33 Comments

when is everyone going to call out that he's run project 2025 exactly. I pointed out to my sisters that my husbands NIH grant won't get funded if this pause at the NIH continues and they told me they would pray for me. The conservative messaging is working so well. One of my sisters voted hillary in 2016 and now shes a religious nut!

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I mean I do think lots of people have and are? I have certainly said it many times!

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I feel like Ive only seen you say it. But maybe I have been cutting some of my media consumption for self preservation. I am curious if any typical media is calling it out.

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Are there lawyers who could provide guidance on decision making around IVF? I have several embryos frozen, still unsure if I want more kids but feeling like we need to make a decision sooner rather than later. What type of professional could help me with my options?

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I am in the same boat. I’ve found some good resources through an organization PregnantTogether.community (on Instagram). They’ve hosted some open convos with lawyers and specialists. I would also recommend calling your fertility clinic/where embryos are stored to see if they have guidance/a plan.

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Yet another thing to stress about while going through IVF. I wish I could share this to my instagram. Thank you so much for your work.

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You can screenshot it and post it or repost something from my account.

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💯, IKR? you're not alone.

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Thank you so much for this thorough explanation!! Super helpful to connect the dots. When you talk about IVF being considered murder, are you referring specifically to what happens with unused embryos? And thus you think they’d perhaps require all embryos to be used? Having gone through IVF myself this whole thing by the right is just ludicrous!

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We can look to Italy, Louisiana and Alabama to see what has already happened. I will note that conservative influencers I follow are deeply upset about people be frozen. About embryos being discarded and not chosen. And more. And big picture, will doctors be able to get insurance under these conditions?

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*Snort* Ugh it’s so ridiculous it’s funny (“people being frozen”). Can’t wait for the reaction of all of those conservative women who didn’t think THIS was what they were signing up for. Shaking my head in disgust.

Thanks again for what you do and helping to bring clarity to all of this!!

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💯.

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What is the tops reason for doing this? Control?

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I reposted my answer to that question in my IG stories (it’s long and I’m on my phone!)

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Thank you!!

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Control, absolutely. They don't want women to have careers and wait to try for a child.

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How long do you think it will take to make it unavailable nationally?

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However long it takes for these cases to go through the courts, which is usually a couple years, but can be quicker or slower depending.

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Thank you. I’m going through IVF right now and it’s hard enough not knowing if it will work never mind wondering if we will even get the chance to try

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Fellow IVF mama here, thinking of you Kaitlyn. <3 <3

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my question exactly.

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Any idea how this would affect non-IVF pregnancies? My husband and I wanted to start trying for a baby this year, but we’re both scared that if this goes through and something goes wrong with the pregnancy that I won’t be able to get the medical care I need. We live in California, but I don’t know how much protection that would provide. Is this a reasonable fear?

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I dunno, this could be interpreted as fear mongering. however, everyone's concerns here are legit. two IVF doctors I've talked to recently - one in a red state and the other in a blue state - are not concerned at all. I do think they'll keep ivf legal bc they want more yt babies, bc they're yt supremacists like that (and guess which demographic can most afford ivf?). plus, Big Pharma which is involved with manufacturing fertility drugs aren't going to let IVF be illegal without a fight. There are more than 750,000, possibly a million now, of frozen embryos in the U.S. - what would they do with those embryos if they were to ban it?

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Thank you for this Emily! Curious what is going to happen with access to procedures like having your tubes tied. Is that now considered pre-meditated murder? Insurance will definitely stop covering it at some point I’m sure but starting to feel like it’s the only choice left and one I’d better make soon before that’s taken too.

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Thanks so much for this Emily, very helpful. If they are using the 14th amendment to in claiming fetal personhood, would that also mean that because birthright citizenship is protected in the 14th amendment, now any fetus conceived in the US would have a claim to citizenship? Or not because they were not born here? It is interesting to see the 14th amendment used both for and against these elements of Project 2025.

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I think you are correct that the word “born” in the 14th amendment would make the difference. Fundamentally, there’s no requirement for logical consistency between political platitudes and constitutional law.

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I've been wondering about this too--in the real world, not in logic-free MAGAland, Trump signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, AND they want to use the 14th Amendment to give citizenship to embryos. Is the EO so clearly unconstitutional that they don't expect it to hold up, they'll argue with a straight face that it's perfectly fine, and then when it gets tossed out and a court says "nah we'll keep the 14th Amendment", then they pounce and are "the 14th Amendment is very very important, obviously, and it also applies to embryos"??

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I’m still wracking my brain to figure out what the end game is here. A puritanical society where women are punished/blessed according to their fertility? A eugenics obsessed government that has the authority to determine who is and is not a person? what are the economic and political benefits to this fetal personhood?

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The hierarchy restored - my broligarchy article goes into this deeper!

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Like drinking from several (poo filled) fire hoses. Glad you are still out here teaching. Your book is so helpful!

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First I want to say thank you for breaking all of this down. It is so helpful and I really appreciate your time and knowledge! Second is there a liberal counter part to The Alliance Defending Freedom?

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There are lots of impact litigation orgs on the left, you can see the most productive in the link to Oath at the end. I would say (my opinion) none compare to the reach, funding, long term planning and success rate of ADF which is virtually unparalleled. Especially given how extreme their position is. They are winners. But we also do a lot of litigation through pro bono, the Min. case is being done by Jenner & Block attorneys (big firm).

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Thank you for this explainer! I had heard about this particular EO but did not know the details of it. I feel like I’m already spiraling this week but seeing something like this is helpful to put this in perspective.

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