The Quickie: Abortion Bans Are Interfering With Domestic Violence Screening
For Immediate Release: Nov. 16, 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: Abortion bans are interfering with domestic violence screening and Planned Parenthood North Central States moves site to meet the influx of out-of-state patients.
ABORTION BANS ARE INTERFERING WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SCREENING: As we’ve said countless times before: the impact of abortion bans go far beyond abortion. It’s standard procedure for most OB/GYNs to screen their patients for abuse and domestic violence. In fact, research shows OB/GYNs are usually the first— if not the only — doctors to find out that a patient is experiencing intimate partner violence. As abortion bans are enacted around the country, access to routine OB/GYN care is dwindling. Many providers are leaving states with bans due to the threat of criminal consequences or out of concern for their own reproductive care and that of their families.
Intimate partner violence disproportionately affects Black and Indigenous communities. According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, a devastating 45 percent of Black women report physical or sexual violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lives — a rate that is nearly 20% higher than their white non-Hispanic counterparts.
The bottom line is: To reverse such alarming trends, everyone needs access to the full range of sexual and reproductive care. The health and safety of our communities depends on it.
Read more from The 19th here.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD NORTH CENTRAL STATES OPENS NEW HEALTH CENTER WITH EXPANDED SERVICES, INCLUDING MEDICATION ABORTION: This week, Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPNCS) moved to a new location in Mankato, Minnesota to meet the evolving needs of patients in the post-Dobbs landscape. PPNCS will hire more staff to accommodate the influx of out-of-state patients and will now offer medication abortion services, significantly improving access to care as the provider previously had to refer patients to sites in Minneapolis. Ruth Richardson, CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, said “Restricting access to abortions only creates more barriers to accessing other forms of health care, creating ‘reproductive health care deserts.’”
Read more here