The Quickie: Kamala Harris & Abortion Rights Advocates Rally for Reproductive Freedom

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: Rally for Reproductive Freedom, ND enacts near-total abortion ban, SC abortion ban advances, and MO to severely limit gender-affirming care. 

KAMALA HARRIS & ABORTION RIGHTS ADVOCATES RALLY FOR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM: Yesterday, Vice President Kamala Harris joined Planned Parenthood Action Fund president Alexis McGill Johnson, along with leaders from the ACLU, EMILYs List, and NARAL, and reproductive rights advocates at Howard University in support of the fundamental right to abortion and the full range of reproductive health care. In an auditorium packed with Howard students, educators, abortion rights supporters, and advocates, the Vice President delivered a fiery retort to the undemocratic, dangerous, and relentless attacks from anti-aboriton politicians across the country.

(Photos courtesy of Shannon Finney @shannonphotogal)

“…Freedom is on our side,” Alexis McGill Johnson told Supercreator. “...and the opposition is really working overtime because they understand that the majority of Americans want to make their own decisions about their own bodies, they want to make their own decisions about their policies in their state, that they want to be able to make their own decisions about being able to read accurate history. And I think that all of that I think will redound to the freedom of future generations. And I think we have to remember that.”

Among the various speakers at the rally included Planned Parenthood Generation Action Howard Chapter president Angel Danielle Sobtejou, Dr. Serina Floyd, OB/GYN, and Brittany House, an abortion storyteller and Howard alum. 

Watch the full event here. Read more about the event at USA Today and Vanity Fair. 

NORTH DAKOTA ENACTS ONE OF THE STRICTEST ABORTION BANS IN COUNTRY: Earlier this week, North Dakota Gov. Burgum signed one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country into law. S.B. 1250 bans all abortions in the state, except in very narrow circumstances where a pregnant person’s life is at risk. The law also provides an exception for survivors of rape or incest, but only until six weeks of pregnancy — before many people even know they are pregnant. Providers found in violation of S.B. 1250 will be charged with a felony, simply for delivering essential health care. 

“Abortion is essential health care, and politicians have no place inserting themselves into private, personal medical decisions,” Katie Christensen, Planned Parenthood North Dakota Action Fund State Director of External Affairs, said in a statement. “My heart is heavy for survivors of rape and sexual assault who will have their bodily autonomy further stripped away, for doctors who will have to choose between practicing the ethical standard of care or breaking the law.”

Prior to this ban, abortions were legal until 20 weeks of pregnancy following the state’s Supreme Court ruling in March blocking the state’s trigger ban. Despite the court’s decision, anti-abortion lawmakers moved to pass this nearly identical ban just one month later.

Read more at Vox and CNN. 

SOUTH CAROLINA NEAR-TOTAL ABORTION BAN ADVANCES TO FINAL VOTE: Yesterday, after two rounds of voting, the South Carolina Senate advanced House Bill 3774, a total abortion ban with extremely limited exceptions. Under HB 3774, a patient who has learned that their baby will not survive childbirth must have the diagnosis confirmed by two doctors before obtaining an abortion, and a survivor of rape or incest can only receive care after their doctor reports the assault to law enforcement in the county where the crime was committed.

Horrifyingly, during yesterday’s debate, Majority Leader Senator Shane Massey said a 10-year-old victim of incest should be forced to deliver a baby, suggesting he'd "love" on the victim instead of allowing her to have an abortion. 

“Politicians are attempting to force South Carolinians, including children, to give birth in a state with dangerously high rates of maternal and infant mortality and a shortage of OB/GYN doctors — all of which get worse every year,” said Vicki Ringer, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. “Rather than pass legislation aimed at increasing access to health care, attracting more health care providers to the state, and combatting our maternal mortality crisis, state lawmakers are once again ramming through a near-total abortion ban that will inevitably lead to more families trapped in poverty and preventable deaths.”

The bill, which has already passed the House, will now move on to a third and final vote in the Senate. Debate will begin this afternoon at around 1pm ET. If passed, H.B. 3774 will then head the governor’s desk and take immediate effect upon his signature. 

Read more at AP.

MISSOURI TO SEVERELY LIMIT GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE FOR ALL AGES STARTING TOMORROW: Tomorrow, an effective ban on gender-affirming care for all ages is set to take effect in Missouri. Unless a state court blocks the new emergency rule in a challenge brought by Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Missouri, trans and gender nonconforming people will be forced to leave the state to access this essential and life-affirming care. 

The draconian rule, issued by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, will severely restrict gender-affirming care, a time-tested range of services endorsed by leading medical organizations, using false claims and medically unnecessary barriers. If it takes effect, people seeking gender-affirming care must:

• have exhibited a medically documented “persistent and intense pattern of gender dysphoria” for at least three years;
• gone through at least 18 months of therapy with at least 15 sessions and “resolved” all other mental health problems;
• be screened for autism;
• be assessed by doctors every year to determine if they continue to have gender dysmorphia; and
• be screened to ensure they are not “experiencing social contagion”. 

People who started gender-affirming care before the rule takes effect will not have to meet these burdensome requirements — so providers across the state are racing to establish records for patients so they can continue to receive care. Both Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri (PPSLRSWMO) added hundreds of appointments over the last two weeks at health centers and pop up clinics across the state. The demand is crushing: at PPSLRSWMO, over 250 emergency appointments were added to the schedule when the rule was announced. All slots filled immediately. 

“Overwhelmingly patient after patient was just terrified and angry,” Dr. Colleen McNicholas, PPSLRSWMO Chief Medical Officer, said. “So many of them feel like they finally have found the thing that helps them feel whole and helps them be seen and helps them live healthy lives. Then they wake up in the morning and the attorney general has decided that their life is not worth valuing and that he’s going to take that care away from them.”

Read more at the Washington Post and Buzzfeed News.