The Quickie: Hundreds of Planned Parenthood Advocates Attend Summit and Lobby on Capitol Hill
For Immediate Release: Feb. 1, 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: hundreds of PP advocates attend summit featuring Sec. Becerra and lobby on Capitol Hill, PRO Act signed into law in MN, NE abortion patients speak out against proposed near total abortion ban, and NH legislature moves to codify abortion rights.
HUNDREDS OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD PATIENT ADVOCATES, ORGANIZERS ATTEND SUMMIT, HEAR FROM SECRETARY BECERRA, LOBBY ON CAPITOL HILL: This weekend, hundreds of patient advocates, organizers, and volunteers from states across came to Washington DC for for a Planned Parenthood summit focused on training, community building, and workshops to strengthen their organizing and storytelling skills for this year’s state legislative sessions. Yesterday, they put those skills to use on Capitol Hill, as organizers and storytellers met with their members of Congress and advocated for legislation critical to sexual and reproductive health care and abortion access.
Photo from Senator Tester’s office.
Photo of Tatiana Perkins and Hannah Marcus closing out the summit.
Photo of storytellers and advocates in Patty Murray’s office.
Photo of storytellers and advocates from across the country on our “Lobby Day”.
Read more here from the Pennsylvania Capital-Star about patient storytellers and advocates from Pennsylvania who met with U.S. Sen. John Fetterman yesterday.
MN GOV. WALZ SIGNS PRO ACT: Yesterday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed the Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act into law, allowing it to take effect immediately. The PRO Act codifies reproductive freedom into state law and ensures all Minnesotans are free to make their own reproductive health care decisions, including the right to contraception, the right to fertility treatment, and the right to abortion.
“Minnesota has become a national leader for reproductive freedom and equity,” said Dr. Sarah Traxler, Chief Medical Officer at Planned Parenthood North Central States. “And as states around us continue to restrict reproductive health care, Minnesota’s abortion access will only grow more critical. By passing the PRO Act, we’ve trusted patients and doctors to make decisions, and told people across the country they are welcome here.”
Read more at the Wall Street Journal. Read PPAF’s full release here.
NEBRASKA ABORTION PATIENTS SPEAK OUT AGAINST PROPOSED NEAR TOTAL BAN: Yesterday, Nebraskan abortion patients shared their abortion experiences to advocate against the proposed near total abortion ban, recently introduced by lawmakers. The proposed ban would also strip doctors of their medical licenses for abortion care administered after six weeks of pregnancy.
“It seems obvious, but when someone is bleeding or in pain, they should not have to scour laws and vague legal language on state websites like I did,” Abby Johnson said. “We can pretend that these bills make exceptions for miscarriage, or rape and incest, but we have already seen how these bans actually play out in states that have outlawed abortion post-Roe.”
“My abortion allowed me to finish high school, go on to college and eventually complete my Master’s degree in Business Administration,” Kacie Ware said. “I now have a successful career and a beautiful family with two kids that I was prepared for, physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. Banning abortion won’t stop them from happening, it simply makes abortion exponentially more difficult for people who need to access this type of health care.”
Lawmakers will hear testimony on the proposed legislation today during a Health and Human Services committee hearing.
NH LEGISLATURE MOVES TO CODIFY ABORTION RIGHTS: Yesterday, the New Hampshire Senate Judiciary held their first hearing on the Access to Abortion-care Act (SB 181), which would codify abortion rights into state law and ensure that care is protected. Advocates testifying at the public hearing included Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund. Its identical House counterpart (HB 88) will have a public hearing on February 15.
“Here in New Hampshire, abortion remains safe and legal until 24 weeks, with some exceptions,” Liz Canada, Advocacy Manager at Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund, said. “Now that there are no longer federal constitutional protections for abortion rights, however, it’s on New Hampshire lawmakers to offer clarity in a legally, ethically, and clinically chaotic country for reproductive rights. We urge lawmakers to pass the Access to Abortion-care Act, to provide critical assurances to Granite Staters that they have the right to make personal, private health care decisions without government interference.”
Read more at Concord Monitor.