A note on abortion access; a podcast; three hype shirts; a fundraiser
Forgive some cross-promotion, please. I have some cool projects about abortion funds, and also a good Heavy Medical podcast at the bottom about the present & future of anti-choice and anti-welfare legislation, and how they can be bested.
A couple of years ago, a friend and I made a shirt that claimed Ted Cruz was the Zodiac Killer and sold it to raise money for an abortion fund in El Paso (the West Fund). It went relatively viral and we raised $69k for abortion access in west Texas.
At long last, as Cruz meekly shuffles around Texas stumping for the 2018 election, I have listened to the frequent emails asking for reprints. It's back! And we have two more shirts to go along with it!
what's going on?
A lot has happened since the first Ted Cruz shirt. Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt broke good in the Supreme Court, and now anti-choice legislation has pivoted to so-called "fetal health" protections instead of just the "life of the pregnant person." Anti-choicers attack both reproductive health supply (TRAP laws, which force abortion clinics to have unreasonable certifications; akin to forcing your dentist to be a Level I trauma center, or be shut down) and demand (mandatory waiting periods; large bureaucracies -- Crisis Pregnancy Centers -- that suck up federal and state funds in an effort to fool people who need abortion or steer them away from the care they want). When Obama was president, a lot of anti-choice legislation was a bit more pie-in-the-sky -- but now Trump's on top, and he's filling all the federal court vacancies that Obama didn't. For anti-choicers with an eye on getting a case before the federal circuit, nothing is forbidden anymore. The cost is, of course, the hyperregulation of women and pregnant people--especially those who are poor people, or people of color.
A few states away, Mississippi is experimenting with restrictive anti-choice legislation. There's only one abortion clinic in the state, in Jackson. People who need abortions in MS need to take off work and travel to the capitol (or out of state) and wait overnight--a restriction that mostly serves to shame and punish people who are already poor.
how do we help? how do we get those shirts?
So this time we're starting the fundraiser in Mississippi with a fund that helps people who need abortions get the resources they need for this basic piece of healthcare. If this fundraiser for the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund hits $6900, I will reopen the Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer shirt store. Plus, I'll add these two new shirt designs. (make sure images are enabled on this email)
want to learn more about anti-choice stuff?
If you're interested in learning more about anti-choice legislation, check out HEAVYxMEDICAL, a podcast my partner (a reproductive justice lawyer) and I put out. In our most recent episode, we talk about the present and future of anti-choice and anti-welfare legislation: what's happening now, what it means about the future, and how we can articulate a vision of a better world--then fight back and win. In the past we've discussed fetal protection laws, carceral healthcare, and federal single-payer.
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help this fundraiser for the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund hit $6900
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then i'll put three shirts on sale, including the Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer design. we have even better shirt material (bella canvas) this time. it's [chef-kiss] simply wonderful.
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proceeds from those shirts go to abortion funds in TX and MS
tim