The Quickie: ICYMI: Over 250 Members of Congress Urge Supreme Court to Protect Emergency Abortion Care in New Amicus Brief

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: Members of Congress urge SCOTUS to protect emergency medical care, PP Votes on Pennsylvania’s anti-abortion candidates, and abortion access is still popular.

ICYMI: OVER 250 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS URGE SUPREME COURT TO PROTECT EMERGENCY ABORTION CARE IN NEW AMICUS BRIEF: This week, more than 250 members of Congress filed a bicameral amicus brief in Moyle v. United States, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a lower court ruling that protects emergency abortion care in hospitals — as required by the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). This is a pivotal case: Pregnant people across the country could face devastating health outcomes, even death, if the court determines that hospitals do not have an obligation to provide pregnant patients with the emergency abortion care they may need. 

Led by Sens. Schumer, Murray, Wyden, and Durbin and Reps. Jeffries, Clark, Pallone, Neal, Nadler, DeGette, and Lee, the signers of the brief wrote:

“In this case, respecting the supremacy of federal law is about more than just protecting our system of government; it is about protecting people’s lives. If this Court allows Idaho’s near-total abortion ban to supersede federal law, pregnant patients in Idaho will continue to be denied appropriate medical treatment, placing them at heightened risk for medical complications and severe adverse health outcomes.”

Read the full brief here.

 

PENNSYLVANIANS WON’T LET ANTI-ABORTION CANDIDATES OFF THE HOOK: A feature in the Philadelphia Inquirer this week examines how candidates for House and Senate are taking divergent strategies on abortion as voters turn up the heat. While Senate candidate Dave McCormack tries to soften his stance on abortion bans, HD-01 candidate Mark Houck — remember him? — isn’t shy about wanting to pass a national abortion ban. 

As reporter Julia Terruso witnessed, even die-hard Trump voters are saying that abortion bans are a losing issue. One Bucks County voter told Terruso, “I’m tired of losing. I’m pro-life but I also realize we have a country with a wide variety of opinions and that most people do not agree with me.” 

The reality is that Americans overwhelmingly oppose a national abortion ban — and Republicans are trying to hoodwink them. Planned Parenthood Votes spokesperson Olivia Cappello told the Inquirer what she thinks of their tactics: “I think it speaks to the fact that voters are starting to recognize that these are politicians who are looking to interfere with very personal and very complex decisions. We feel confident … that voters are going to reject this agenda and our goal in this election cycle is to hold opponents of reproductive freedom accountable.”

Paid for by Planned Parenthood Votes, 123 William St, NY NY 10038. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

 

LIKE WE KEEP SAYING, ABORTION ACCESS IS POPULAR: New polling from Axois and Ipsos released today underscores what we already knew: abortion access is popular. In fact, this polling indicates that 7 in 10 Americans support access to medication abortion. Across party lines, an overwhelming majority of Americans expressed support for allowing the FDA to continue approving and regulating medicine. Both access to medication abortion and the FDA’s authority are under threat in the case the Supreme Court is currently considering.