If you’ve been following the #SCOTUShearings, you might have heard talk about threats to abortion if Barrett is confirmed — which is absolutely accurate.

But we need to be clear about some of the “we won’t go back” and “safe, legal, and rare” language some folks tend to use.

The coathanger narrative? Has got to go.

Self-managed abortion with w/pills is a thing! In fact, we just celebrated the 20th anniversary of the FDA’s approval of mifepristone! Medication abortion can be extremely safe and effective for SMA when taken according to directions.

As for “safe, legal, and rare” — you can throw “rare” in the ocean and watch it float allllllll the way to the bottom. There should be as many abortions as there need to be! “Rare” is filled with stigma, and we rebuke it!

“Safe and legal,” though — let’s talk.

No one should be criminalized for having an abortion, or helping someone have an abortion, or providing an abortion.

But safe doesn’t always = legal, and legal doesn’t automatically = safe.

In fact, conflating safe and legal perpetuates a whole bunch of narratives and stereotypes that shore up white supremacy, the criminal (in)justice system, and the carceral state.

Abortion should be safe and accessible, period. Everywhere. No matter what.

We need to #BlockBarrett for many reasons — certainly we fear that her confirmation would mark the end of abortion rights as we have historically thought of them.

But access to abortion has already been decimated across the country by abortion coverage bans, TRAP laws, and more.

Barrett, and the anti-abortion politicians and interest groups who support her, want to throw doctors and people who self-manage their abortions in jail. Criminalizing SMA hurts people who *already* face the most barriers to reproductive health care.

Access to clinical abortion has been under threat for years, and people who self-manage their care, or support someone else in doing so, have already been targeted by those who misapply the law.

We’re fighting back and doing proactive policy work to #DecriminalizeSMA.

If you’re a lawyer or legal professional and you want to get trained on how to support people who self-manage their care, add capacity for grassroots orgs, and bring an intersectional lens to your work, join If/When/How’s Repro Justice Lawyers Network! https://bit.ly/36RIRT4 

And *anyone* can help us spread the word about our Repro Legal Helpline for folks with questions about their legal rights and SMA, especially folks who fear they may be targeted by police or prosecutors: https://bit.ly/2sD9q9e