Checking in with Ms. Valenti. I so appreciate her work in keeping us informed about the attack on our reproductive rights.
Eight More Abortion Arrests in Texas
10.8.25
Jessica Valenti
Oct 08, 2025
Attacks on Birth Control
The Trump administration is really hoping Americans have forgotten about the $10 million worth of birth control sitting in a Belgian warehouse, waiting to be destroyed. No such luck!The stockpile of IUDs, pills, and hormonal implants was meant to be distributed to women abroad, but the Trump administration wants to burn it instead. Why? They claim the contraceptives are actually abortifacients.
Abortion, Every Day first flagged this last month, noting that a U.S.A.I.D. spokesperson called the stockpile “abortifacient birth control.” Days later, we confirmed that this wasn’t just some gaffe or a single agency gone rogue: a State Department spokesperson also referred to the stockpile as “certain abortifacient birth control commodities” back in July. And when international humanitarian groups offered to buy the contraception to save it from being destroyed, the U.S. government said no—citing the Global Gag Rule, which bars NGOs receiving U.S. funds from even mentioning abortion.
That’s a big deal! As I’ve written before, this appears to be the Trump administration’s first official policy move to redefine contraceptives as ‘abortion’. Why isn’t this front page news? I have no idea.
Right now, the contraception is in a kind of bureaucratic purgatory. Because the birth control hasn’t expired yet, the government of Belgium won’t issue an incineration license. But the countries meant to receive it—like Malawi, Bangladesh, the D.R. Congo, and Kenya—can only accept medications with a certain amount of shelf life left. That means the more time that passes, the less likely those countries will be able to use it.
And that’s exactly the plan. Marcel van Valen, Head of Supply Chain at the International Planned Parenthood Federation, told AED that the Trump administration thinks if they can wait it out, maybe voters will forget all about the stockpile.
“Unless a practical solution is found urgently, the U.S. government may exploit this gap, allowing the products to sit until they technically fall below import thresholds and then justifying their destruction under the pretext of regulatory compliance. The longer this grey zone continues, the greater the risk that the U.S. government will hide behind import rules to get its way and burn the stock once time runs out.”
So how do we help? In addition to contacting your reps, we need more eyes on this story. Reporters, take note: there are zero mainstream articles pointing out that the White House now considers birth control a form of abortion. You don’t even have to credit AED—just get the word out!
In the States
Speaking of extremists who think birth control is actually abortion, let’s talk about South Carolina Sen. Richard Cash—the guy behind SB 323. Among other horrors, this fully batshit bill would ban all abortion, criminalize abortion patients, and outlaw some forms of birth control by redefining what contraception means.In response to the massive (and understandable) backlash from citizens, Cash has insisted his bill wouldn’t actually impact contraception. He even got visibly annoyed when questioned about it during last week’s hearing.
But here’s the thing: Abortion, Every Day has learned that Cash once wrote an entire pamphlet calling oral contraceptives “chemical abortion.” In it, he claimed that “all forms of the birth control pill” kill a “human being.”
Unless by some miracle there’s another Richard Cash in South Carolina who worked with Pastors for Life, the Republican legislator wrote that birth control pills “induce changes in the uterine lining so that if conception does occur, implantation is prevented, thus inducing an abortion.”
This banger was my favorite, though:
“Over time, a woman using birth control pills runs the definite and intentional risk of killing one or more of her children as a result. Therefore, it is morally unacceptable to be on the pill while engaging in sexual intercourse.”
Damn, I’m basically a serial killer. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Now, it’s no surprise that Cash is a total maniac—this is a guy who was arrested multiple times for protesting outside of abortion clinics with the notorious wackos at Operation Rescue. So he hasn’t exactly hidden his anti-abortion bonafides. Still, Cash is claiming he defined ‘pregnancy’ and ‘contraception’ in the bill so that birth control won’t be criminalized.
But when OBGYN Dr. Jessica Tarleton asked him why, then, he bothered to redefine contraception at all, his answer was telling: “Well, you don’t get to ask me—I get to ask you.”
Yeah, how dare a mere woman question his almighty judgment. Doesn’t she know he writes pamphlets?
Here’s the disturbing truth: opposing birth control isn’t a fringe position in the anti-abortion movement—it’s the norm. (Students for Life even has a whole webpage dedicated to calling birth control pills “abortifacients.”) Most Americans just don’t know this, because mainstream media rarely connects those dots.
