The Quickie: Abortion Rights Win; Yes, Even in Red States

Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.

In today’s Quickie: abortion bans defeated in NE and SC, press call after hearing on UT’s abortion clinic ban, our weekly state fights round-up, and singer John Legend’s call for men to stand up for abortion rights. 

BIG WINS IN NEBRASKA AND SOUTH CAROLINA: NEAR-TOTAL ABORTION BANS DEFEATED: Yesterday, reproductive rights advocates scored big wins in Nebraska and South Carolina, defeating two near-total bans. 

After a two-day filibuster led by five Democratic and Republican women Senators, the South Carolina State Senate failed to pass H.B. 3774, which would have banned abortions in nearly all circumstances. The threat to access however remains, as the House could take up S.B. 474, which bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and was previously passed by the Senate. South Carolina’s 2023 legislative session ends on May 11. 

“The government should never force a person to carry a pregnancy or give birth against their will, but this male-dominated legislature is hellbent on controlling the decisions of women,” said Vicki Ringer, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. “A person’s health, not politicians, should guide important medical decisions at all stages of pregnancy. We urge House lawmakers to focus on policies that will actually help South Carolinians live and thrive in their communities rather than try yet again to ban abortion in the state.”

In Nebraska LB 626, a proposed six-week abortion ban is officially dead after two rounds of debate, ensuring that abortion access remains for now. Nebraska senators fell just one vote shy of the 33 votes needed to end debate on the bill. Andi Curry Grubb, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska, reacted to the news:

“Today’s vote is a huge victory for abortion access in Nebraska, the Midwest, and for the country… We have made it clear—no bans. Not now, not ever. And not in our state.

Nebraska politicians today voted to keep private health care decisions where they belong—in the exam room between a doctor and their patient. We saw a record number of people turn up to today’s debate in solidarity against this political overreach and in support of protecting our control over our bodies and futures.” 

Banning abortion is unpopular practically everywhere in the United States: “This really shows that even in red states winning is still possible,” Ianthe Metzger, State Advocacy Communications Director at Planned Parenthood Action Fund, told the Washington Post.

Read more at the Washington Post and the New York Times. 

HAPPENING TODAY: PRESS CONFERENCE ON UTAH ABORTION CLINIC BAN POST-HEARING: Today, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah (PPAU), the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah (ACLU of Utah), and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) will hold a press conference following the court hearing regarding abortion providers’ preliminary injunction request to block H.B. 467, a law that would functionally ban abortion in Utah. 

WHEN: Today, Friday, April 28, 2023

              Hearing begins at 10am MDT (expected to last 1 hour to 2 hours) 

              Press Conference will begin 20 minutes after the hearing ends.

WHERE: Third District Courthouse of Utah

                450 State St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111

                Press conference will be held on the front steps of the courthouse facing east. 

The press conference will be recorded and available for reporters afterwards. 

Read more about the hearing at AP and the Guardian.  

STATE FIGHTS ROUND UP: This week, abortion bans failed to advance in South Carolina and Nebraska. 

Proactive efforts:

• Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed five major pieces of legislation to strengthen abortion and gender-affirming care in the state. These include:
  • HB 1469, a shield law to help mitigate the threat to providers of and patients receiving abortion and gender-affirming care of harassing interstate lawsuits. 
  • SB 5242 eliminates cost-sharing for abortion services, tackling one of the biggest barriers to abortion access.
  • HB 1340 prohibits Washington state medical boards from taking adverse action against providers of abortion and gender-affirming care in Washington. 
  • HB 1155, among other provisions, prevents apps and websites from selling, collecting, and sharing people’s health data without their consent.
  • SB 5768 authorizes the Department of Corrections to accommodate the practice of pharmacy or wholesale distribution of mifepristone with respect to abortion medications.
• Yesterday, the Rhode Island House passed HB5006, the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act. This bill would expand abortion insurance coverage to recipients of the Rhode Island Medicaid program. HB5006 now heads to the Senate for consideration. 
• The Minnesota Senate has passed three bills critical to protecting health care and LGBTQ+ rights: The Reproductive Freedom Defense Act (RFDA) the Trans Refuge Bill, and the Conversion Therapy Ban.

Defensive efforts:

• Yesterday, after a two-day filibuster in the South Carolina Senate, lawmakers failed to pass HB 3774, a bill that bans abortion in nearly all circumstances.
• Also yesterday, Nebraska lawmakers committed to preserving safe and legal abortion defeated L626, legislation that would have banned abortion at around six weeks of pregnancy. This was the fifth failed attempt to outlaw abortion in the state in the past year.
• On Monday, North Dakota Gov. Burgum signed SB 2150 — a bill that bans nearly all abortions in the state, except in narrow cases where a pregnant person’s life is at risk. 
• PS 495, legislation targeting minors’ ability to access abortion has been introduced in the Puerto Rico Senate. 
• The Kansas Legislature voted to override Gov. Kelly’s vetoes of several anti-abortion and anti-trans bills, including a medication abortion “reversal” bill, a so-called “born alive” bill, and a measure that prohibits schools from recognizing a student’s chosen pronouns, name, and expressed identity
• HJR1, an Ohio resolution that would raise the threshold for citizen ballot initiatives to 60%, is headed to a floor vote on Wednesday, 5/3. 

• This week, the Oklahoma House passed SB 613, a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. If enacted, providers who administer this essential care could face felony convictions, civil lawsuits, and have their licenses to practice revoked. The measure now heads to Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is expected to approve the bill. The law will take effect immediately upon Gov. Stitt’s signature. 
• The Texas Senate passed SB 1029, a bill that would make physicians and health insurers liable financially for any complications from gender-affirming care. The bill will likely deter physicians from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapies, and gender-affirming surgeries and potentially cause health insurers not to cover transition-related care. SB1029 now moves to the House. 

JOHN LEGEND: “ALL OF ME” WANTS MEN NEED TO STAND UP FOR REPRO RIGHTS: This week at the Time100 Summit, singer John Legend urged men to stand up for reproductive rights in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. 

“We have to speak up for reproductive rights, absolutely," Legend said. "I think all of America, now that the Dobbs decision has come down, is realizing the level of control and authoritarianism that would be required to implement the so-called pro-life agenda. It's not a pro-life agenda, it's a pro-control-over-women's-reproductive-choices agenda."

Legend’s wife, Chrissy Teigen, had a life-saving abortion after difficult pregnancy complications meant the baby would not survive. Legend spoke of the experience: 

"These conversations are life or death for these women and their families . . . When they have to make these wrenching decisions, it is the hardest decision they'll make. It is traumatic, it is painful, it is harrowing, and the idea that Gov. [Ron] DeSantis or governor whoever-the-f*ck would be involved in that conversation is offensive, it's abhorrent. We should rebel against that possibility."

Read more at POPSUGAR.