The Quickie: New Polling Finds Continued Support from Americans for Medication Abortion

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.

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In today’s Quickie: new polling finds strong support for medication abortion legality based on its safety and efficacy, how CPCs intentionally mimic abortion clinics to trick patients, KY advances egregious anti-trans bill, top 5 lies told by anti-abortion activists, and our weekly state fights round up. 

NEW POLLING FINDS CONTINUED SUPPORT FROM AMERICANS FOR MEDICATION ABORTION: Today’s new Navigator polling data confirms what we already know: the majority of Americans support medication abortion remaining legal–by a 37-point margin. Moreover, three in four Americans view the argument that medication abortion is safe and effective as a convincing argument for why medication abortion to end an early pregnancy should remain legal.

View Navigator’s full results here. 

WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: HOW CPCS INTENTIONALLY MIMIC ABORTION CLINICS TO TRICK PATIENTS: Yesterday, Bill Shaner at Teen Vogue investigated the tactics that anti-abortion centers, also known as crisis pregnancy centers, employ to deceive pregnant people seeking health care. Anti-abortion centers are neither health care centers nor are they staffed with licensed medical professionals; however, these centers often advertise themselves to pregnant people using messaging, language, and imagery similar to real abortion clinics. 

These tactics aren’t new: the article describes how since the 1980s, anti-abortion group PP Inc. — short for Problem Pregnancy — has tried to deceive patients seeking care at Planned Parenthood in central Massachusetts. It took a court order to stop them from using a logo deceptively similar to Planned Parenthood’s. At one point, their center was  even right across the hall from  Planned Parenthood health center’s offices.

Nationally, fake clinics like Problem Pregnancy outnumber legitimate health care providers  three to one. Theyoften receive funding from state governments while lawmakers  cut funding for reproductive health care. Compounding this issue, these centers often avoid regulation by not registering as businesses or health care providers, claiming their activities are covered by the First Amendment to avoid scrutiny. 

Read more at Teen Vogue. 

KENTUCKY LAWMAKERS LAUNCH EGREGIOUS ATTACK ON TRANS RIGHTS: Yesterday, the Kentucky House advanced HB 470, which would ban gender-affirming care for trans youth, prohibit name and gender changes on birth certificates if they are for gender-affirming purposes, prohibit public funding for such procedures, and prevent the Department of Juvenile Justice from acknowledging trans youth in the justice system’s gender identity. 

“The intent of this legislation is to mandate state-sanctioned gender policing of youth, “ said Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. “This bill ignores medicine, ignores science, and ignores humanity. It is beyond cruel and part of a nationwide, coordinated attack that puts trans kids in the center of their conservative culture war. Kentuckians want their kids to thrive and live full authentic lives, and for trans youth that means the ability to access gender affirming care.” 

Bills like HB 470 are extremely dangerous; the American Medical Association has repeatedly opposed such bills, making clear that it is “imperative that transgender minors be given the opportunity to explore their gender identity under the safe and supportive care of a physician.” The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. 

Read more at the Courier Journal. 

TOP FIVE LIES TOLD BY ANTI-ABORTION ACTIVISTS AND POLITICIANS: Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and states began banning abortion, it’s clearer than ever that anti-abortion politicians and organizations have been lying to the American people for decades. Here’s the summary of the five big lies long-pushed by opponents of reproductive freedom, and read the full memo from PPAF here.

Lie 1: “We don’t want to criminalize pregnant people for seeking abortion care.”

Lie 2: “We are not trying to ban abortion nationwide, we just want to return the power to regulate abortion back to the states.”

Lie 3: “We only want to restrict abortion; we aren’t attacking access to birth control and other forms of sexual and reproductive health care.”

Lie 4: “We believe that parents should have control over all of their children’s medical decisions.”

Lie 5: “We are banning abortion because it’s what our constituents want and voted for when we were elected to serve.”

STATE FIGHTS ROUND UP: As we kick off the third month of the 2023 state legislative session, more than 240 anti-abortion bills have been filed across the country, along with over 230 proactive bills. 