So for South Carolina’s sake, let’s be clear: SB 323 would ban contraception. That’s the point. And Richard Cash isn’t fooling anyone.
tony romm
@TonyRomm
NEW: The Trump administration has blocked or slowed almost $28 billion in federal aid since the shutdown began, largely harming Democratic-led cities, congressional districts and states, underscoring how the president has weaponized a fiscal stalemate
https://x.com/TonyRomm/status/1978205564652990681
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
@ReichlinMelnick
Wow! One of ICE’s primary deportation contractors is suing the Trump admin for awarding a $1 billion contract to an unqualified competitor with close ties to the admin. They allege DHS notified hand-picked competitors ahead of time, then set a 2-day turnaround for everyone else.
https://x.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/1978176058378641791
Laura Weiss
@LauraEWeiss16
NEW: Arizona state officials are announcing certification now of Rep-elect Adelita Grijalva’s special election win
Arizona AG Mayes says Speaker Johnson “delayed and stonewalled” the swearing in. “The voters in CD7 need an elected representative”
“Today my office is sending a letter to Speaker Johnson demanding that he do so… We are keeping every option open to us, including litigation, to hold him accountable,” Mayes says
MORE on this news in
@PunchbowlNews
Midday: https://punchbowl.news/archive/101425-midday/
12:08 PM · Oct 14, 2025
·https://x.com/LauraEWeiss16/status/1978145781015314708
Gregg Carlstrom
@glcarlstrom
The next stage of Trump’s Gaza plan hinges on a peacekeeping force to which no one has yet committed to send troops, “and unless you move forward on the stabilisation force and the governance, there’s a risk it all falls apart.”
Billy Binion (@billybinion) posted at 11:42 AM on Tue, Oct 14, 2025:
What an amazing admission. Republicans sued Biden—and went to the Supreme Court—for pressuring social media companies to censor content. This is…exactly that. So many people only care about the First Amendment when they aren’t in power.
(https://x.com/billybinion/status/1978139383308984385?t=OwLpmGHfV6W1EWLmkKM51Q&s=03)
Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) posted at 1:27 PM on Tue, Oct 14, 2025:
NEW: Huntington Beach passed an anti-voting resolution using false data from an election conspiracy group to stoke baseless fears about election integrity, underscoring how anti-voting groups’ efforts are tightening voting rules at state and local levels. https://t.co/jgnLBwqBC4
(https://x.com/DemocracyDocket/status/1978165705737474549?t=rJIpyNMhgGHl3u-hBeZC2w&s=03)
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) posted at 1:50 PM on Tue, Oct 14, 2025:
Hegseth: “You would think the Pentagon press corps would be front and center across the board on wanting to give credit to the president for forging this type of peace. Instead, what they want to take about is a policy about them.” https://t.co/ep6kIFPAQF
(https://x.com/atrupar/status/1978171509983113353?t=0FWnRTw7TMMo17s3kkq1Hg&s=03)
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) posted at 1:31 PM on Tue, Oct 14, 2025:
Trump: “The funding for New York, and for every place, comes through the White House. And I’m very generous, and I was always very generous with New York. But I wouldn’t be generous to a communist that’s gonna take the money and throw it out the window.” https://t.co/d3B3gizchY
(https://x.com/atrupar/status/1978166757681410497?s=03)
MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) posted at 1:56 PM on Tue, Oct 14, 2025:
Meiselas: MAGA Mike Johnson was being questioned about the shutdown during this disastrous press conference he held. He literally says, “I don’t have any strategy.” Then Rep. Lisa McClain jumps in, apparently realizing Mike Johnson had just blown it and she completely unravels on camera .
https://t.co/HdJYGDTyDC
(https://x.com/MeidasTouch/status/1978173039033655561?t=ywKdKCKYorntdZmqvLrAlQ&s=03)
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) posted at 1:55 PM on Tue, Oct 14, 2025:
After bragging about permanently cutting “Democrat programs,” Trump says “we’re not closing up Republican programs.” https://t.co/bA35hSnMWn
(https://x.com/atrupar/status/1978172846670061767?t=a1bzTtGv_-46EWg3fpwPjg&s=03)
THEE ENTIRE PHUCK
Is PBS Okay?: “Masterpiece History” Might Be Erasing Slavery From The American Revolution
https://youtu.be/GAKX0VDh9TY?si=I7XlxSfM-sRzdMtB
The increasing gender gap between bachelor’s degree-holders in America was found across every major racial group, with the largest race-gender gap found among Black Americans. Today, roughly 38 percent of young Black women have earned a college degree, compared to just 26 percent of Black men. Three decades ago, 16 percent of Black men and only 14 percent of Black women held a bachelor’s degree.
