Stop Prosecuting Abortion
‘Pro-Life’ Members of Congress Must Denounce Jail Time for Abortion
Congressman Steve King Must Get Real About His Anti-Abortion Agenda
Emergency: Congressman Advocates Punishment for Abortion
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‘Pro Life’ People Who Want to Punish Women for Abortions
Susan B. Anthony List Supporters on Punishing Women for Abortions
Congressman Wright Doubles Down on Abortion Comments, Calls Woman “Idiot”
Congressman Steve King Must Get Real About His Anti-Abortion Agenda
Students for Life on Punishment for Abortion
Congressman Rob Wittman (R-VA) Ignores Women, Fails to Condemn Jail Time for Abortion
Anti-Abortion Leaders on Criminalization of Abortion
Congressman Wants Jail for Women Who Have Abortions
Criminalization for Abortion?
‘Pro-Life’ Members of Congress on Jail Time for Abortion
The logical consequence of abortion bans is sending people to jail. The ‘pro-life’ movement has worked for decades to overturn Roe v. Wade and continues to try to make abortion illegal nationwide. [1] This has particular urgency today with more anti-abortion lawmakers trying to criminalize or even sentence people to death for having abortions. [2-3]
‘Pro-life’ leaders paint people who have abortions as being pressured by the “abortion industry” [3-6] and want to punish abortion providers for providing necessary health care. But, what have they said in cases where women are both the patient and the abortion provider?
In a gross violation of their human rights, people who self-manage their own abortions are already facing punishment. As we’ve outlined in our self-managed abortion campaign, there are many reasons a person may choose to self-manage their abortion, including a desire to have an abortion at home. Yet even before Roe fell, women were already being sent to jail for self-managing their own abortions in many states [7].
In Indiana, Purvi Patel was sentenced to 20 years in prison for self-managing her own abortion in 2015 [8]. While her sentence was eventually reduced, Patel is not alone, and she should have never faced this indignity. No one should, yet there have been cases all over the country that punish women for pregnancy outcomes [9-12]. This was happening while abortion was still technically legal, and now we are seeing what anti-abortion advocates wanted all along: jailing or even suggestions to kill people for having abortions. Though some segments of the ‘pro-life’ movement still try to deny this is their goal, we decided to ask them, and the results are disturbing.
You can see for yourself by watching our videos showcasing what ‘pro-life’ leaders, followers, and legislators have to say about criminalizing people who have abortions. Their responses are telling and their actions (or lack thereof) speak volumes.
It’s time to stop putting people in jail for abortion. Tell anti-abortion lawmakers to put down the handcuffs by watching and sharing our video campaign and signing our pledge to hold ‘pro-life’ leaders accountable.
Sources:
- https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-inflation-us-supreme-court-health-7ea4f8fa597c97042503d856a082ef94
- https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/20/politics/abortion-bans-murder-charges-invs/index.html
- https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/south-carolina-death-penalty-abortion-1234695566/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/31/us/politics/donald-trump-abortion.html
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/abortion-rights-activists-brace-for-new-wave-of-restrictions/
- https://www.frc.org/op-eds/the-abortion-industry-a-study-in-predation
- https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/8f83e4_dd27a51ce72e42db8b09eb6aab381358.pdf
- https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/22/purvi-patel-abortion-sentence-reduced
- https://www.nirhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Massachusetts-White-Paper.pdf
- https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/nyregion/05abortion.html
- https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/05/virginia-woman-given-a-jail-sentence-for-concealing-a-dead-body-after-her-stillbirth.html
- https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=150312812
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Campaign Coverage
No, Students for Life. Abortion Does Not Cause Pollution. Please Stop Lying.
Decades of corporate greed have caused real, verifiable harm to the environment; attempting to shift the blame from the negligent corporations responsible for this damage to individuals and prescribers makes it clear that Students for Life’s concern isn’t the environment, but their own violent agenda.
Banning Abortion Encourages Criminalization – Whether ‘Pro-Life’ Leaders Admit It or Not
The truth is that even those who claim to be opposed to punishing people who have abortions are working towards a future where that punishment is increasingly common
The Anti-Abortion Movement is Working to Criminalize Abortion Pills
It’s especially notable that Ms. Hawkins’s own national spokesperson and senior ambassador Autumn Higashi said on video, “If a woman kills a child outside the womb, then I think that she should be prosecuted for that. So, if a woman kills a child inside the womb, then I don’t think that there’s any difference.”
