The Quickie: Florida Doctors Race Against 6-Week Abortion Ban

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: Florida providers race against 6-week ban, defund bill headed to Missouri Governor, and Maine Governor signs shield bill into law.

FLORIDA DOCTORS RACE AGAINST 6-WEEK ABORTION BAN: With just five days remaining until Florida’s six week abortion ban goes into effect, providers are rushing to provide abortion care before May 1st. Health centers around the state have expanded hours, added appointments, and strengthened patient navigator programs. In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Barbara Zdravecky, interim CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, highlighted the severity of the looming healthcare crisis, saying, “Planned Parenthood’s motto has always been ‘care no matter what.’ And we don’t turn patients away. So this is a very devastating and tragic situation for our staff, who have to say, ‘we can’t take care of you, we have to send you someplace else.’” 

Planned Parenthood affiliates in Florida are preparing for the ban by pursuing alternatives to compensate for the lack of abortion access. Health centers plan on expanding access to birth control and emergency contraception and will start offering vasectomy services again. Zdravecky explains, “We want to be able to assist anyone with any type of care that we legally can do in order to make sure they have the care that they need to stay healthy.”

Read more in Orlando Sentinel here.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD DEFUNDING BILL ON ITS WAY TO MISSOURI GOVERNOR: On Wednesday, the Missouri House approved legislation that would end Medicaid reimbursements to health centers affiliated with abortion providers. The measure is the latest directly targeting the region’s Planned Parenthood affiliates — Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri and Planned Parenthood Great Plains. One in five Missouri patients receiving care at a Planned Parenthood health center are covered by Medicaid

“Yet again, members of the state legislature have decided to attack the lifesaving health care Missourians rely on rather than address the health care needs of the people they represent,” Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood of St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri wrote in a statement Wednesday. “Despite the courts repeatedly ruling that ‘defunding’ Planned Parenthood health centers is unconstitutional, lawmakers continue to deny critical care like birth control, cancer screenings, wellness exams, and STI testing & treatment from the patients who need it.”

The bill was passed without an emergency clause, which means it will go into effect on August 28th. In response to the vote, Advocates for Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri and Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes called on supporters to ask Governor Parson to veto the bill. 

Read more in News from the States here.

MAINE GOVERNOR SIGNS SHIELD BILL INTO LAW: This week, Governor Janet Mills signed Maine’s shield bill into law. The law is aimed at protecting abortion and gender affirming care providers from out-of-state attacks and is set to take effect in July. This bill follows Maine’s 2022 executive order safeguarding providers and patients of reproductive care in the wake of the Dobbs.

“Our state sends a clear message with LD 227: Maine remains a safe harbor for sexual and reproductive health care, for providers and the patients they serve. Extremists opposed to safe, legal medical care will not stop their assault on our rights, but we will not be intimidated by their attacks,” Lisa Margulies, Esq., Vice President of Public Affairs, Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund, said in a press release. “Clinicians deserve to serve their patients without fear of persecution by out-of-state politicians wholly unqualified to weigh in on personal medical decisions. Patients deserve access to health care that is safe and legal in our state. LD 227 protects our health care infrastructure from extremist attempts to take away our rights and freedoms.”

Read more here.