Abortion

Today, Arkansas's legislature passed a law banning abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy, when a fetal heartbeat can be detected by abdominal ultrasound. This "Human Heartbeat Protection Act" has now become the strictest abortion law in the United States. This comes a day after Mississippi lawmakers proposed a Personhood ballot initiative that defines life as beginning at conception. This would ban most abortions and could outlaw some types of birth control and in vitro fertilization.

January may have been the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, but 40 years later, bills that are unconstitutional thanks to that decision are still being proposed (and even passing). Arkansas and Mississippi are just two of several Republican-run states making a big push in 2013 to ban abortions with bills targeting women's reproductive rights.

President of the Center For Reproductive Rights Nancy Northup spoke with Rachel Maddow earlier this year about why these state-run attacks against abortion matter. States like North Dakota and Mississippi are in the process of closing down the last abortion clinics standing — currently there's only one remaining in each — essentially preventing a woman's constitutional right to having an abortion in those states. And these bills are spreading across the country, a scary trend for women's rights advocates. If you're concerned about your right to choose, take a cue from a group of Kansas college students who are proactively lobbying state legislators to prevent stricter abortion regulations.

Below is a state-by-state breakdown of the bills being brought to the table so far in 2013:

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the legalization of abortion in the United States, thanks to Roe v. Wade. In honor of this landmark decision, two abortion clinic workers took to Reddit with an IAmA ("I am a") AMA ("ask me anything"), inviting people to ask them any questions they had about their experiences. The women describe their background as working at "two different Midwestern, independent (non-Planned Parenthood) feminist clinics, both in strongly antichoice states." They gave some insightful answers about what it's like working in a clinic and what abortion is like in modern America. See some of their most intriguing responses below:

Why do most people you encounter decide to get abortions?

A lot of reasons, really — I don't think there's a typical story. Many of them are already mothers, struggling to care for their existing children. Others are very young and not at all ready to begin a family. Some have been raped; some are in abusive relationships. Really, it's all sorts of things.

What's the most common misconception about abortions?

That clinics are dirty and that we hate babies. Neither is true.

Is there any situation in which you would counsel a woman to not get an abortion?

Sure. If she doesn't want to have an abortion, if someone is pressuring her and she really wants to continue the pregnancy, anything like that. My job really is just to be someone to listen to her and support her decisions.

What do [antiabortion protesters] yell?

Keep reading to find out the answer to this question and more.

Last weekend we were able to chat with Sarah Silverman about her involvement with the Draw the Line campaign, started by the Center For Reproductive Rights to "guarantee and protect reproductive rights as fundamental human rights and stop the attacks by politicians who want to take those rights away." And while we often see opinions on women's issues — especially abortion and contraception — divided along party lines, Sarah told us she believes reproductive rights are a nonpartisan issue:

[Draw the Line is] about women's reproductive rights and being able to be in control of your own body. I think that's, to me, a very nonpartisan issue — it's a women's issue or anyone who loves women. Abortion is a very small part of women's health and being able to have it be affordable to people. And I think it's money very well spent by the government, and that to shut that down would be a real disadvantage to a sex that is the majority of this country. I feel strongly about it. I don't think that women are farm animals; I think they're human people who deserve the same rights as men.

Sarah joins other famous ladies like Amy Poehler, Meryl Streep, and Kyra Sedgwick in her involvement with the Draw the Line movement, encouraging Americans to sign the Bill of Reproductive Rights. The bill includes the following rights:

• The right to make our own decisions about our reproductive health and future, free from intrusion or coercion by any government, group, or individual.
• The right to a full range of safe, affordable, and readily accessible reproductive health care, including pregnancy care, preventive services, contraception, abortion, and fertility treatment — and accurate information about all of the above.
• The right to be free from discrimination in access to reproductive health care or on the basis of our reproductive decisions.

This presidential election season Barack Obama and Mitt Romney need the women's vote to win in November, and one of the ways they'll get it is by addressing the issues we care about, like reproductive rights. Do you agree with Sarah that women's health care is a nonpartisan issue?

Last night on Saturday Night Live, Seth Meyers invited Arianna Huffington (played by Nasim Pedrad) to Weekend Update to discuss how Martha Raddatz did moderating the vice presidential debate last week. Nasim's Arianna answered that she loved seeing a woman moderator who was able to get VP Joe Biden and Paul Ryan to "put their penises away." But what really got us chuckling was when Seth brought up how Martha asked the men about abortion. After wondering aloud why Martha asked two men about a women's issue, Arianna responded, "If men could get pregnant, abortion clinics would be like Starbucks," adding that there would be two on every block, four in every airport, and the morning-after pill would come in different flavors like sea salt and cool ranch.

For more great lines from the skit (including why if you've ever watched a Lifetime movie, you'll stay away from Ryan), watch the hilarious SNL clip now!

"I do not believe that we have a right to tell other people, women, that they can't control their body. It's a decision between them and their doctor," Vice President Joe Biden said tonight when debate moderator Martha Raddatz asked both vice presidential candidates how their Catholic faith informs their positions on abortion. Biden explained that he has been a practicing Catholic his whole life and that he accepts his church's teaching that life begins at conception, but that he would never impose his belief on the country. The vice president also made the case that Roe v. Wade and thus abortion rights would be in jeopardy if a Romney/Ryan ticket were elected and subsequently appointed conservative Supreme Court justices.

Congressman Paul Ryan for his part made it clear that he is squarely pro-life and would support banning abortion with few exceptions. "It's not simply because of my Catholic faith," he said, "it's also because of reason and science." And it's also personal. Ryan explained that when his wife, Janna, got pregnant, they noticed on the ultrasound that the baby looked like a bean. He said: "We saw that heartbeat. A little baby was in the shape of a bean. And to this day, we have nicknamed our firstborn child Liza 'Bean.' Now I believe that life begins at conception."

When Biden noted Ryan has opposed abortion in all instances, Ryan said: "If you believe that life begins at conception, that, therefore, doesn't change the definition of life." Yet Ryan conceded he would have to support Mitt Romney's policy of making an exception in the case of rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is a risk. When it came to Roe v. Wade, Ryan implied that he would favor overturning it, saying: "We don't think that unelected judges should make this decision; that people through their elected representatives in reaching a consensus in society through the democratic process should make this determination." Presumably he favors state legislatures or congress having the ability to pass abortion restrictions.

Considering the president has the power to appoint justices who could put Roe v. Wade and the right to abortion in the balance, moderator Martha Raddatz did women a service by asking the question. What did you make of the candidates' responses? And you can watch the clip of the abortion question when you read more.

If you're concerned about all the recent comments being made against women and their health rights by some of our country's politicians — i.e. Missouri Rep. Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" remarks and Georgia Rep. Terry England's recent comparison of women to farm animals — you may want to sign the Bill of Reproductive Rights. This bill is at the heart of the Center For Reproductive Rights' Draw the Line campaign, and is meant to let Congress and the president know that "they must guarantee and protect reproductive rights as fundamental human rights and stop the attacks by politicians who want to take those rights away." A slew of celebrities have showed their support for the campaign, including famous ladies like Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Meryl Streep, Lisa Kudrow, and Kyra Sedgwick. Visit DrawtheLine.org and watch the video now to learn more about the Bill of Reproductive Rights.