The Quickie: Abortion is Now Banned in West Virginia 

Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. 

GOV. JIM JUSTICE CASUALLY ANNOUNCES THAT ABORTION IS NOW BANNED IN WEST VIRGINIA: Today, during a press briefing about the state’s COVID-19 response, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice unexpectedly announced that he has signed the near-total abortion ban state lawmakers passed on Tuesday in less than five hours. The ban took effect immediately upon his signature. “It’s done,” Justice said in the briefing, going on to call the ban’s extremely limited exceptions “reasonable and logical.” Those “reasonable and logical” exceptions permit victims of rape and incest to get an abortion only up to 8 weeks of pregnancy for adults and 14 weeks for minors, and only if the patient reports their assault to law enforcement at least 48 hours before the abortion and shows their provider the police report.

“This abortion ban will be deadly for the people of our state, just as the pandemic has been, and for Gov. Justice to callously announce the news like this is cowardly and despicable,” said Alisa Clements, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. “There is nothing more extreme than a law that strips people of their freedom. The limited exceptions in this bill are so narrow and so tightly restricted that it will make it extremely difficult for people in vulnerable situations —  including minors and survivors of sexual assault — to get the care they need. Abortion bans cost lives, and people will be denied life-saving care as a result of this government-mandated trauma."

ABORTION RIGHTS ARE FRONT AND CENTER IN PENNSYLVANIA MIDTERMS: As the midterm elections approach, Planned Parenthood Action Fund president Alexis McGill Johnson continues to highlight what is at stake for voters in Pennsylvania and in states nationwide. In a new Vanity Fair piece out yesterday, McGill Johnson reflected on the aims of anti-abortion politiciansexplaining “they are doubling down on things that are deeply unpopular, which shows you the lengths that they will go in order to control our bodies.”

The article contrasts the political dynamics between Pennsylvania voters and the anti-abortion politicans seeking office, while lifting up John Fetterman’s bold and unapologetic support for abortion access and voters’ enthusiastic response to that stance. 

Read the entire Vanity Fair piece here.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD’S SPANISH LANGUAGE BLOG TURNS ONE: A year ago, Planned Parenthood launched a blog in Spanish — “Sexo sin-vergüenza” — to talk about sex without shame with the Spanish-speaking Latino community. This past year, our educators have published 99 blogs with accurate and reliable information, responding to the most common questions and concerns of readers and thus helping to reduce misinformation on sexual and reproductive health issues.

But it's a blog. Why all the fuss?

Here’s the truth: Many Latino families do not have access to information about sex, contraception, sexual health, and intimate relationships in Spanish. Often, for cultural or religious reasons, these topics are considered sensitive and even taboo. With Sexo sin-vergüenza, we are helping minimize these barriers for young Latinos, their parents, and caregivers.

This year the most requested topics were pregnancy, abortion, emergency contraceptive methods, anal sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation. 

Get to know the blog in Spanish and ask our experts in "Sexo sin-verguenza".