• The Michigan House voted yesterday to finally repeal the state’s 1931 criminal abortion ban, and companion repeal bills also advanced this week in the Senate. While the nearly century-old ban has been unenforceable since the Michigan Court of Claims enjoined it last fall — and further nullified by Proposition 3, which was  passed by voters in November to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution — officially striking the law from the books is an important continuation of abortion rights advocates’ work in the state. 
• Arkansas lawmakers approved the Support for Pregnant and Parenting Students Act, which was signed by Gov. Sanders last week. The law requires public schools to  give at least 10 days of excused leave to students who are pregnant or parenting for medical and legal appointments and recovery from childbirth. Schools must also give such students time to make up for missed school work. 

• Though Wyoming already has a total abortion ban, late Wednesday, the Wyoming Senate passed legislation that would ban abortion without the extremely limited rape and incest exceptions in the state’s currently blocked ban. HB 152, which quickly passed the House last month, would also remove what limited Medicaid coverage for abortion the state currently provides under the ban, meaning that even if someone in the state got an abortion to save their life, Medicaid would not cover the costs. It now goes back to the House for concurrence before heading to the governor’s desk.
• Today, the Utah Legislature passed HB 467, a measure that could, at worst, functionally end abortion in the state. It now goes to Gov. Cox's desk for signature. HB 467 would deny abortion clinics licenses after May 2024 at the latest; would require all abortions be done in hospitals, despite the fact that most Utah hospitals only offer abortion in the most extreme circumstances; and would impose additional restrictions on providers. It would also further tighten the exceptions in the state’s current abortion bans. 
• This morning, the Idaho House State Affairs Committee will hear HB242, a bill that aims to target and criminalize people who would help minors access abortion care out of state. The bill only gives an affirmative defense for instances where there is parental consent, meaning helpers could face prosecution even if a young person’s parents consented to the care. The measure is similar to HB98, which was introduced earlier this year.
• In Iowa anti-abortion politicians in the House introduced a total abortion ban. In addition to penalizing abortion providers, the extreme bill also allows anyone to sue someone who “aids and abets” a pregnant person seeking an abortion and requires internet service providers to block people’s access to websites related to abortion care while in the state.
• A newly introduced Texas bill would also compel internet providers in the state to block websites that offer information about medication abortion and increase penalties for those who help someone get an abortion, even if they travel to a state where abortion is still legal.
• Arkansas lawmakers are quickly advancing bills that would make it harder to run ballot initiatives. HB 1320, legislation that places the ballot title approval process back in the hands of the Attorney General, is on the governor’s desk. A second bill, HB 1419, which would impose a new requirement that petitions be submitted from at least 50 counties passed a Senate committee yesterday. 

Gender-affirming care bans continue to advance at warp speed:

• Tennessee became the first state in the nation to ban drag performances in public settings. The law is set to take effect on April 1.
• Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed HB 1125, which bars medical professionals from providing gender-affirming health care for trans youth and prohibits individuals from aiding and abetting a trans person seeking gender-affirming care, making Mississippi the sixth state overall and the third state this year to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth.
• The Oklahoma House passed a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth (HB 2177). Additional restrictions in the bill could effectively end gender-affirming care in the state by banning coverage for gender-affirming care in private health insurance plans and prohibiting public funding for any gender-affirming care provider or their affiliated organizations. It now heads to the Senate for consideration. Two drag bans (HB 2186 and SB 503) have also passed committee in Oklahoma. 
• The Kentucky Judiciary Committee advanced HB470, a ban on gender-affirming care for youth, to the full House. The bill also threatens a broad range of health care providers with disciplinary actions and lawsuits. 
• West Virginia’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth (HB 2007) passed out of the first of two Senate committees on Thursday, moving one step closer to the governor’s desk. The bill passed the House last month.
• Georgia's "Don't Say Gay" bill was tabled by the Senate Education and Youth committee this week. The measure could be revived later in session.