We Helped Raise Almost $15k for Abortion Rights
The need is nationwide, and it is great. Even though some states are moving to protect abortion rights, others have rolled them back to practically zero access, while a stridently anti-abortion federal judge in Texas may be poised to curtail all US access to mifepristone (one of the two-drug "abortion pill" medications, which has other medical uses that will also be affected by this court case). Thanks to old-school Comstock Laws—the first passed in 1873, some still on the books--sending abortifacients through the mail is illegal, and this could easily be invoked to prevent people from mailing and receiving it.
Pro-choice legal and political strategies are ongoing--and so are those from anti-abortion activists. In the states that have made abortion practically impossible to obtain, even when pregnancy will threaten the life of the fetus or the birth parent, abortion funds have been busy trying to help pregnant people leave the state if they need to access the procedure. Laws are springing up to try to criminalize any support for abortion in anti-abortion states. In Idaho—and you can bet this will happen elsewhere—there are hospitals that have moved to shut down maternity wards to keep their staff members safe from legal threat.
As this demonstrates... abortion is health care! Access to abortion means life instead of death to some who are pregnant, and offers life opportunities to others. Not being able to access an abortion can have severe effects on mental and physical health and cause lifelong economic precarity. This is especially the case for Black, Brown, and Indigenous people who are pregnant (since racial disparities and economic status make all forms of health care more difficult for many to attain). Abortion saves lives. And it is a fundamental human right to access this care if we must not or choose not to continue a pregnancy, AND to make our own decisions whether to undergo an abortion.
Whether any given person would choose abortion at any point in their lives is not Good Vibes and Babeland's business. But it IS our business to help people understand their sexuality and their bodies. We carry toys and products for people who want more joy and pleasure in their lives, yes. But we also sometimes help pick up the pieces that result from lack of comprehensive sex education and access to birth control. This lack ensures that access to abortion is necessary. Beyond this, limiting any access to abortion care without making birth control and comprehensive sex and fertility information a universal priority is the height of hypocrisy. These things make abortion less necessary by helping to prevent unwanted pregnancy in the first place! Yet anti-abortion activists do not fight for them.
You've donated to support abortion rights and access. What else can we do? Speak up and speak out! Register to vote! Hold politicians accountable. Rage over the end of Roe v. Wade, many analysts think, powered an unexpected Blue Wave at the midterms. Let's keep that wave cresting. This fight is far from over.
While the current donation cycle has ended, we still have our limited-edition Julie Mollo clutches available, where a portion of proceeds from every sale goes directly to support the National Network of Abortion Funds.
