The Quickie: Idahoans Rally for Emergency Abortion Care

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: Idahoans rally for emergency care and a state fights round up.

IDAHOANS RALLY FOR EMERGENCY ABORTION CARE: Yesterday, hundreds of Idahoans rallied for emergency abortion care ahead of Supreme Court arguments in a case that could determine whether EMTALA protects such care. 

“We already have two hospitals here in Idaho who have shut down their maternity wards because we have providers fleeing the state,” Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky president and CEO Rebecca Gibron told  Boise Public Radio. “Lawmakers can deny all they want, but the facts are clear: physicians are leaving the State of Idaho for fear of criminal prosecution for simply doing their job.”

“For a state government to say that abortion should not be included in emergency care, is such an egregious affront to human life,” added Dr. Keemi Ereme, a Washington-based OBGYN. 

Dr. Ereme’s personal experiences of providing emergency abortion care were featured in an immersive experience sponsored by Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Physicians for Reproductive Health where people could listen to the testimony of providers and patients:

The Huffington Post reports that St. Luke’s hospital system has life-flighted six patients out of state in the six months that the ban has been allowed to override EMTALA, and officials there estimate around 20 patients per year will need to be transferred out of state if the ban is allowed to remain in place.

STATE FIGHTS ROUND UP: Anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ bills continue to move in states across the country. 

• Alaska: HB 17, a contraceptive coverage bill that would require coverage of a 12-month supply of contraceptives overwhelmingly passed the House last month and was heard in the Senate Health and Social Services Committee last week. However, the bill was amended to allow broad refusals of contraceptive coverage for religious reasons. It is soon expected to move to the full Senate.
• Arizona: Arizona Republicans again blocked attempts to repeal the state’s 1864 total abortion ban despite outcry from people across the state. 
  • Also in Arizona, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed an anti-trans bill (SB 1628) that aims to remove all mentions of “gender” in the state code and define “sex” to mean a person’s sex assigned at birth and allow discrimination against transgender people in sports and access to restrooms and even domestic violence services. 
• Delaware: The Delaware House Appropriations Committee advanced a bill that would require the state Medicaid program to cover abortion. The bill now heads to the House floor. 
• Hawai’i: The House passed the Reproductive Health Equity Act (SB 2605), which would require health insurers and the state employee insurance program to cover abortion and other reproductive care. The bill has passed both chambers but heads to conference committee before going to the governor.
• Idaho: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Idaho can enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for all minors in the state except the two plaintiffs in the case while litigation continues in the lower courts. The ban, which passed the state legislature last May, makes it a felony for medical professionals to provide this essential medical care to trans and nonbinary young people — with a possibility of up to 10 years in prison. The Supreme Court did not weigh in on the merits of the case and is expected to soon announce whether it will hear three different cases out of Tennessee and Kentucky related to gender-affirming care for minors during its next term.
• Tennessee: Tennessee’s Senate and House Finance Committees voted to redirect $3 million from the Governor's maternal health services grant program to anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. 
• Louisiana: The House passed a slate of anti-LGBTQ+ bills including:
  • HB 121, a bill that would require that teachers use the name on a student's birth certificate and pronouns that align with the student’s sex assigned at birth unless written permission is provided by the parent. The bill also allows school employees and students to refuse  to use a student's correct names and pronouns — even if the student’s parent provides consent required in the bill.
  • HB 122, a Don't Say Gay Bill that prohibits teachers from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity in ways that do not align with the state-approved curriculum and prohibits teachers from discussing their own gender identity or sexual orientation.
  • HB 608, a bill that would restrict what public facilities including bathrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters trans folks can use — including in domestic violence shelters. 
• Arkansas: Lawmakers are advancing SB 64, legislation that would double taxpayer funding for anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers.” The bill is expected to receive final approval in the Joint Budget Committee this week before heading to the Senate floor.
• Kentucky: A bill that would affirmatively grant parents access to minors’ medical records became law in Kentucky. HB 174 could have a chilling effect on young people trying to access care such as birth control, mental health care, or STI treatment, allowing the bill to become law. It will take effect in 90 days.
• Michigan: The Michigan House Health Policy Committee approved HB 5436 and HB 5435, legislation allowing trained pharmacists to prescribe birth control. The bills would also require health insurance policies to cover prescriptions for these contraceptives.