The Quickie: Idahoans Travel to Utah for Emergency Abortion Care
For Immediate Release: May 7, 2024
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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 travel to Utah for emergency care, Florida’s abortion ban continues to devastate access, and TV show depicts navigating the current abortion landscape.
IDAHOANS TRAVEL TO UTAH FOR EMERGENCY ABORTION CARE: As the Supreme Court considers a case that could end federal protections for pregnant patients seeking emergency abortion care, Idahoans are already forced to travel out-of-state for care. Idaho providers have been sending patients to Utah, where abortion is legal up to 18 weeks — all while Utah’s Supreme Court considers a near-total ban.
Kathryn Boyd, president of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, explained exactly what the consequences of these policies have meant on the ground, noting, “Having lived in a state that had a near total abortion ban, having worked in a state that did have a total abortion ban, I’ve seen the effects up front of what this kind of restriction can do…people will have to seek care outside of the state of Utah, just like they’re having to do in Idaho right now.”
Read more in Fox 13.
FLORIDA’S 6-WEEK ABORTION BAN ALREADY IMPACTING CARE IN THE SOUTH: Florida’s six week abortion ban went into effect last week, eliminating nearly all access to abortion care in the South. Florida was a key point of access in the region, helping over 12,000 out-of-state patients since the Dobbs ruling.
Planned Parenthood health centers in North Carolina and Virginia are already experiencing wait times of up to two weeks and anticipate increases as demand grows. Because these states are far away and require more planning to get to, providers are seeing patients further along in pregnancy as navigating obstacles to accessing care becomes more difficult.
Planned Parenthood affiliates are working hard to accommodate the growing demand, but accounting for patient travel time makes increasing the number of appointments difficult. Katherine Farris, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, highlighted the impact of Florida’s ban on surrounding access states saying, “The reality is that there aren’t enough appointments for every patient in the South who will need an abortion.”
Read more in Politico.
NEW TV SHOW DEPICTS THE DIFFICULTY OF NAVIGATING THE CURRENT ABORTION LANDSCAPE: In case you missed it, last week the Max show “The Girls on the Bus” depicted the story of Sadie, a young reporter in need of an abortion, forced to navigate the rapidly changing abortion care landscape while traveling across the United States. Amy Chozick, co-creator of the show, shared insight from behind the scenes, “We literally had a map of the U.S. in the writers room like, ‘OK, they could be realistically campaigning in Missouri, and it is still legal in Illinois,’ so we were actually moving pieces of the campaign and the bus around.”
The episode serves as yet another reminder that your rights should not depend on your zip code.
Read more in Indie Wire.