of November 9.
(Image from the Guttmacher Institute (https://states.guttmacher.org/policies/))
You cannot look at that map, with entire regions awash in the telltale red that screams “you have no rights here,” and not understand that women are absolutely correct to be panicked.
Every woman in every one of those crimson-red states now lives with the nagging knowledge that, if push comes to shove, she might not get the healthcare that she needs. And I don’t just mean that she might not be able to obtain an abortion (which is healthcare).
I mean she might not get standard-of-care healthcare.
There are plenty of medical conditions that are not compatible with pregnancy. But, just for example’s sake, if you’re both pregnant and diagnosed with cancer, your care – and your life expectancy – will depend upon where you live. Researchers analyzing the impact of Dobbs believe that, on an annual basis, between 135 and 420 pregnant people will “receive suboptimal cancer care and might die” because they cannot obtain the abortion that they need to have in order to start treatment.
That’s around a person a day, give or take.
Imagine finding out that you’ve got aggressive cancer and urgently need to start chemotherapy – but you can’t, because you’re pregnant and your state legislature decided that you aren’t close enough to death to deserve an abortion.
That happens, every day.
But please, do tell me about being pro-life.
Up until Dobbs, you could be “pro-life” without consequence, because there was a constitutionally-protected right to abortion. You could second-guess other people’s decisions, be morally repugnant, and angry at the world that abortions are sometimes necessary.
Now, however, you have to consider the sticky bits. And darnit but it’s becoming clear that there’s nothing clear about reproductive healthcare – and that nobody but the person who’s pregnant and their medical team should be involved in the decision-making process.
That doesn’t seem to deter my two “pro-life” U.S. Senators. It’s jarring to know that the people who represent me in the so-called “world’s most deliberative body” don’t believe I have the right to control my own and actively work to restrict my freedom.
One of my Senators literally ran to the courthouse in his slippery office shoes after Dobbs came down so that he could be the first to take my constitutional rights away.
He was positively gleeful.
The other raised his fist in solidarity with insurrectionists.
It’s a fun time to be their constituent.
But – here’s the upside. (If you know me, you know there’s always an upside.)
Women in red states may be fed up and exhausted … but we’re also motivated and passionate – which is nothing short of miraculous, considering the pressure we’re under.
In 2022, already over half of the nominees for Missouri state house were women. This cycle it’s even better: 57% of the candidates are women. Missouri women are landing on the front page of the paper for standing in the crowds at Busch Stadium to get signatures to repeal the abortion ban. When my friend Jess went to a coffee shop in rural Missouri to get signatures for the same effort, a woman not only signed, but texted her whole Bible study to get them to come sign, too.
Every activist call that I’m on is packed with women. When I scroll, I see page after page of zoom profiles with women in their kitchens, on their porches, in their studies, in their cars.
They’re – we’re – everywhere.
Our motivation may be born of necessity, but it’s there and it’s very real.
Don’t tell us to calm down.
Ask us how to pitch in.
Let’s get to work.
Small Deeds to Do for the Week of April 16, 2024
Here’s the part where – if you are so inclined – we roll up our sleeves and engage in what I like to call Action Therapy. Peter Marshall once said “Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.” So each week I share a Small Thing to Read, a Small Event to Attend, and a Small Call to Make. Here’s the to-do list for April 16, 2024.
Small Thing(s) to Read
Two great Small Things to Read this week, friend, because I couldn’t decide between them.
The first is a great Brennan Center article about the racial disparity in voting, and how that gap has widened since the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby decision. This is a great piece, with a wonderful fact sheet at the beginning. A good one to bookmark and share in the future. Find it here.
The second is the updated version of the Freedom Over Fascism toolkit by Anat Shenker-Osorio at the Research Collaborative. DJT’s trial began today. And, “[a]s the trial unfolds, it’s imperative we talk about the intent behind and impact of Trump’s actions: to keep 2016 voters from finding out the truth so he could seize executive power. From the beginning, Trump lied to voters and meddled in elections, and he continued this pattern throughout his presidency.”
The Toolkit has been updated to include messaging advice about the trial – a worthy read.
You can read the updated Freedom Over Fascism toolkit here.
Small Event to Attend
(H/T to Jess Craven of Chop Wood Carry Water) Join The Civics Center on Thursday April 18 at 6PM ET to hear from Laura W. Brill, Founder and CEO, in conversation with political strategist and commentator Simon Rosenberg. The Civics Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides free training and resources to help make voter registration part of every high school in America. They’re working to register the youngest voters at their high schools before Election Day. With registration deadlines just a few months away, the 2024 high school graduation season is a critical time to ensure 18-year-olds are registered and ready to vote.
Registration increases the likelihood of youth turnout: 86% of registered youth turned out in 2020.
Register for All in for 18-Year-Olds: Laura Brill and Simon Rosenberg
Thursday: Join Run for Something’s New Political Research Team Training
Join RFS on Thursday at 8pm ET to learn more about their new Political Research Team. (RSVP)
Here’s what they have to say about the new initiative: As a member of our Political Research Team, you’ll play a crucial role behind the scenes by researching 2024 candidates before we make endorsement decisions. This work is essential for ensuring that we support the right individuals who align with our progressive values.
During the call, we’ll talk about the urgency of this, and we’ll dive into real-time training on how volunteers (like you!) will conduct research. No prior experience is needed—our team will train and support you in volunteering!
Recruiting and supporting thousands of candidates nationwide requires the collective effort of dedicated volunteers like you. Together, we can make a real difference in shaping the future of local politics.
Small Call to Make
Okay, friend – time to get out your phone for a quick call. At the risk of repeating ourselves… MAGA Republicans continue to hold up aid to Ukraine and Israel, and we’re seeing the impact. This is an issue of profound national security, and Johnson needs to bring it to the floor – where it will pass.
On Sunday night, 100 members of Congress (Democrats and Republicans) sent a letter to Johnson, imploring him to bring the aid package to the floor. Quite a few Democrats were notably absent, likely because the letter itself specifically referenced aid to Israel. But the package they are referring to is the $95 billion national security supplemental that includes military aid for Israel – plus Ukraine and Taiwan.
You can check at the link above to see if your Congresscritter signed the letter – but regardless, we need to keep up the pressure and help get Ukraine the funding it needs to keep fighting.
Script: Hi, my name is [your name] and I’m a constituent at [zip code]. I’m calling because I am really concerned about the holdup for the national security supplemental. We are leaving our allies high and dry, and that is harming our national security and our international reputation. What is the Congress(wo)man doing to bring this bill to the floor?
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Small Deeds Done 