Not everyone is disappointed by Texas’ forced-birth law, which makes abortion effectively illegal in the state. The law bans abortions after 6 weeks, when most people don’t even know they’re pregnant yet. Worst of all, these are civil suits. It opens up abortion providers and the people who need them to vigilante forced-birthers, who are incentivized to attack everyone they possibly can.
An anti-choice group, keen on forcing every unwillingly pregnant person to give birth against their wishes, has set up a website to help them hunt the people who either get an abortion or aid someone in getting an abortion. They decided to collect stories online from anyone who could fill out a form describing a potential abortion, for further investigation. The bounty would be a minimum of $10,000, not only for those who were involved, but those who knew about the potential for an abortion and did not report it, so they likely figure it’s a good investment.
Then the internet showed up.
Force Birth Enforcement Site Mobbed
The ProLifeWhistleBlower.com website was supposed to be a one click stop for hate-filled extremists looking to nose their way into women’s and pregnant people’s health. They go, submit a report, and, boom, the person just trying to go about their life has said life ruined.
However, a few people noted that, like many right-wing websites, it’s lacking a few very important precautions. While neither I, nor anyone else, is explicitly telling people to hammer the website with fake reports, it seems many people have. They’re using VPNs to fake their location so the reports are seemingly coming from the United States, even when they’re not. They’re using VPNs to swap out IP addresses after getting locked out as well. These people are using tools to create fake addresses too, and they’ve been pulling names from lists of Republican donors, which are all publicly available! Furthermore, they’re even sending those anti-freedom wankers some porn, because, let’s face it, they definitely seem frustrated in that department.
Not just any porn either. Now, I won’t say that furry porn is worse than any other porn. You know, different strokes for different folks. I will say that there is a smaller contingency of people that enjoy those various anthropomorphic images, and many of those people are not the sort of people who would believe in forcing their will on women, pregnant people, or doctors. Suffice it to say, the anti-choice terrorists are not happy with the flood of furry porn that has arrived in their inboxes.
Whoa, Now!
Leaf and Core does not endorse finding a good VPN service like NordVPN or ProtonVPN, and using that to create fantastical tales of people leaving Texas with a baby bump and coming back happy, healthy, and bump-free. We do not endorse filling up those attachment boxes with photos from thispersondoesnotexist.com, a website for creating completely fake yet realistic images of people’s faces using AI. Nor do we endorse furry porn. Well, do whatever you want, what I mean is, don’t shove that into anyone’s inbox. You know, that would be very upsetting for whatever miserable person has to look at it. Leaf and Core in no way is telling you to use these tools to spam this hateful, misogynistic, vile, draconian, evil, and cruel forced birth website. Spamming websites is wrong.
Help Needed
Instead, take your frustration out by providing help to those who need it. There are teams of lawyers working to turn over this law that is the unwanted love child of 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale that has, unfortunately, been forced to come to term against anyone’s will. You can throw some cash towards the ACLU to help in that fight, but I suggest aiming a little lower. The ACLU certainly needs funding from donations, but they’re a popular charity, and aren’t struggling in the wake of this. Women and pregnant people are. So, instead, donate to directly help them.
These charities and mutual aid groups are working on the ground to help people access safe abortions. They cover a wide variety of services, from helping people find and pay for abortions to transportation and education. Find one that aligns with the way you want to help out and send them some spare change. It may make a real difference for someone.
- Jane’s Due Process
- Buckle Bunnies
- Clinic Access Support Network
- Texas Equal Access Fund
- Lilith Fund
- Fund Texas Choice
- The Afiya Center
- West Fund Texas
- La Frontera Fund
- Avow Texas
You can also donate to ten of these mutual aid funds at needabortion.org. It may be the easiest way to support a number of groups with one donation.
Larger charities:
Change that negativity into something positive. This month has been a rough start for the rights of people who can get pregnant and healthcare providers who care for those people. It’s been a terrible day for freedom as extremists undermine critical laws and protections. But the fight’s not over, and people still need help. There’s always good to do.
Sources and Further Reading:
- Tracey Anne Duncan, Mic
- Anna Medaris Miller, Insider
- Roni Caryn Rabin, The New York Times
- Samira Sadeque, Daily Dot
- Mary Tuma, The Guardian