The Quickie: Election Results In Ohio On Path To Permanently Restore Access

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: The path forward for Ohio abortion access, the Senate confirms 150 Biden judicial nominees, and the Fifth Circuit hears oral arguments treating pregnant patients with medical emergencies.

ELECTION RESULTS IN OHIO ON PATH TO PERMANENTLY RESTORE ACCESS: Earlier this week, voters in the Buckeye state said yes to enshrining abortion access in their state constitution, proving once again that when abortion is on the ballot, reproductive freedom wins. The outcome of this election is likely to fully roll back the state’s 2019 near-total abortion ban, which is currently on hold due to an ongoing lawsuit led by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the ACLU, and the ACLU of Ohio. 

With the passage of Issue 1, the Ohio Constitution will explicitly protect the right to carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including choosing to get an abortion, and prohibit anti-abortion politicians from enforcing laws like the six-week ban. While the Supreme Court of Ohio still has yet to rule on the two narrow questions it accepted in the case challenging the six-week ban, the direct question of whether the Ohio Constitution protects the right to abortion is not yet before the court. In a statement, the lead litigators in the case said, “...it is now abundantly clear that — if and when our case comes back before the Supreme Court — the court must honor the Ohio Constitution’s clear protections for abortion rights. We will continue fighting in Ohio courts to ensure that the will of Ohioans is respected, and that the six-week ban is permanently blocked once and for all.”

Read more here.

 

SENATE CONFIRMS 150 BIDEN JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS: This week, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm the Biden-Harris administration’s 150th judicial nominee. Historically, the federal bench has not reflected the diversity of America, but President Biden and Leader Schumer (D-NY) are changing that. 

Of the 150 nominations, 100 are women, 98 identify as people of color, 49 are Black, and 27 are Hispanic. This includes the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court and the first openly LGBTQ+ woman to sit on the federal bench. This administration has more life-tenured federal judges who are Black women, Hispanic women, Native American, and APPI to the federal bench than any other president. With the judicial branches’ power and influence over our rights, including reproductive rights, these confirmations are critical to rebuilding a judiciary that will protect abortion rights. 

Read more here.  

 

FIFTH CIRCUIT PANEL HEARS ORAL ARGUMENTS ON TREATING PREGNANT PATIENTS EXPERIENCING MEDICAL EMERGENCIES: Earlier this week, a panel of judges on the 5th Circuit heard oral arguments in a case where the state of Texas is suing over the Biden Administration's guidance regarding the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), which stated that the emergency medical care to stabilize a patient that is required to be provided under EMTALA, may, in some instances, include abortion. The guidance made clear that the emergency medical care that is required under EMTALA must be provided regardless of a state abortion ban.    

This is the second of two hearings this week before 5th Circuit panels that could dramatically reshape sexual and reproductive health in the country. 

Read more here.