The Quickie: New PPGP Health Center in SE Kansas Will Provide Abortion at Critical Access Point

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: PPGP announces a new health center, AZ Supreme Court delays total abortion ban, a PP Votes spotlight, and another study shows mifepristone is safe and effective.

NEW PPGP HEALTH CENTER IN SE KANSAS WILL PROVIDE ABORTION AT CRITICAL ACCESS POINT: Today, Planned Parenthood Great Plains (PPGP) announced the future opening of a new health center in Pittsburg, Kansas — located near the border between Kansas and Missouri and close to Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas. Since the Dobbs decision, PPGP health centers have seen an immense demand for abortion care from out-of-state patients – over half of PPGP’s patients visiting their KS health centers are from Texas, driving more than 8 hours to receive care. Slated to open in the fall, the new health center will provide both medication and procedural abortions, contraception, and STI testing and treatment, as well as other critical sexual and reproductive health services 

The need for care in the region is high and PPGP is proud to provide abortion care to its patients. Dr. Iman Alsaden, chief medical officer, knows that the need for abortion services does not end here. “The demand is there — I think the demand would be there for multiple clinics. … This will be another touch point for people to be able to access care where and when they need it.” 

Read more at NPR. 

ARIZONA SUPREME COURT FURTHER DELAYS TOTAL ABORTION BAN: Late yesterday, the Arizona Supreme Court granted a motion from Attorney General Kris Mayes, delaying enforcement of the state’s total abortion ban for an additional 90 days from when the court issues its final ruling. The earliest expected date of enforcement is now September 26. But as NBC News reports, a pause in care could still happen if lawmakers do not adjourn soon, allowing a repeal to take effect. 

In the NBC News report, Arizona for Abortion Access spokesperson Chris Love noted, “With this order, Arizonans are still subjected to another extreme ban, one that punishes patients experiencing pregnancy complications and survivors of rape and incest.” Meanwhile, Love told the Arizona Republic: “Arizonans deserve to know our rights are ensured and protected, not constantly in flux based on the whims of politicians or the outcomes of endless lawsuits.” 

In a statement reported by the Arizona Mirror, Planned Parenthood Arizona president and CEO Angela Florez reiterated that the affiliate plans to continue providing care through 15 weeks of pregnancy as long as they can. “We know that it is now more important than ever to provide care to as many patients as we legally can, and we are committed to expanding our services to meet the increasing needs of our community, including recently resuming medication abortion services at our Flagstaff Health Center,” she said. “We will not be intimidated or silenced by anti-abortion extremists, because our bodies and our autonomy are at stake. We know the overwhelming majority of Arizonans support the right to abortion.”

Read more from NBC News, the Arizona Republic, and the Arizona Mirror. 

PLANNED PARENTHOOD AFFILIATES OF CALIFORNIA VOTES PAC LAUNCHED SEVEN-FIGURE “WE DECIDE CA”: Today, PPAC VOTES PAC launched a statewide, seven-figure electoral campaign targeting eight competitive U.S. House races, including CA03, CA13, CA22, CA27, CA40, CA41, CA45, and CA47. These races have the potential to determine whether the House is controlled by unapologetic abortion rights supporters or abortion opponents. PPAC is working alongside Planned Parenthood Votes as part of PPV’s effort to prioritize U.S. House races during the 2024 election cycle, including investments in California.

The campaign launched today with a website, video, and digital assets as well as a six-figure digital ad buy across the state.

WE’RE NOT A BROKEN RECORD (YET), BUT A NEW STUDY SHOWING MIFE IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE (AGAIN) KEEPS MAKING OUR POINT CLEAR: We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again, mifepristone is safe and effective, and we’ve seen a series of studies that confirm that. Yesterday, JAMA Internal Medicine published new research reaffirming what we keep saying — mifepristone is safe and effective, even when dispensed through telemedicine. The study’s findings support the FDA’s decision to remove in-person dispensing requirements for mifepristone. Less than 1% of participants had serious adverse events and none of them were associated with mail-order dispensing. 

Read more here.