The Quickie: Anti-Trans and Anti-Abortion Lawmakers in Oregon Blocking Votes on Key Bills
For Immediate Release: June 2, 2023
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: Oregon Republican lawmakers boycott votes on abortion and LGBTQ+ protection bills, a number of states move to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage, and Planned Parenthood storyteller Crystina explains the barriers to reproductive care in North Carolina.
ANTI-TRANS AND ANTI-ABORTION LAWMAKERS IN OREGON BLOCKING VOTES ON KEY BILLS: For over a month, Republicans in the Oregon Senate have been boycotting to block votes on critical bills to protect abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and more, which have already passed the House. Twenty of the chamber’s 30 senators must be present for a quorum. Republicans hold 12 seats and have weaponized the rules by walking out to deny quorum and block the passage of these bills which have majority support. As Tessa Stuart reports in Rolling Stone, by doing this, these lawmakers have forfeited their ability to run for reelection — given voters’ recent approval of a measure that makes lawmakers ineligible to run for another term if they rack up 10 or more unexcused absences. This is just the latest example of anti-abortion politicians using procedural rules to undermine democracy and deny the will of their constituents. As Stuart writes, “...Republicans’ defiance is symptomatic not just of an aversion to reproductive and LGBTQ rights, but of a larger anti-democratic rot in our politics.”
Read more here.
STATES MOVING TO EXPAND POSTPARTUM MEDICAID COVERAGE: In a key victory this legislative session, a number of states have advanced measures to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage for pregnant people from just 60 days to a full year. According to experts, the growing maternal health crisis across the country — which only worsened during the pandemic — continues to be the force driving lawmakers to take action by taking advantage of a provision in the American Rescue Plan that makes expansion easier for states. Having health insurance without interruption for a full year after giving birth is critical as patients are often susceptible to physical and mental post-pregnancy complications that could be fatal. So far Alaska, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming have passed postpartum Medicaid expansion measures this year, with others under consideration in Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin.
Read more at KFF Health News.
“MORE WOMEN ARE GOING TO DIE” BECAUSE OF NC BAN — Earlier this month, North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a 12-week abortion ban, which will take effect July 1. For the Cardinal & Pine, Crystina, a patient storyteller for Planned Parenthood of South Atlantic, spoke about her own abortion, the hurdles she faced when accessing care, and how politicians are just as unqualified as comedians when it comes to making health care decisions for pregnant people.
“SB 20 specifically is designed to shut down clinics. … Politicians are not doctors. This stuff is very nuanced. When it comes to the workings of pregnancy and the complications and nuance of all of that, I don’t think politicians are any more qualified than a comedian honestly. I don’t see what qualifications they have to be making medical decisions on behalf of others. It’s not a partisan issue. These are people’s lives that we’re playing with.”
Read the full story here.