The Quickie: Planned Parenthood Votes Talks Georgia Runoff
For Immediate Release: Dec. 1, 2022
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 Votes talks Georgia runoff on MSNBC’s Symone, NJ mandates abortions must be covered by regulated health insurance plans, and Guttmacher releases new 2019-2020 abortion provider data!
PLANNED PARENTHOOD VOTES TALKS GEORGIA RUNOFF ON MSNBC’S SYMONE: This week, MSNBC’s Symone aired a Georgia Senate runoff special featuring interviews with experts, elected officials, and advocates on the ground in the Peach State ahead of the Dec. 6 election, including a panel discussion on get-out-the-vote efforts featuring Planned Parenthood Votes’ Nalah Lewis, a Georgia organizer. Nalah joined James Wilson of Georgia Youth Justice Coalition and Kendra D. Cotton of New Georgia Project Action Fund to discuss the power of the youth vote, how organizers are engaging folks across the state, and the importance of this election for the future of abortion rights in Georgia, where a six-week ban is now back in effect.
“Education is really imperative. When we’re having these conversations at the door, we’re letting people know what’s at stake,” Nalah told Symone. “It’s very real for us here in Georgia … Specifically in the areas that we’re going to, we’re talking to Black and brown people. [Georgia’s abortion ban] is going to effect us three times more for maternal mortality — women are going to face death. We’re doing a lot of education and having really impactful conversations.”
Watch the panel here and stream the full special on Peacock.
NEW JERSEY MANDATES ABORTIONS BE COVERED BY REGULATED HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS: By January 1, 2023, state regulated insurance plans in New Jersey must provide coverage for abortions. The state Department of Banking and Insurance has already begun writing the rules that state regulated insurance carriers must follow if they sell policies on the New Jersey official health insurance marketplace.
“We believe in the universal right of all New Jerseyans to access reproductive health care regardless of income or economic status. This move by the administration will help break down barriers to accessing abortion care,” said Jackie Cornell, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “We hope to work together to expand the mandate to require coverage without cost-sharing, like all other reproductive health care services.”
Read the full story at NJ.com.
GUTTMACHER INSTITUTE RELEASES NEW 2020 ABORTION PROVIDER CENSUS DATA: Today, the Guttmacher Instituted released new data from 2019-2020, showing an increase in usage of medication abortion and an increase in abortions in the years immediately proceeding the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Some of the key findings of the new data, which was collected from 1,603 facilities, include:
- In 2020, 930,160 abortions were provided in clinics, an 8% increase from 2017, which shows a reversal in the long-term abortion decline trend.
- The 2020 abortion rate of 14.4 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44, which was a 7% increase from 2017.
- Just over one in five pregnancies, 20.6%, ended in abortion in 2020, up from 18.4% in 2017.
- Medication abortion accounted for 53% of all abortions, compared with 39% in 2017.
“An increase in the rate of abortions is a positive development if it means that people are exercising their right to bodily autonomy by deciding when and if they become parents,” Rachel Jones, Guttmacher Institute Principal Research Scientist, said. “However, while our study demonstrates that more people in the United States are seeking abortion care, the Supreme Court’s radical decision to overturn Roe v. Wade just as we are seeing this historic increase means that fewer people will be able to access it.”
Read more at Guttmacher and view the full data here.