Enough! Stop it! Stop the bitching. Instead, take action! [View all]

[wackadoo wabbit]

Listen, I'm as unhappy as all of you regarding tonight's Texas abortion decision. (And, believe me, deciding not to stay this law was indeed a decision.)

But I've been seeing posts saying, Oh, if only we won the 2016 election. Jill Stein and her followers are scum. Susan Sarandon is horrible. Etc., etc. These posts have been going on for a while; it's not just tonight.

I get it. It's easier to feel anger than it is to feel grief and/or powerlessness.

But sorry, this sort of thinking changes nothing.

Hey, if Al Gore became president in 2000 (I do believe he actually won), imagine how different things would be today.

If Jimmy Carter hadn't had his second presidential term stolen out from under him by Reagan's deal with Iran, what sorts of wonderful things might he have been able to do.

If Bobby Kennedy hadn't been assassinated and had won the 1968 election, what sorts of great things might have happened.

Hell, as long as we're doing this, if only the founders had put equal rights for women and people of color (and banned slavery, of course) in the original Constitution, just imagine what things would be like.

How far back do you want to go? And what good does any of it do?

We need to be clear-eyed enough to see the situation as it is now! And to take action as we can.

Here are some things that you can do today:


— First, make sure that every woman in Texas is aware of the AidAccess website: aidaccess.org/

AidAccess.org offers low-cost abortion pills by mail that are sent in anonymous packaging.

So post info about AidAccess.org on all of your social media. Tell friends who live in Texas. Tell friends who know women who live in Texas. Just get the word out.

Support AidAccess too, if you can: aidaccess.org/en/page/301373/support-aid-access

Honestly, they're doing righteous work.


— Join and donate to Planned Parenthood: www.plannedparenthood.org/

This should go without saying.


— Join and donate to the ACLU: www.aclu.org


'Nuff said.


— Join and donate to NARAL (the National Abortion Rights Action League): www.prochoiceamerica.org

More 'nuff said.


— If you live in a state that borders Texas (or even one far away), consider becoming an Auntie: old.reddit.com/r/auntienetwork/

Aunties help women who want to obtain abortions in a number of ways: you could drive a woman to an abortion clinic in your state, you could accompany one for moral support, you could let one use your mailing address for AidAccess pills if they don't have an address, etc.

If mailing medical abortion pills becomes illegal in Texas — and there's absolutely no reason to think that it won't; see Texas SB 4 — you could volunteer to have the pills sent to your house, where you'd repackage them and then send them on to the Texas woman.


Donate to Fund Texas Choice: fundtexaschoice.org

They fund and provide travel assistance for Texas women who want to obtain an abortion, even — and now, especially — if it's out of state.

I learned about this group by watching Rachel's show tonight. She also had on a woman from the only extant abortion clinic in the ? valley of Texas. I didn't catch the name when I watched the show, and I forgot to watch it the second time it aired. If anyone remembers the name of this clinic, please let me know so I can add it to this list.


— Donate to the abortion fund of your choice at the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/funds/

There are currently 10 funds listed in Texas. To be honest, I'm not sure what they're going to do after tonight's decision, but you could always contact them to find out.


— Finally, and equally important, what did you do today to ensure that the For the People Act passes in the Senate?

As long as states can restrict voting, Republican-controlled states will continue to restrict women's access to safe, legal abortion, too. So what did you do today? Did you call both of your senators? If not, why not?

How about yesterday? How about tomorrow? Have you asked your friends and relatives to call, too?

Both senators need to be called daily until this bloody bill gets passed. Do what you can to ensure that it happens.


There are many more actions that we can take to help women in Texas, and to ultimately help all of us. I know there are many, many things that I've left off of this list. I'd love it if people could post more actions that we could take.

Our actions matter!



edited to add additional information