The Quickie: Abortion Pill Case Could Intensify Health Crisis Exponentially
For Immediate Release: Feb. 15, 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: PP president on the impact of an abortion pill ban, ban on youth gender affirming care signed in SD, UT passes resolution changing court rules to undermine injunction on abortion ban, Indigenous people face massive barriers to abortion care, and PP Votes reacts to Nikki Haley’s presidential bid.
ABORTION PILL CASE COULD INTENSIFY HEALTH CRISIS EXPONENTIALLY: This week, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson joined The Kristal Knight Show hosted by Newsweek to talk about the continued fight for abortion access post-Dobbs. She underscored that efforts to dismantle abortion rights and sexual and reproductive rights as a whole did not start or end with the overturn of Roe v. Wade, as anti-abortion politicians and activists continue to pursue bans and restrictions that undermine people’s access to essential health care services. Among those fights is a case that could revoke the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, one of the safe and effective medicines commonly used in the abortion pill regimen. Alexis noted:
“We cannot overstate the seriousness of this case right now… it would not just eliminate access to mifepristone in states where [abortion] is banned, it would eliminate access to mifepristone for this use nationwide. This is as much about New York, California, and Illinois as it is about Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi.
“We have to really pay attention to the devastation that ending access to mifepristone will have on top of already an abortion health care crisis. We are already living in a public health emergency because of the loss of abortion access in so many states and this would just intensify that exponentially.”
Listen to the whole interview here.
BAN ON GENDER AFFIRMING CARE FOR YOUTH SIGNED IN SOUTH DAKOTA: On Monday, Gov. Kristi Noem signed into law a ban on youth gender-affirming care that will go into effect on July 1. Transgender and gender non-conforming adolescents experience social stigma, discrimination, and physical and sexual violence that is associated with significant health disparities including increased rates of substance use, risk-taking behavior, and a two to three-fold increased risk of depression and suicide. Comprehensive, gender-affirming care, and supportive social and family environments, leads to health outcomes for gender diverse teens that are similar to their cisgender peers and can be lifesaving.
“By blocking youth from accessing medically necessary gender-affirming care, South Dakota politicians are harming some of the most vulnerable young people in the state,” Dr. Nicole Chaisson, Associate Medical Director and Director of Gender-Affirming Care at Planned Parenthood North Central States, said. “This is an emotional time for our patients who are seeking this life-affirming and life-saving care. Gender transition is a deeply personal process and how someone transitions is their choice. I want all transgender and gender expansive youth in South Dakota to know that we see you. You are loved. You are deserving of respect and autonomy.”
UTAH PASSES RESOLUTION CHANGING COURT RULES TO UNDERMINE INJUNCTION ON ABORTION BAN: Yesterday, the Utah House passed House Joint Resolution 2 (HJR 2), which changes civil procedure rules to curtail the emergency power of the state courts, effective immediately. Going forward, the rule changes will prevent litigants from securing a preliminary injunction unless they can demonstrate the case has a substantial likelihood of success, and it could also be used to undermine the current injunction blocking Utah’s abortion ban. In addition to undermining fundamental democratic checks and balances, HJR 2 will make it more difficult for family attorneys to secure an emergency court hearing to protect children from potentially harmful situations. Many attorneys, including representatives of the Utah State Bar and Utah Courts, opposed HJR 2.
“It should be alarming to everyone that legislators are willing to weaken the democratic structures of the state to change court orders that they disagree with,” said Karrie Galloway, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah. “Instead of altering the rules in the middle of the game by rewriting the standards for Utah's courts, the Legislature should do its job and focus on providing more stability and security to Utah families.”
Read more at KSL.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE FACE MASSIVE HURDLES TO ACCESS ABORTION CARE: Yesterday, AP highlighted the heightened difficulty for pregnant Indigenous people to receive abortion care after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Among the six states with the highest proportion of Indigenous residents, four — South Dakota, Oklahoma, Montana, and North Dakota — have already or have plans to severely restrict abortion care. This forces Indigenous people to travel often hundreds of miles to receive care and foot the bill for travel, time off from work, and child care.
Abortion was already highly inaccessible for Indigenous communities, even before last summer’s Dobbs decision. Even in access states, many health centers near or on reservations do not offer abortion services because the federal Indian Health Service clinics are governed by the Hyde Amendment, stopping them from using federal dollars for abortion care in most cases. Catholic clinics increasingly dominate the health care infrastructure near reservations, which do not offer abortion services either. Additionally, one in five Indigenous people are uninsured, making it difficult for many to pay for services at private clinics.
Read more at AP.
PP VOTES RESPONDS TO NIKKI HALEY’S PRESIDENTIAL BID: Yesterday, Nikki Haley became the second candidate to seek the Republican nomination for president. Like other GOP presidential hopefuls, Haley has a dangerous, unpopular record on abortion: she signed an abortion ban with no exceptions as governor of South Carolina, celebrated the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, and recently supported an anti-abortion bill that peddles misinformation about abortion access and would criminalize providers.
“Nikki Haley is a fickle, political opportunist who never fails to put her own interests above the rights and freedoms of millions of South Carolinians and all Americans,” Jenny Lawson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes, said. “She does not believe that people have the right to control their own lives, bodies, and futures, and her extreme record on reproductive health care puts her out of touch with the American public. No matter how hard she tries, voters will reject her misinformation and fear mongering to further stigmatize abortion. Nikki Haley will not be president.”