Fight for Access to Reproductive Care Heats Up
The logical consequence of banning abortion is and always has been sending people to jail for pregnancy outcomes, including but not limited to self-managed abortions taking place outside of medical settings. Poor people and women of color will be targeted most.
In New Video, Congressman Rob Wittman (R-VA) Fails to Denounce Women Going to Jail for Abortion
New video footage shows Congressman Rob Wittman (R-VA) failing to denounce women going to jail for self-managed abortion.
New Reproaction Video Shows Congressman Ron Wright (R-TX) Doubling Down on His Controversial Abortion Comments, Calling Woman “Idiot”
Wright doubled down on his desire to punish abortion providers including those women who self-manage their own abortions
Women Should ‘Absolutely’ be Punished for Having Abortions, Texas lawmaker Says on Video
“Of course they should,” the 66-year-old said on the video released by Reproaction, which has drawn national media attention.
Women Who Have Abortions Deserve to be 'Punished' with Prison Sentence, Says Republican
Representative Ron Wright, who was elected in 2018, responds to questions about whether or not women who induce their own abortions should be punished with jail in a video released by abortion access advocacy group Reproaction.
Reproaction Responds to Congressman Ron Wright: Stop Lying; You Told Us You Think Women Should Go to Jail for Abortion
When he spoke with us, he plainly endorsed sending women to jail for abortion.
Abortion Opponents Think They’re Going to Win. They’re Wrong.
Abortion pills, including mifepristone and misoprostol, have been used to end pregnancies in the United States for more than 20 years.
Should Women be Punished for Having Abortions? 'Absolutely,' Arlington Rep. Ron Wright Says in Video
Reproaction, an abortion rights advocacy group, published a video May 30 asking Wright what he thought of women going to jail for self-managed abortions.
Should Women be Punished for Having Abortions? 'Absolutely,' Arlington Rep. Ron Wright Says in Video
Reproaction, an abortion rights advocacy group, published a video May 30 asking Wright what he thought of women going to jail for self-managed abortions.
Texas Republican Says Women Should ‘Absolutely’ Be Jailed For Having An Abortion
In a video released by abortion access advocacy group Reproaction on May 30, Rep. Ron Wright (R-Texas), who was elected in 2018, responds to questions about whether or not women who induce their own abortions should be punished with jail.
Reproaction Protests Anti-Abortion Susan B. Anthony List Gala
Reproaction protests the criminalization of abortion as Nikki Haley attempts to redefine feminism to include a movement stripping women of their human rights and punishing them.
Reproaction Hosts Press Conference Discussing Virginia’s Anti-Abortion Activity
Reproaction co-founder and co-director Erin Matson hosted speakers Tarina Keene, executive director NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, and Sharon Kann, reproductive rights director for Media Matters for America on a call-in press conference to discuss Virginia’s anti-abortion activity including anti-abortion zealotry leading to suspicion and punishment of women for a variety of pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage; as well as the pitiful state of abortion access today, the rampant pro-life harassment occurring against abortion providers, people who have abortion, and policymakers who support them, and Reproaction’s demand to stop prosecuting self-managed abortion in the United States.
Reproaction Hosts Press Conference Discussing Missouri’s Regressive Abortion Laws
Reproaction co-founder and co-director Pamela Merritt hosted speakers Indra Lusero, staff attorney for National Advocates for Pregnant Women, Missouri State Representative Stacey Newman, and a Gateway Women’s Access Fund board member on a call-in press conference to discuss Missouri’s limited access to abortion, the state’s history of policing and incarcerating women, and the Supreme Court now having a 5-4 anti-abortion majority poised to strike down or gut Roe v. Wade and how it puts women at risk.
Stop Prosecuting Abortion!
Our Stop Prosecuting Abortion campaign discusses the real-life consequences of punishing women for pregnancy outcomes, and backs it up with innovative actions to help this country change course.
The State of Roe v. Wade: Lynn Paltrow
The Laura Flanders Show featured the first video from our Stop Prosecuting Abortion campaign