Post-Roe Actions

Like many of you, I am reeling after the overturning of Roe v Wade. It is an attack on our democracy and we will not stand for it. Some thoughts.

Background

By overturning Roe v Wade, SCOTUS removed any federal protections for abortion access. This means all access to abortion will be determined by each individual state. Immediately after the decision, many states had “trigger laws” which became effective and banned all abortion. There are no exceptions for rape, incest, health of the mother or health of the fetus. There is just no abortion allowed. In many other states, including Ohio, “heartbeat bills” went into effect. This means abortion is only legal until a “fetal heartbeat” is detected, which is usually around 6 weeks. “Fetal heartbeat” is a misnomer because it’s not actually a heartbeat, but as soon as this is detected, abortion is not permitted. I believe Ohio allows exceptions for if the mother’s life is in danger, but I cannot get confirmation on that. Ohio does not allow exceptions for rape or incest. 

Additionally, in a concurring opinion filed by Justice Clarence Thomas, he indicated the rights originally established by Roe were not protected under the 14th Amendment Due Process Clause and that the idea of “substantive due process” was an oxymoron. As such, he believes SCOTUS should re-examine all cases where individual liberties were granted under the idea of substantive due process. He specifically named three cases – Griswold (right to contraception), Obergefell (same-sex marriage), and Lawrence (right to same-sex sexual relations). Though Justice Alito seemed to indicate these rights were safe, there is growing concern that several of the conservative justices, including Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett (all Trump appointees) “purposely misled” the public during their confirmation hearings. All of these justices indicated the need to consider precedent in deciding new cases, including a commitment to stare decisis. The overturning of Roe, which has previously been re-affirmed in subsequent cases, shows the justices are not committed to stare decisis.

Having said all of that, we are now living in a time where safe abortion is basically illegal. There is a growing fear that other individual liberties not enumerated in the Bill of Rights will also be under attack in the near future. The time to act is now. I have been scrolling through Facebook a lot lately. While my friends list is pretty cultivated to exclude those with conservative views, it is also full of people who don’t post much about politics. While I can probably assume they voted for Hillary and Biden, I can’t know for sure. I assume they support same-sex marriage, but they don’t post rainbow flags, so I can’t be sure. However, my feed is FULL of previously non-political people posting and they are PISSED. There are men and women, there are people with 5 kids and people with 0 kids, there are people I’ve known since elementary school and people I’ve known less than a year… and they are all PISSED. They are furious that women no longer have a choice in their reproductive health. They are posting things like “abort the court”, checking in to protests, sharing “I’m with her” graphics and lamenting how their daughters have less rights than their grandmothers did in the 70s. This act has taken our anger to a whole new level. This is beyond the women’s march at Trump’s inauguration, this is beyond pussy hats and clever chants. This is righteous anger and indignation and fury. So what can we do?

State Representatives 

I have drafted a short letter and sent it to every Ohio Republican representative at the state level, House and Senate.

Dear Rep,

I am writing to express my anger at the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade. This rolls back over 50 years of progress in women’s rights. Women are no longer able to make their own decisions on reproductive healthcare. Worse, there are no longer any protections for victims of rape or incest, or situations where the mother’s life is in danger. This is not about saving babies, this is about control over women. If it were about saving babies, we would have expanded Medicaid, child care subsidies, free diapers, free formula, universal pre-k, and better foster care systems with easier access to adoption.

America is no longer the greatest country in the world. We are a third world country with iPhones. It is time to listen to the will of the people. I urge you to overturn the “Heartbeat Bill” in Ohio, which prohibits abortions after 6 weeks and does not allow for any exceptions. Studies show over 65% of the country supports the protections in Roe. If we cannot trust our representatives to listen to the people, we will vote you out. 

I signed each letter “Kristen Angelo, constituent from Walbridge, Ohio”

I sent this note to the following people:

