Open homes to get an abortion

[Inna22]

This is NOT a political post and I respect everyone's views on Roe vs Wade as I do on all matters. Airbnb however has been very political (and not in a good way). This cause should align with their values and here is a real chance to do good. I hope they will include getting an abortion in another state as a qualifier for Open homes. Some people will now have to travel very far to get one and might not have the means to rent a place to stay.

[Toshiko8]

Take a look at www.withGloria.org. They are a nonprofit partnering with Planned Parenthood as a way for us to donate lodging to patients traveling long distances. They are in pilot phase now but you can still sign up to donate lodging once it is offered in your city! With costs going up and donations decreasing, it's critical we step in now.

[Inna22]

@Emilie @Stephanie can you please move this to hosting? I was sure I was posting there. It is not the first time it happened

[Stephanie]

Have just move it for you @Inna22 

[Danielle1349]

Or perhaps a code in a listing description to indicate that this host will offer a room or home for someone seeking abortion care? People can just include that themselves. 

[Robert109]

As an Airbnb host in a state in which women's healthcare is still accessible, I strongly support Airbnb's treating the SCOTUS decision like other moments when events created refugees. Airbnb hosts in states like Pennsylvania should have the option to support travel for basic human rights. We are prepared to open our doors, no questions asked.

[Clara116]

@Inna22 @Stephanie @Anonymous 

As you guys might know I'm in the state of Florida and these folks around here are seriously cheering....I'm so sad. 

Really proud of you for your offering to help.... because it's pretty awful. Andrew brings up a really important point....we have to think about protection for these women ..no one wants to abort. 

Thank you for have hearts

[Anonymous]

@Clara116   Several states are already poised to test laws that would ban traveling out of state for an abortion, which could theoretically expose Airbnb or even individual hosts to prosecution if they are deemed to be accomplices in this "crime."  in this scenario, Airbnb can easily be subpoenaed for any data that it holds on its users - including their participation in an Open Homes program - so now that I really think about it, Airbnb would be one of the worst options available.

Looking toward the dark times ahead, anonymity is going to be absolutely essential to protect these women's safety. But it's not safe for hosts to accept anonymous and unverified guests, knowing nothing about them except for that they're seeking access to their homes for free. And it's not safe for guests to risk being lured into a home and exposing their identity to someone who ultimately be an informant. 

What would probably have to happen is that a third party organization books anonymous accommodation such as a hotel room on the patient's behalf. This doesn't work with Airbnb.

[Clara116]

@Anonymous you are so right in your thinking. And I think that hosts and anyone else involved having to do with assisting a woman could be in danger. You are right ...great discretion and secrecy would be required. I am so disheartened by all the implications that are sure to follow all this new ruling. And it will not end with women and our rights...I am fearful how far the SCOTUS will go with their ridiculous narrow-minded approach to everything. It might be that I seriously have to move back to Germany because certain things would make it impossible to stay here... especially if I shift to being in the minority here...would have to leave. Weird to even write that. 

[Inna22]

Wouldn’t that be somehow unconstitutional- to restrict someone’s ability to go somewhere?

[Anonymous]

@Inna22   From the article I linked:

Using the same model Texas used in an abortion law known as S.B. 8, Missouri state Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R) introduced a proposal in December to allow private citizens to sue anyone who performs an abortion or helps a pregnant person obtain one, even if the procedure takes place outside Missouri.

S.B. 8 bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which abortion advocates have argued violates the Supreme Court’s rulings on abortion, but no court has been able to stop it because it’s enforced by private parties through civil litigation, not government officials.

Coleman’s proposal didn’t get a vote in the House this year, but that doesn’t mean lawmakers in Missouri and in other Republican-led states won’t consider it in the future. An attorney involved in abortion litigation, who requested anonymity for personal safety reasons, said the only way to control abortion travel may be to enact a law like the one Coleman proposed.

“That’s the only plausible strategy I can see for anti-abortion lawmakers if they want to stop abortion tourism,” the attorney said.

“If they just say it’s illegal to leave the state to get an abortion, someone can sue and challenge the constitutionality of the statute. If they do it the way Mary Elizabeth Coleman drafted it, by this sort of private civil enforcement, it can’t be challenged in court pre-enforcement.”

If you really want to read something that will make you want to break stuff, SB 8 (TX) will do the trick.

[Helen744]

@Anonymous It is a retrograde move and will cause women and girls to break the law , thats a given.To advertise what will become a much more fraught situation for all concerned is dangerous. Womens groups need to be supportive in situ as providing medical care of any type can also be dangerous .Airbnb are not a system that can do anything without the right laws reinstated. H

[Inna22]

@Anonymous Sunday night ruined. I had no idea

[Lisa723]

@Inna22 @Anonymous 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/24/us/abortion-contraception-access-west-coast-roe.html

[Aaron510]

There is a constitutional right to interstate travel. Even Kavanaugh stated this in his concurring opinion on Dobbs. I don't see how barring a right to interstate travel for a person traveling out of state for a procedure that is illegal in their state of residence but is legal in the state they traveled to would be upheld by law. AirBnb and hosts in states where people would travel to for the procedure will be protected by the laws of those states. Here in California, the legislature will codify laws protecting people traveling here for abortions and protecting those who conduct the procedure on out-of-state persons, and those who sponsor their access to the procedure from prosecution by other state officials. I don't think this would be a problem, and even if it is, let AirBnb take it to the courts and take a stand on this. This is the fight that needs to be fought.

[Kristen494]

I have an apartment in CA that I could offer women seeking an abortion if Airbnb made this an option through its Open Homes program.  We already offered this apartment to a couple who had to flee the Santa Cruz fires a couple of years ago and they lived there for 6 weeks without paying anything.  Let me know how we can help.