The Quickie: Court Ruling Paves The Way For More Abortion Access Wins In PA

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: PA SC ruling delivers landmark victory for abortion access, abortion navigators help people get access to abortion care.

LANDMARK PENNSYLVANIA RULING PAVES WAY FOR MORE ABORTION ACCESS WINS: Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state’s abortion providers, delivering a landmark victory for abortion access. The Court ruled that abortion providers could challenge the Pennsylvania ban on Medicaid coverage for abortion as sex discrimination under the Equal Rights Amendment and as a violation of the Equal Protection provisions of the Pennsylvania Constitution. In doing so, the court overruled the decades-old precedent that foreclosed such a challenge. 

Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, applauded the decision: 

“With abortion under attack across the country, Pennsylvania continues to be a beacon of hope. Planned Parenthood Federation of America applauds the advocates and providers, including our Pennsylvania affiliates, who fought tirelessly for this win.”  

“Even though a majority of the Court didn’t hold there is a fundamental right to abortion in Pennsylvania,” said David S. Cohen, constitutional law professor at Drexel Kline School of Law. “This issue will come back to the Court in the future, and we now have a great building block to accomplish that goal.”  Signe Espinoza, executive director of Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates, agreed, calling the ruling “the first step toward ending discriminatory access to care, and we remain committed to removing every barrier to abortion.”

While abortion remains legal in Pennsylvania, the state still has significant barriers. The Medicaid coverage ban denies Pennsylvanians with low incomes access to care and forces some people to delay their abortion — in turn raising the cost and risk to their health. 

Learn more about the case from litigators at the Women’s Law Project and at Spotlight PA. 

 

MORE NAVIGATORS ARE HELPING PEOPLE GET ABORTION CARE — Patient navigators remain critical to ensuring people can access abortion care when they need it. With 98 Planned Parenthood navigators and dozens of others who work for abortion funds, independent providers, and other national organizations, this safety net guides patients to accessing care and funds for transportation, food, child care, and hotels. 

This need has always existed, but the Dobbs decision has increased the need exponentially. Danika Severino Wynn, vice president of abortion access for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, estimates that over 127,000 people have relied on Planned Parenthood patient navigators since July 2021. At the affiliate level, Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette in Oregon — where abortion is legal with no restrictions — has seen an increased need for these services, too, citing the increasing need for funds to pay for the abortion, inquiring about services in other languages, or finding secure transportation to their nearest health center. 

Read more on CBS.