The Quickie: Arizona Braces for Abortion Ban as Lawmakers Block Attempts to Repeal

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: Arizona braces for abortion ban, abortion advocates set to rally in Idaho, Lauren Blauvelt makes Time's 100, and Karlie Kloss on Missouri’s ballot initiative.

ARIZONA BRACES FOR ABORTION BAN AS LAWMAKERS BLOCK ATTEMPTS TO REPEAL: Yesterday, Arizona lawmakers again blocked attempts to repeal the state’s 1864 total abortion ban despite outcry from people across the state. “This is a stain on our history that this ban even exists, from a time when the age of consent was ten, from a time when women didn’t have the right to vote,” Sen. Eva Burch told Good Morning America. Both the House and Senate are adjourned until next week, and conversations continue among lawmakers to move forward with a repeal. 

At a rally outside the capitol building in Phoenix, supporters of reproductive freedom called for a swift repeal of the ban —  and the passage of the Arizona Abortion Access Act. Momentum for the initiative is building in the wake of the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision. Chris Love, senior advisor to Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona and Arizona for Abortion Access, told NBC News that in the week after the Supreme Court ruling, interest in the amendment has skyrocketed, with one site getting 2,200 notarized signatures in an hour. “It’s a pace that we haven’t seen in quite a while,” Love said

ADVOCATES SET TO RALLY IN IDAHO TO SUPPORT EMERGENCY ABORTION SERVICES: On Sunday, abortion patients, providers, and advocates will rally in Boise before the Supreme Court hears oral arguments the following Wednesday (April 24). The case, Idaho v. United States, could determine whether patients have the right to emergency abortion care in hospitals in ban states across the country. The consequences will be catastrophic if the Supreme Court allows states to ignore the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal law protecting people’s access to the care they need in emergency situations — including abortion.

The rally at Cecil D. Andrus Park, across from the Idaho State Capitol, will be hosted by Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates and partners. Following the rally, attendees are welcomed to an immersive art installation sharing the stories of Idaho providers and patients impacted by the state’s laws. See the event details below: 

Join Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates and partners from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. on April 21 at Idaho State Capitol, 700 W Jefferson St, Boise, ID 83702. Reporters interested in covering the rally in-person or remotely, or who are interested in learning more about the upcoming Supreme Court argument on EMTALA, should RSVP to [email protected].

TIME100 HONORS PLANNED PARENTHOOD ADVOCATES OF OHIO ED: Yesterday, TIME released its annual TIME100 list, which honors 100 influential people worldwide. Lauren Blauvelt, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, was included for her role in last year’s ballot initiative victory that enshrined the right to abortion in Ohio’s constitution. 

Reproductive rights advocate Rebecca Gomperts wrote, “As the co-chair of Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, Lauren Blauvelt represents all the people who worked day and night to get out the vote, and all the voters who came out in support of Issue 1 in November 2023—the first time voters in a Republican-controlled state weighed in directly on the right to an abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Ohio provided a blueprint for other states to follow.”

Read more in TIME.

KARLIE KLOSS ON WHY ABORTION SHOULD BE ON MISSOURI’S BALLOT: Yesterday, the Washington Post published an op-ed in support of Missouri’s abortion right’s ballot initiative by St. Louis native Karlie Kloss — a supermodel, entrepreneur, and former clinic escort at Planned Parenthood health centers in St. Louis. Kloss knows that reproductive health care is about freedom and uses her platform to advocate for abortion access. In the op-ed, Kloss urges voters to get involved with the campaign to protect their reproductive freedom, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, and to show up at the polls in November. Kloss draws on her upbringing, writing: “The Missouri I know supports freedom…If you agree that patients, not politicians, should make their own health-care decisions — or simply that a small minority should not prevent a majority from winning at the ballot box — make your voice heard this election cycle.”

Read the full op-ed in the Washington Post here.