Follow up info from Roe mobilization meeting
Recap of May 5, 2022 meeting
Follow up information!
Dear friends and neighbors,
Thank you for joining our mobilization meeting in person and virtually. As discussed, I am providing a follow up email to summarize what we discussed, along with links.
If Roe is overturned, it will not end there. Republican-led state legislatures are already surfacing additional extremist measures classifying abortion as homicide, making it illegal to cross state lines to obtain an abortion, and making Plan B illegal. Once Roe is overturned, anti-abortion activists are planning to file lawsuits to challenge existing legislation in blue states that protects abortion rights. Their end game is to end abortion access across the country.
The privacy argument made in the Alito brief would also have implications for other basic rights, like gay and interracial marriage!
There is talk about Congress codifying Roe. The House passed a measure to do so, but it does have 60 votes in the Senate to pass the filibuster. Nor are there the 50 votes in the Senate to limit the filibuster on this issue. The only legislative possibility is for President Biden to pass an executive order, but that would only last as long as Democrats control the White House.
Key races:
Midterms are in six months.
House of Representatives: Every member of the House is up for re-election. We hold a slim majority in the House. If your district is safely blue, consider volunteering to help in competitive districts. An organization called Swing Left can help direct you to volunteer.
Senate: 34 Senators are up for re-election — 20 Republicans and 14 Democrats. Currently the Senate split is 50–50, with Democrats having the majority with VP Harris as the tie breaker. The Senate is crucial!
Two Senators, Manchin and Sinema have held back progress on many measures, so picking up two seats would be incredibly helpful. Either way, we want to maintain a majority! We must keep competitive seats in AZ, GA, NM and NH blue, while trying to turn FL, NC, OH, WI and PA.
I put together a basket that will donate towards the most competitive races: Amy’s Keep the Senate Blue Basket. You can donate to the basket or pick and chose from it. I will add WI and PA once they pick their candidates in the primary.
Statewide Races: Trump is also putting forth candidates for Attorneys General, Secretaries of State and Governors in swing states that determine presidential elections. Last week as I hosted Michigan’s AG Dana Nessel and SoS Jocelyn Benson, they learned that the Trump-backed candidates, who support his lie that 2020 was stolen, were chosen in the GOP primary. If they win in November, they would be in a position to overturn 2024 results in their state. You can donate to Nessel and Benson here.
Trump has also backed candidates in other key states including PA, WI, AZ and GA, who back his lie that 2020 was stolen.
State Legislatures: the onerous abortion and anti-gay laws are put forward by state legislatures. Republicans have focused here for decades. To volunteer for state races, you can volunteer or donate to these two excellent organizations: The States Project or Sister District.
Grassroots Abortion Group:
In addition to the well known national groups that advocate on the issue of abortion and provide services, I would recommend donating to National Network of Abortion Funds. They are the grassroots on the ground orgs that have been preparing for this day!
Please share this email with your networks! I will email about future event.
Warmly, Amy Siskind
