The Quickie: VP Harris Discusses Post-Roe Challenges with PP Abortion Provider
For Immediate Release: June 7, 2023
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: VP Harris discusses post-Roe challenges with PPSLRSWMO’s Dr. McNicholas, PP Votes responds to Pence and Christie's presidential runs, and PP and partners challenge KS abortion restrictions in court.
VP HARRIS DISCUSSES POST-ROE CHALLENGES WITH PP ABORTION PROVIDER: This morning, Teen Vogue featured a conversation between Vice President Kamala Harris and Dr. Colleen McNicholas, Chief Medical Officer for Reproductive Health Services at Planned Parenthood St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, reflecting on the impact of the Dobbs decision as we near one year since the loss of our federal right to abortion. Dr. McNicholas emphasized the challenges abortion providers face in states with abortion bans, and how frustrating it is to know the best care to provide but be unable to do so because legislators have banned or severely restricted abortion access. VP Harris also continued to emphasize the administration’s support for federal legislation protecting abortion rights.
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Watch the full conversation at Teen Vogue.
PP VOTES RESPONDS TO CHRISTIE AND PENCE PRESIDENTIAL RUNS: In the last day, both former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie have launched their candidacies for the Republican nomination for president of the United States… and we have thoughts.
A Pence presidency would be an unmitigated disaster for our reproductive rights, as Jenny Lawson, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Votes, explains: “While other contenders are dodging questions on abortion and trying to hide their agendas, Pence is boastfully and unapologetically leaning into his radical platform: anti-abortion and anti all things reproductive health and rights. From his time as Indiana governor, to his obsession with ‘defunding’ Planned Parenthood as a congressman and vice president, he is a direct threat to public health in this country. Pence would do everything in his power as president to ban abortion nationwide and criminalize providers.”
Christie is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, espousing moderate views while turning around and decimating access to critical health care. Lawson calls a Christie presidential run “a bridge too far.” More from Lawson: “Voters won’t be fooled by Chris Christie’s disingenuous ‘moderate’ image. As governor, Christie blatantly ignored the will of New Jerseyans to push his radical agenda and vetoed funding for Planned Parenthood and other family planning health centers. As a failed presidential candidate and professional political talking head, he’s worked hand-in-hand with anti-abortion groups to support abortion bans across the country.”
As the Washington Post Editorial Board points out this morning, there are core questions about abortion each presidential candidate will need to answer on the campaign trail. These GOP candidates need to be on the record about their out-of-touch views on sexual and reproductive health care access — don’t be shy!
KANSAS ABORTION RESTRICTIONS CHALLENGED IN COURT: Yesterday, Kansas abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood Great Plains, filed a lawsuit in state court challenging several onerous, harmful restrictions on care. The restrictions being challenged in the lawsuit include:
- A requirement that patients receive inaccurate state-mandated information, including medically unfounded statements that abortion poses a “risk of premature birth in future pregnancies” and “risk of breast cancer”.
- Arbitrary bureaucratic requirements that certain state-mandated information be received in printed form, in specific typeface, font size, and color 24 hours in advance of an abortion, delaying access to time-sensitive health care.
- A medically unnecessary rule forcing patients to wait 30 minutes after meeting with their abortion provider before they may receive abortion care.
- A law requiring providers to relay to patients at least five times that a medication abortion can be “reversed”—a false, and potentially dangerous, claim unsupported by scientific evidence.
"Kansas lawmakers continued their attacks on reproductive freedom this legislative session by enacting harmful restrictions that delay patients' care and subject them to lies about a safe and effective medical procedure," Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. "Make no mistake: these laws are designed to shame and stigmatize people as part of a broader effort to make abortion inaccessible. We will not stand by as Kansans' rights continue to be undermined — especially after they made their support for abortion access resoundingly clear last summer.”
Read more at Kansas City Star and AP. Read more at PPFA.