The Quickie: AMJ Closes Out The Year With National Organization For Women

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: Alexis McGill Johnson reflects on the post-Roe landscape and looks forward to 2024 and a new Maine law makes abortion care more accessible. 

AMJ CLOSES OUT THE YEAR WITH NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN: To close out the year, Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s president and CEO, joined National Organization for Women’s president Christian F. Nunes in conversation with Nancy Davis on the podcast Feminism NOW. The two reproductive rights champions reflected on the post-Roe landscape, the path forward, and reminded us to keep the fight at the center of conversations in the new year.

Nancy Davis highlighted her experience of having to travel out of state for an abortion, and how that impacted her ability to access health care.

“Acrania was not listed on the list of exceptions, although it still should have been covered under those listed exceptions. It really highlights the confusion amongst the laws and how the doctors are actually scared to provide these services because they are scared of prosecution, being fined and even jail time, you know?”

And as Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson explained about the impact of abortion bans and restrictions:

“What Nancy’s story is really indicative of what we are seeing with patients across the South and the Midwest are patients who are being made to justify their health care needs, to justify their decisions about when and if they want to start a family or continue a family, to raise resources, to travel out of state, or to go to a court to make a case for why they should be trusted to make their own decisions around their own bodies. Really, because they’re not trusted to make decisions about their own bodies, they have to go plea in front of a judge.”

Listen to the episode here.

 

MAINE LAW MAKING ABORTION CARE MORE ACCESSIBLE GOES INTO EFFECT: Today, a new law in Maine will take effect, making abortion care more accessible and affordable for Mainers with insurance. Patients and reproductive rights advocates celebrate LD 935, An Act to Remove Barriers to Abortion Coverage in Private Insurance, which prohibits insurance companies from requiring patients meet deductibles or other cost-sharing fees before they will cover care. This law removes financial barriers that often forced people later into their pregnancies while they scrambled to find the money for care that, per Maine law, was covered by their insurance.

“LD 935 is a step towards aligning the right to abortion care granted under Maine’s current laws with the financial realities of accessing essential health care”, Lisa Margulies, Esq., Vice President of Public Affairs, Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund, said in a press release “We are proud of every Mainer who made their voice heard last legislative session to help this and other bills pass, and we appreciate that our elected leaders listened to their constituents as well as medical providers and responded to their needs. 

We look forward to working with Mainers and all Maine lawmakers to continue centering the needs of Maine people, of patients and of the providers who care for them, in advocating for policy that protects reproductive liberties and keeps Maine moving forward." 

Read the full statement here