The Quickie: Anti-Abortion Lawmakers in US House Still Pushing for Abortion Restrictions 

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: anti-abortion politicians in US House of Representatives push abortion restrictions, cost of abortion skyrockets, KS remains key access state, and new polling on Dobbs impact on voters. 

WHEN SOMEONE TELLS YOU WHO THEY ARE, BELIEVE THEM: ANTI-ABORTION LAWMAKERS IN US HOUSE STILL PUSHING FOR ABORTION RESTRICTIONS: Anti-abortion lawmakers can’t seem to help themselves: they’re trying to put abortion restrictions into must-pass legislation All. The. Time. This time they’re putting anti-sexual and reproductive health riders in the House fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills – you know, MUST PASS GOVERNMENT FUNDING BILLS. According to the Associated Press, there are nearly a dozen anti-abortion measures in this year’s budget bills. 

This year, there’s even a new abortion rider that targets mifepristone, an abortion medication that anti-abortion groups are trying to get the Supreme Court to ban nationwide (and a friendly reminder that case is before the Fifth Circuit right now, and public support is very much in favor of medication abortion).  And that’s AFTER their constituents have told them in election after election, in poll after poll that they do not support restricting abortion access. 

But according to Politico, some GOP House members are not worried about their constituents hearing about their anti-abortion records. They think abortion rights groups and members focusing on abortion could “backfire.” Will they have to learn their lesson yet again?   

COST OF ABORTION SKYROCKETS POST-DOBBS: Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the cost of getting an abortion has skyrocketed due to many pregnant people needing to travel out of state to get basic health care. Now, the average cost of an abortion is as much as $1400 higher than it was in June 2022. Brigid Alliance, an abortion support network, sees reports that clients travel on average over 1,300 miles at a cost of $1400 for airfare, child care, hotel, local transportation, and food, not including the price of the procedure itself. 

"As people are traveling farther and farther for care because of abortion limitations, we are seeing increased rates for accessing care, whether that's for lodging, renting a car — or while you're traveling, having to pay for care for children at home," Danika Severino-Wynn, Vice President of Abortion Access at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said. “And we know that most people seeking abortion have children already. Also challenging are things like missing out on wages if you are working in a job where you don’t have paid time off. So compounding costs definitely are increasing."

The cost of an abortion can vary: at Planned Parenthood health centers, an early medication abortion costs between $580 and $800 while a clinical abortion costs between $300 and $1500. An abortion later in pregnancy costs between $750 and $2000. Some patients may be able to use insurance to cover abortion costs. For those who may not have or be able to use insurance coverage, abortion funds can also offer financial support.

For some pregnant people, getting an abortion can cost more than their entire monthly budget. The rising cost of abortions is especially devastating as 75% of people who obtain abortions are low-income, according to Severino-Wynn. 

Read more at Yahoo Finance. 

KANSAS REMAINS CRITICAL ABORTION ACCESS STATE: Every week, hundreds of people travel to Kansas to get abortions due to the lack of access in surrounding states. Last week, CNN’s The Lead covered a standard day at Planned Parenthood Great Plains (PPGP), where nearly 50 patients were on the schedule to get care in Kansas City. One patient, a mother of three from Houston, drove over 800 miles to get an abortion. She drove overnight to get to the clinic, hiding her travel from loved ones. She was fearful not only of their judgment, but of the possibility of her abusive ex-partner learning of her decision to have an abortion. 

Stories like hers  are not uncommon at abortion providers across the country. In Kansas, PPGP physician Dr. Selina Sandoval told CNN that despite seeing dozens of patients a day, she and other providers still only see a fraction of the pregnant people who call requesting an appointment. 

Watch the full segment on CNN. 

ABORTION RIGHTS AND THE WHOLE KITCHEN SINK: New polling from PerryUndem underscores the intersectionality between abortion rights and a range of other core fundamental freedoms and values. According to survey results, the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade triggered legitimate concerns over related topics such as our democracy, marriage equality, white supremacy, and more.

And this had electoral implications in 2022:

Read more takeaways from the polling here.