The Quickie: For Some Abortion Providers, Votes to Restore Rights Might Come Too Late

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 clinic closures could be permanent, Planned Parenthood Votes puts out statements on Trump and Larry Hogan.

FOR SOME ABORTION PROVIDERS, VOTES TO RESTORE RIGHTS MIGHT COME TOO LATE: Since the overturning of Roe, abortion rights measures have been on state ballots seven times and have succeeded each time. Unfortunately, for many providers, the challenge remains finding a way to keep their doors open while unable to provide abortion care. According to The 19th*, when abortion providers are forced to close due to bans or restrictions, they are unlikely to reopen, even if the state law is ultimately reversed. For some, the votes to restore abortion rights could come too late for them to continue or resume providing care.

Dr. Jill Gibson, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood Arizona, recognizes that much of the energy of the folks working at health centers in states with abortion restrictions is spent worrying about how they’ll remain open. “I wish that energy could have been spent in efforts to not just rebuild what has been pulled out from underneath us. … We have even been trying to rebuild the same table that we had, instead of trying to expand the house that we always wanted and visualized and dreamed of.” 

Read more at The 19th*. 

TRUMP SAYS HE WON’T SUPPORT CONTRACEPTION RESTRICTIONS. HIS RECORD IS ALREADY CLEAR THAT’S A LIE: Donald Trump said in an interview Tuesday that he’s considering restrictions on birth control, and later claimed that he and Republicans would not support a ban on birth control. That’s cute, but it’s a lie. We know exactly what he’ll do — because he already spent his first term restricting access to birth control and other sexual and reproductive health care. Let’s run the tape.

Statement from Jenny Lawson, executive director, Planned Parenthood Votes:

“Donald Trump’s position on sexual and reproductive health care is no mystery. Trump has a proven record of restricting birth control and dismantling reproductive health programs. In his first term, Trump attacked the Title X program by forcing out key providers and decimating a critical federal program that provides people affordable access to birth control, STI testing and treatment, and cancer screenings, among other vital health care. That’s just one in a long list of things that Trump and his administration pursued that had devastating consequences for sexual and reproductive health care nationwide — and they’ve made their plan for 2025 clear. Planned Parenthood Votes will continue to make clear to voters what Donald Trump and his allies did and will do if allowed into the White House again this year.”

LARRY HOGAN TRIES TO HIDE HIS ANTI-ABORTION RECORD: Looks like U.S. Senate candidate Larry Hogan read a poll and realized his anti-abortion record won’t win him any votes in 2024. In an effort to manipulate voters and hide his true position on abortion, Hogan released an ad yesterday, spouting lies in hopes that voters will forget his anti-abortion career record. The fact is, as governor, Hogan vetoed bills that would expand access to abortion care for Marylanders, even after the Dobbs decision.

Statement from Jenny Lawson, executive director, Planned Parenthood Votes: 

“Look at what Larry Hogan does, not what he says. Hogan is trying to manipulate voters by hiding from his record. But voters won’t fall for it. No matter what Hogan says now, he can’t hide from years of refusing to improve sexual and reproductive health for Marylanders, including vetoing a law that would expand abortion access in 2022. When state lawmakers overrode his veto he retaliated by blocking millions of dollars for training abortion providers. So he can’t be trusted to respect Marylanders in the U.S. Senate if he didn’t do so as governor. His record speaks for itself – he has shown us who he is and has made it clear that he has no real interest in protecting or expanding abortion access.”