Rep1@OhioHouse.gov – Scott Wiggam

Rep2@OhioHouse.gov – Marilyn John

Rep3@OhioHouse.gov – Haraz Ghanbari

Rep4@OhioHouse.gov – Robert Cupp

Rep5@OhioHouse.gov – Timothy Ginter

Rep7@OhioHouse.gov – Thomas Patton

Rep23@OhioHouse.gov – Laura Lanese

Rep27@OhioHouse.gov – Thomas Brinkman Jr

Rep29@OhioHouse.gov – Cindy Abrams

Rep30@OhioHouse.gov – Bill Seitz

Rep36@OhioHouse.gov – Bob Young

Rep38@OhioHouse.gov – Bill Roemer

Rep40@OhioHouse.gov – Phil Plummer

Rep41@OhioHouse.gov – Andrea White

Rep42@OhioHouse.gov – Tom Young

Rep43@OhioHouse.gov – Rodney Creech

Rep47@OhioHouse.gov – Derek Merrin

Rep48@OhioHouse.gov – Scott Oelslager

Rep50@OhioHouse.gov – Reggie Stoltzfus

Rep51@OhioHouse.gov – Sara Carruthers

Rep52@OhioHouse.gov – Jennifer Gross

Rep53@OhioHouse.gov – Thomas Hall

Rep54@OhioHouse.gov – Paul Zeltwanger

Rep55@OhioHouse.gov – Gayle Manning

Rep57@OhioHouse.gov – Dick Stein

Rep59@OhioHouse.gov – Al Cutrona

Rep61@OhioHouse.gov – Jamie Callender

Rep62@OhioHouse.gov – P Scott Lipps

Rep63@OhioHouse.gov – Mike Loychik

Rep65@OhioHouse.gov – Jean Schmidt

Rep66@OhioHouse.gov – Adam Bird

Rep67@OhioHouse.gov – Kris Jordan

Rep68@OhioHouse.gov – Shawn Stevens

Rep69@OhioHouse.gov – Sharon Ray

Rep70@OhioHouse.gov – Darrell Kick

Rep71@OhioHouse.gov – Mark Fraizer

Rep72@OhioHouse.gov – Kevin Miller

Rep73@OhioHouse.gov – Brian Lampton

Rep74@OhioHouse.gov – Bill Dean

Rep75@OhioHouse.gov – Gail Pavliga

Rep76@OhioHouse.gov – Diane Grendell

Rep77@OhioHouse.gov – Jeff LaRe

Rep78@OhioHouse.gov – Brian Stewart

Rep79@OhioHouse.gov – J Kyle Koehler

Rep80@OhioHouse.gov – Jena Powell

Rep81@OhioHouse.gov – James Hoops

Rep82@OhioHouse.gov – Craig Riedel

Rep83@OhioHouse.gov – Jon Cross

Rep84@OhioHouse.gov – Susan Manchester

Rep85@OhioHouse.gov – A Nino Vitale

Rep86@OhioHouse.gov – Tracy Richardson

Rep87@OhioHouse.gov – Riordan McClain

Rep88@OhioHouse.gov – Gary Click

Rep89@OhioHouse.gov – DJ Swearingen

Rep90@OhioHouse.gov – Brian Baldridge

Rep91@OhioHouse.gov – Shane Wilkin

Rep92@OhioHouse.gov – Mark Johnson

Rep93@OhioHouse.gov – Jason Stephens

Rep94@OhioHouse.gov – Jay Edwards

Rep95@OhioHouse.gov – Don Jones

Rep96@OhioHouse.gov – Ron Ferguson

Rep97@OhioHouse.gov – Adam Holmes

Rep98@OhioHouse.gov – Brett Hudson Hillyer

Rep99@OhioHouse.gov – Sarah Fowler Arthur

McColley@OhioSenate.gov – Rob McColley

Gavarone@OhioSenate.gov – Theresa Gavarone

Lang@OhioSenate.gov – George Lang

Antani@OhioSenate.gov – Niraj Antani

Wilson@OhioSenate.gov – Steve Wilson

Blessing@OhioSenate.gov – Louis Blessing

Hackett@OhioSenate.gov – Bob Hackett

Manning@OhioSenate.gov – Nathan Manning

Johnson@OhioSenate.gov – Terry Johnson

Kunze@OhioSenate.gov – Stephanie Kunze

Peterson@OhioSenate.gov – Bob Peterson

Cirino@OhioSenate.gov – Jerry Cirino

Brenner@OhioSenate.gov – Andrew Brenner

Schaffer@OhioSenate.gov – TIm Schaffer

Romanchuk@OhioSenate.gov – Mark Romanchuk

Dolan@OhioSenate.gov – Matt Dolan

Reineke@OhioSenate.gov – Bill Reineke

Roegner@OhioSenate.gov – Kristina Roegner

Schuring@OhioSenate.gov – Kirk Schuring

Hoagland@OhioSenate.gov – Frank Hoagland

Hottinger@OhioSenate.gov – Jay Hottinger

OBrien@OhioSenate.gov – Sandra O’Brien

Rulli@OhioSenate.gov – Michael Rulli

HuffmanM@OhioSenate.gov – Matt Huffman

HuffmanS@OhioSenate.gov – Stephen Huffman

**Important note** All 99 Ohio House seats are up for election this year. In the Ohio Senate, 17 of the 33 seats will be up for election. The primaries are to be held on August 2, with the general election on November 8. 

