The Quickie: Rally at the Supreme Court Tomorrow 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: Rally at SCOTUS tomorrow for emergency care PP applauds HHS plan to strengthen HIPPA protections.

RALLY AT THE SUPREME COURT TOMORROW FOR EMERGENCY ABORTION CARE: Tomorrow at 9 am ET, patients, doctors, reproductive rights advocates, and legal experts will rally at the Supreme Court to support protecting access to emergency abortion care. Groups will gather as the Supreme Court hears arguments in Idaho v. United States and Moyle v. United States, consolidated cases that threaten the rights of pregnant people to get the emergency medical care they need under federal law – including abortion care. Speakers will share their stories and the impact of these cases and other attacks on sexual and reproductive health care. These cases carry significant implications for the future of emergency abortion care access in the country — and whether state abortion bans can override a nearly 40-year-old right provided by the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).

Please reach out to [email protected] for more information.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD APPLAUDS HHS PLAN TO STRENGTHEN HIPPA PROTECTIONS: Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced its final rule to strengthen protections under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This important rule protects reproductive health data, as state attacks on abortion access since the 2022 Dobbs decision continue to jeopardize the privacy of patients and health care providers. This final rule is part of the Biden administration’s work to defend patients’ access to reproductive health care, regardless of age, gender, pregnancy status, or outcome. In response, Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund released the following statement: 

“We are in the middle of a public health crisis, where politically-motivated lawmakers hostile to our rights and freedoms are attacking every facet of reproductive health care, from abortion access to birth control. This is not complicated: Your personal health care data should never be used against you. Not by prosecutors, not by lawmakers, and not by private citizens who have been encouraged to enforce abortion bans. Everyone, no matter where they live or how much money they have, should be able to access the health care they need — free of fear that their health information will be compromised.

“Planned Parenthood health centers are committed to protecting patient data and ensuring that everyone can get the care they need, when they need it. All patients and providers deserve champions fighting for them at all levels of government — and we are grateful to Secretary Becerra and the Biden-Harris administration for their continued commitment to the fight for reproductive freedom.