April 10, 2023
Protect access to medication abortion, stand with the #TennesseeTwo, investigate Justice Thomas, and more!
Contact all members of Congress:
By phone: (202) 224-3121
By email: democracy.io
By US mail: Representatives / Senators
By fax: Representatives / Senators
By Resistbot: Resist.bot
Contact White House or other federal agencies:
PROTECT ACCESS TO MEDICATION ABORTION FROM TRUMP JUDGES
Late on Friday Trump-appointed extremist judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued a bombshell ruling that the Food and Drug Administration improperly approved the abortion pill drug mifepristone, and ordered that approval suspended. This would be a severe blow to abortion access if seen through: more than half of all abortions in this country are done via medication, and the mifepristone/misoprostol combination was used for 98% of medication abortions in 2020. The decision is also believed to be the first time an American court has suspended drug approval over the objection of the FDA. For the moment, nothing has changed: Kacsmaryk’s ruling is stayed for seven days, the Justice Department has already announced it will appeal, and another federal judge also issued a ruling Friday night requiring the status quo in FDA approval of mifepristone be maintained. Mifepristone remains available, and there is plenty of legal wrangling ahead of us before it won’t be. That being said, this is a crucial moment that demands action from our leaders so that scientists and doctors make the decisions about drug safety and efficacy, not politically-motivated judges. Let’s contact our regional public affairs specialist at the FDA and ask the agency to use its enforcement discretion to not go after those who manufacture, market or dispense mifepristone, and to issue an enforcement discretion notice to prescribers and distributors explaining the same. Let’s also reach out to our members of Congress and to the White House to ask them to support this request to the FDA, and to demand they proactively and aggressively do everything in their power to protect access to medication abortion.STAND WITH THE TENNESSEE TWO
In another ominous development for democracy, Tennessee Republicans expelled two state representatives from their legislature for participating in a protest for action on gun violence – both black men, while a white woman state rep was spared. This abuse of power isn’t going unanswered, with both Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson vowing to run in upcoming special elections and local governments rallying to return them to their posts on an interim basis even in the face of Republican threats of further retribution. Let’s join the fight. We can contact members of the Shelby County Commission to call on them to reappoint Rep. Pearson here – a majority of Metro Nashville Council members are already committed to re-appointing Rep. Jones. If we’re able, we can also donate to each of their reelection campaigns or to the Tennessee Democratic Party. We can write a message to thank Rep. Jones (PO Box 2261, Antioch, TN, 37011) and Rep. Pearson (PO Box 9172, Memphis, TN, 38190) for standing up for school children and democracy. Finally, we can contact the Justice Department to uplift the Congressional Black Caucus’ call for an investigation into whether the Tennessee Legislature is in compliance with federal civil rights law.
INVESTIGATE JUSTICE THOMAS
This week, ProPublica broke the story that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has received luxury trips and gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from Republican superdonor Harlan Crow and never disclosed them. This is an unprecedented breach of norms and transparency casting yet another shadow on Justice Thomas’ ethics, coming on top of the sexual harassment Anita Hill testified to in 1991 and to his covering for the role his wife Ginni played in the insurrection. Here’s how we can respond: a) contact our senators and demand a full and public Senate Judiciary committee investigation of potential wrongdoing by Justice Thomas; b) contact Chief Justice John Roberts and join congressional Democrats asking for an internal investigation by the Court and c) reach out to all our MoCs and tell them the time is now to pass the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act, the binding code of ethics on the Supreme Court proposed by Senator Whitehouse and Rep. Hank Johnson.
PHONE BANK FOR UPCOMING PA SPECIAL ELECTION
The Dems have a one seat majority in the PA House, with a good chance of upping that by one in the special election on May 16. Turn PA Blue is working to help elect Heather Boyd in the competitive 163rd District. They are hosting a series of Zoom phone banks as they reach out to Democrats to request and then chase mail-in ballots. The first is April 11. Let’s sign up here to help be part of this change.
REVIEW AMERICAN GOVERNMENT BASICS IN A FUN, ONLINE WORKSHOP TOMORROW
If we feel the need to brush up on our understanding of American government, there's a virtual event that can help us out. Red, Wine and Blue presents  "Government 101: Everything We Forgot From High School," and it's designed to be a fun way to get up to speed on the basics. Topics covered will include the difference between federal and state governments, as well as how laws are made. The event is taking place on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM ET and is open to anyone interested in becoming more informed about American politics. By attending, we’ll have the opportunity to enhance our civic awareness and become a more knowledgeable citizen. We can sign up here for Government 101 and become the go-to person for all our friends' government questions!
CORRECTIONS AND UPDATES
FIGHT HOUSING DISCRIMINATION - DEADLINE EXTENDED
The Biden Housing and Urban Development Department has proposed a new rule that will finally put some teeth in the Fair Housing Act, requiring communities to actively craft and follow through on strategies to stop housing discrimination or risk losing federal funds. HUD has announced they are EXTENDING the deadline for public comment on this rule, which was set to expire today, to April 24. Let’s submit comments and show our support, and sign this petition from the Alliance for Housing Justice encouraging HUD to ensure strong protections for renters in this rule. We can find a guide to creating a good comment here.
I called the Supreme Court and they refused to accept comments by phone and will only accept them in writing, FYI.
Susan, thank you for providing pro-democracy advocates with specific Calls to Action. It’s important, b/c many voters don’t keep up and aren’t sure how to help. I’ll follow through on at least a couple. I’m in NC, and I’ll contact Tillis on Judiciary. Maybe I’ll phonebank to get out the vote for the seat in PA.