‘A Thousand Miles for Care’: Vanessa Carlton and Center for Reproductive Rights Spotlight the Women Forced to Travel for Abortion Care

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, more than 20 states have completely banned or severely restricted abortion. In 2023 alone, over 171,000 women were forced to travel out of state—in some cases, several states away—to have an abortion. The Center for Reproductive Rights unveiled a national video campaign last week highlighting the distances women have been forced to travel for abortion care after their own states criminalized the procedure.

Women on abortion road trips all listen to Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” … in the car, on the bus, on the highway, at the gas station; the song becomes part of a communal soundtrack as the women cross state lines for abortion care. They all end up in the same medical waiting room.

ER Doctor Blasts Trump-Vance ‘Leave It to the States’ Abortion Stance: “Should Be ‘Leave It to the Individuals'”

Trump’s abortion laws would “leave” the choice of whether to ban abortion “to the states.” An ER doctor and father chimed in on a now-viral thread on Twitter (X) on the need for individual choice.

“[Vance] claimed that the US is a diverse country,” Davidson wrote after sharing that his wife experienced four miscarriages over the course of raising their three children. “I couldn’t agree more—we ARE diverse—but that diversity does not end at state lines.”

We Heart: This Social Campaign Is Taking ‘Man or Bear’ to the Next Level

Since its original posting, the ‘man or bear’ debate has surpassed social media, reaching mainstream media outlets, personal essays and pop culture references. Now, the campaign “What We Carry” is further expanding on the conversations surrounding women’s security. It features portraits of real women holding the objects they carry every day to ensure their safety, such as pepper spray or their phones.

Not only does the campaign bring attention to and question this systemic issue of violence, it provides resources so vulnerable individuals can protect their safety. No one should have to prepare for the worst-case scenario every time they leave the house—regardless of man, bear or any other reason. 

We Heart: The Giant Abortion Pill Snow Drawing at Sundance, Celebrating Reproductive Autonomy

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade on Sunday, Jan. 22, Swedish-American artist Michele Pred created a 50-foot snow drawing of the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol in a park nearby the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, where the film PLAN C about abortion pills premiered the next day.

We Heart: P!nk’s New Protest Anthem, ‘Irrelevant’

On July 18, the music video for P!nk’s new song, “Irrelevant,” dropped and has since been deemed a ‘protest anthem.’ She explained, “As a woman with an opinion and the fearlessness to voice that opinion, it gets very tiring when the only retort is to tell me how irrelevant I am. I am relevant because I exist and because I am a human being. No one is irrelevant. And no one can take away my voice.”

The proceeds from the new track will be donated to Michelle Obama’s national, nonpartisan voting initiative When We All Vote.