Fight back against Republican extremism

The unprecedented leak of a draft opinion from the Supreme Court on Monday night confirmed what we’ve been expecting and fearing for months: a hard-right Republican majority on the Supreme Court overturning decades of precedent and ending the constitutionally-protected right for everyone in the United States to receive an abortion. (Although it’s important to remember that this right has not been equally available to people across the country, either because of punitive restrictions like the Hyde Amendment or despicable strategies at the state level to prevent abortion providers from offering their services, for instance.)

Also, let’s not kid ourselves about where this stops. The Republicans, both on the Supreme Court and in Congress, will not be satisfied with merely undoing Roe v. Wade. They’ve already made it clear that they want to enact a nationwide ban on abortion. They’ve made it clear that they want to undo the Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which legalized gay marriage. They’ve made it clear that they want to undo Griswold v. Connecticut, which legalized contraception.

Right now, there’s not much we can expect Democrats to be able to do to stop the Republicans on the Supreme Court from doing any of this. Democrats have a zero-seat majority in the Senate, and at least two Democratic Senators, Manchin and Sinema, are unwilling to end the filibuster. Even if the filibuster vanished tomorrow, two Democratic Senators, Bob Casey and Joe Manchin, are staunchly anti-abortion.

This isn’t meant to make you feel hopeless; instead, we think it’s crucial that we’re honest with ourselves about what the situation is, and what options are available to us. That’s why we want to recommend that you take several quick actions today to fight back against Republican extremism:

Donate to an abortion fund, if you can afford it

Here’s an ActBlue page that divides donations across eighty funds: http://secure.actblue.com/donate/fundabortionnow?refcode=vsa

Or, if you want to target your donations, The Cut has a list of abortion funds by state: http://www.thecut.com/article/donate-abortion-fund-roe-v-wade-how-to-help.html

Help with a local Congressional race

The only way we are going to be able to preserve the right to an abortion is by holding the House and expanding Democrats’ Senate majority in November. Here are two immediate ways you can help:

1. Join the Seattle Indivisible Election Committee, either by emailing [email protected] or joining an upcoming phone bank or letter party http://www.mobilize.us/seattleindivisible/?org_ids=904

2. Democrats will not hold the House if Rep. Kim Schrier loses her seat. We can help the Schrier campaign today by volunteering or donating money here: http://www.drkimschrier.com

Tell local leaders that they need to fund abortion access

With the impending loss of access to abortion in 23 states across the country, we need to be ready to handle an influx of people seeking medical services banned in their home states. To that end, our local leaders need to step up with public funding commitments. It’s not totally clear yet where responsibility for this should actually fall, but that shouldn’t keep us from making ourselves heard on this early and often.

Call or email KC Executive Dow Constantine: 206-263-9600 or [email protected]

Sample script:

Hi, I’m a constituent in {CITY, ZIP}. When the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade next month, I want to make sure that King County is ready to provide funding for critical medical services, like abortion, to local groups like the Northwest Abortion Access Fund. Portland just gave this group $200,000. I hope King County is at least as generous.