The Quickie: "Our Bodies Are Literally on the Line": PP Action Fund Prez on Fighting for Reproductive Freedoms in 2024

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: Planned Parenthood Action Fund prez talks about fighting for reproductive freedom in 2024 and a state fights roundup

“OUR BODIES ARE LITERALLY ON THE LINE”: PP ACTION FUND PREZ ON FIGHTING FOR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOMS IN 2024: Recently, Planned Parenthood Action Fund President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson sat down with Yerin Kim of POPSUGAR for a conversation on how you can fight for your reproductive freedoms. Reflecting on the fallout of the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Alexis noted that what keeps her optimistic is “really the young people. … The fact that rights can be taken away, and that there are generations that understand that and can pass that lesson on, actually gives me a lot of hope, because not only are they showing up now, but they're also building the muscle to sustain and be vigilant about what that will mean to take them away.”

Despite the continued attacks on reproductive rights across the country, the path forward is clear. Alexis explained “Our bodies are literally on the line right now…If you care about being able to make your own private medical decisions, if you understand how they impact your ability to lead to pursue the education on your own timeline, to go for the promotion, to make decisions about whether your family is the size that you want or that you're not ready to be become parent, that's why you should be voting.” 

Read the full interview in POPSUGAR.

 

STATE FIGHTS ROUND UP: So far, more than 325 anti-abortion bills have been filed in 40 states this legislative session.

• Mississippi: The Judiciary Committee met last Tuesday and Thursday to discuss HB 713, a bill criminalizing those who assist minors in seeking abortion care out of state. In good news, the Mississippi House overwhelmingly passed a bill that would expand Medicaid in the state, sending the bill to the Senate for consideration. The legislature also passed HB 539, a bill that would give Medicaid-eligible but not yet enrolled pregnant women access to Medicaid coverage for 60 days after their first prenantal visit, to give them time to enroll formally. This bill now goes to  Gov. Reeves for signature.
• Alaska: The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on HB107, a bill that would redefine “person” and “life” in the criminal code and could criminalize doctors for providing abortion care. Sixty-four people testified at the hearing — the majority of whom opposed the bill. 
• Missouri:  Last Wednesday, lawmakers in the Missouri House gave initial approval to a bill that would ban Planned Parenthood health centers from receiving Medicaid funding. After another vote in the House, the measure will go to the Senate. Previous attempts to defund Planned Parenthood have been ruled unconstitutional by the Missouri Supreme Court. 
• Kansas: On Thursday, the House Committee on Health and Human Services held a hearing on HB 2791, a bill that bans gender-affirming care for minors and requires providers who may be inclined to discuss gender-affirming care options with minors to first report biased, medically inaccurate facts about harms and risks of the care. Additionally, SB 498, legislation to provide tax credits to anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers” will be heard in the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee on Tuesday. Lastly, a bill criminalizing “coercion to obtain an abortion” (SB 527) has been introduced and referred to the Committee on Federal and State Affairs. 
• Utah: The Utah state legislature finished their session for 2024 at the end of last week, culminating in passing HB560, a measure that would repeal parts of the state’s abortion clinic ban. Supporters of the bill claim that it could allow the state’s Supreme Court to rule on the state’s trigger ban, which is currently blocked pending further litigation. However, the bill addresses neither the trigger ban nor the state’s 18-week ban. 
• Arizona: SCR 1013, a proposed anti-trans “bathroom bill” ballot initiative died in the state Senate last week.
• Alabama: Legislators passed bills (SB 159 and HB237) in an attempt to allow IVF services to resume in the state. While these bills aim to establish legal safeguards for providers, they do not adequately address the full scope of the recent state Supreme Court ruling which deemed that embryos are minor children under the state’s wrongful death statute, regardless of whether the embryo has implanted in a person’s uterus or is cryogenically stored.
• Florida: Following concerns raised by the Alabama ruling, a “personhood” measure (SB 476) that would allow parents to bring a wrongful death lawsuit for a fetus has stalled in the Florida Senate.