Federal Representatives

I drafted the following letter and sent it to my reps from Ohio at the federal level: 

Dear Rep,

I am writing to urge you to codify the protections from Roe v Wade. All birthing people should have the right to choose whether or not they want to be pregnant. These protections need to last longer than a few weeks. Some people don’t even learn about their pregnancies until several weeks after their missed period. Some states don’t even grant a short window. It’s ridiculous.

The Civil War was fought over states rights and the South lost. We are the United States of America. Federal law should be there to protect the rights of its citizens, in all states, including those who forget who won the Civil War. It is beyond time to amend the archaic constitution so it reflects the times we live in. Over 65% of the country supports a woman’s right to choose. It’s time to make it an unalienable right. 

Kristen Angelo, constituent from Walbridge, Ohio

This note was sent to the following people. Unfortunately I couldn’t find email addresses so I could only contact via the website using my own zip code:

Sherrod Brown (statewide)

Rob Portman (statewide)

Bob Latta (43465)

Providing Abortion Assistance

Many people have been making posts offering to host people who need to go “camping” in their state as code for assisting with abortions. While this is most noble and thoughtful, please don’t do this. There are already established networks who provide these services through vetted, trusted partners. It’s ok if your best friend from high school needs your help, but I would advise against helping strangers. It is entirely possible this could be a sting operation and you could find yourself in a courtroom charged with something. You would have no protection available beyond what you yourself could afford. If you are serious about offering rides, housing, or financial assistance, please donate to or contact a trusted organization. If you are seeking assistance obtaining an abortion, please contact a local organization or trusted friend for assistance.

I highly recommend the Agnes Reynolds Jackson Fund. Over 90% of funds raised go directly to assisting people obtain safe abortions. You can donate money or you can assist with fundraisers and other events. They have plans to create a network of drivers and homes, but that is still some time off. https://www.aggiefund.org/ 

The Midwest Access Coalition provides abortion access support across the Midwest. They are not currently accepting volunteers, but are still raising much needed funding to support their mission.  https://midwestaccesscoalition.org/ 

The Chicago Abortion Fund provides abortion support and access in Illinois and the greater Midwest. They attempt to assist 100% of callers, no matter their financial situation, location, or age. Their website includes a lot of great resources regarding pre and post abortion care, FAQs, and other items of interest. https://www.chicagoabortionfund.org/ 

Voting Information

The single most important thing you can do is VOTE. Verify your voter registration at this link: https://voterlookup.ohiosos.gov/voterlookup.aspx. Ensure your name is spelled correctly and your address is correct. Check this before EVERY election. I don’t care if you just voted in May. Check again before the August 2 primary. And after you vote in August, check again before the deadline for the general election on November 8. If anything is incorrect, contact your county board of elections immediately to get it corrected. If you are not registered to vote, visit this link https://olvr.ohiosos.gov/ to get registered. 

Other Ways to Help

There are a million ways to get involved so I’m just going to list some of my favorites here.

If you are in the Toledo area, I encourage you to connect with Toledo Persists (https://www.facebook.com/groups/toledoforwarren). They are a fabulous organization committed to resistance and persistence in saving our democracy. They plan marches, they campaign, they make calls, they hang out. It’s an amazing group. I was lucky to work with them last year on a fun project to put up anti-Trump billboards in Toledo. I remain involved as time permits.

I frequently write for Vote Forward (https://votefwd.org/) , which is an organization who sends letters to encourage people to get out and vote. This is a non-partisan group so you cannot tell people who to vote for or what issues to care about, but you can tell them why you vote. I usually keep it simple and say something like “Our voices deserve to be heard. Our elected officials should accurately represent the people.” These letters can be prepared throughout the year and are mailed at the end of October to arrive about a week before Election Day. You have to print your own letters and pay for the postage to send them out.

I also write with Postcards to Voters (https://postcardstovoters.org/) . They are a Democrat supporting organization who helps campaign for blue candidates. They focus on close races at the local level across the nation. I’ve written for city council races in Florida and supervisor elections in California. It all just depends on what candidates are asking for help. They offer postcards for purchase or you can purchase your own. You do have to cover the postage, but postcard stamps are about half the cost of mailing an envelope. 

I also encourage you to get involved with your local Democrat groups. They do a lot of great work at the local levels, including campaigning, voter registration, poll working opportunities, and fundraising. Especially if you live in a predominantly red area, it can create a sense of belonging to know there are others in the community who feel the way you do.

If you’ve read this far, I appreciate you. Remember to take time for yourself. This is a marathon, not a sprint. We are going to be fighting this fight for years. Pace yourself.