https://jbhe.com/2024/12/young-black-women-are-significantly-outpacing-black-men-in-educational-attainment/#:~:text=Young%20Black%20Women%20Are%20Significantly%20Outpacing%20Black%20Men%20in%20Educational%20Attainment,-December%203%2C%202024&text=Three%20decades%20ago%2C%20women%20and,to%20hold%20an%20undergraduate%20degree.
FASCINATING…
Gay men earn undergraduate degrees at the highest rate of any group in the U.S., according to a new study on sexual orientation and academic achievement. Roughly 52 percent of gay men in the U.S. have a bachelor’s degree, compared to 36 percent of all adults and about 35 percent of straight men, the study found.
“Across data sets and across the different educational outcomes that I looked at, gay men outpaced straight men by substantial margins,” said Joel Mittleman, the study’s author and an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame. “And on most measures, not just straight men, but also straight women.”
Additionally, 6 percent of gay men in the U.S. have an advanced degree, including a J.D., M.D. or Ph.D., which is about 50 percent higher than for straight men, he found.
Mittleman said that gay men of every racial and ethnic group outperformed their straight male counterparts.
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) posted at 0:05 PM on Tue, Oct 14, 2025:
Powell on Trump’s immigration policies: “Stronger policy than most people had expected. We’ve seen a very sharp decline in growth of the labor force and in and people entering the country … new people that come into the workforce create supply but they also create their own https://t.co/a4LdZ7wcBn
(https://x.com/atrupar/status/1978145118923231387?s=03)
Chris Christie (@GovChristie) posted at 0:19 PM on Mon, Oct 13, 2025:
The Department of Justice is no longer the premier prosecuting office in America. What it is now is a Capo regime who goes out and executes hits when directed by the Don to do so. That’s what it is. https://t.co/7KYxUyTopo
(https://x.com/GovChristie/status/1977786323063783850?t=U0EXCA22Cq2zd9xB3ZJpcQ&s=03)
RIP
Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) posted at 0:03 PM on Tue, Oct 14, 2025:
D’Angelo, Grammy-winning R&B singer who became an icon with ‘Untitled (How Does It Feel),’ dies
https://t.co/ldjUWDkBWq
(https://x.com/chicagotribune/status/1978144528822358363?t=LVb14ptmXmDh17VfQQjKdQ&s=03)
Senator Chris Van Hollen
@vanhollen.senate.gov
Follow
These are the same kind of weasels who would’ve called George Washington & America’s revolutionaries “terrorists.” They spend their days sucking up to King Trump & demonizing peaceful protest just as some in America sought to appease King George III.
Looking forward to No Kings Day.
https://bsky.app/profile/vanhollen.senate.gov/post/3m345usx24s2q
Aaron Rupar
@atrupar.com
Follow
Trump’s conversation with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is caught on a hot mic. Hard to tell exactly what they are talking about, but Subianto asks Trump about meeting Eric Trump and Don Jr, who supposedly have nothing to do with government while they run the family business.
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3m33r7izvvl2q
Simon Lester
@simonlester.com
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There’s probably enough material for media outlets to be doing front page stories just about every day on foreign government efforts to influence Trump through deals involving his family business. Not sure why the media isn’t doing more with this.
https://bsky.app/profile/simonlester.com/post/3m33vcslr5s2x
Aaron Rupar
@atrupar.com
Follow
REPORTER: We know the president moved forward with mass layoffs. We’re also learning there were significant cuts to staff at special education services. Are you comfortable with those cuts?
MIKE JOHNSON: I haven’t seen the specifics of that and I don’t know
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3m33g42s7zp2a
Harlow’s Musings
@harlowsmusings.bsky.social
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🚨MAJOR BREAKING: Rep-Elect Adelita Grijalva announces her election results will be OFFICIALLY certified tomorrow, destroying Mike Johnson’s last excuse to delay her swearing in.
“Mike Johnson needs to do his job so I can do mine.”
No more lies.
No more delays.
Swear her in!
https://bsky.app/profile/harlowsmusings.bsky.social/post/3m34pym63722q
Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