The Quickie: PP Votes: Haley and Trump Won't Stop at an Abortion Ban

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: Haley and Trump won’t stop at an abortion ban, Alabama court ruling already causing chaos, and Planned Parenthood Wisconsin asks state Supreme Court to take up abortion rights.

PP VOTES: HALEY AND TRUMP WON’T STOP AT AN ABORTION BAN: Yesterday, Nikki Haley said that she supported the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling that stored embryos are children — a ruling that threatens IVF, abortion, and other reproductive healthcare. Planned Parenthood Votes executive director Jenny Lawson called Haley out on her hypocrisy:  

“After months of trying to paint herself as moderate on reproductive rights, Nikki Haley has finally shown us her true colors,” Lawson said in a statement. “She said the quiet part out loud. When Nikki Haley says ‘Embryos, to me, are babies,' she’s telling us they won’t stop at 15 or 16 weeks. Republicans were never going to stop with overturning Roe v Wade. They want to ban all abortions nationwide, throw doctors in jail, and come for other essential reproductive health care like birth control and IVF.”

Lawson continued, “Politicians like Nikki Haley and Donald Trump do not care what happens to our families — they only care about eliminating our reproductive freedom. Voters should be outraged at this attack on their freedom. The only way to stop these attacks is to ensure that neither Nikki Haley nor Donald Trump set foot in the White House.”

Read more from The Guardian and NBC News. 

 

ALABAMA SUPREME COURT RULING ALREADY CREATING CHAOS AND HEARTBREAK: Just days after the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling that declared stored embryos children, families seeking IVF in Alabama are facing heartbreak. According to The Guardian, at least two Alabama providers of IVF have paused treatments as they decide what they are able to do under the law. One family struggling with infertility told MSNBC that they may be forced to change their decision to pursue IVF in th as a result, calling the court’s decision “thoughtless” and “confusing.” 

“The Alabama Supreme Court’s decision that stored embryos may be considered ‘unborn children’ is the devastating consequence of fetal personhood statutes and demonstrates the risk of these laws for all reproductive care,” said Planned Parenthood Southeast president and CEO Carol McDonald. “Already, Alabamaians’ ability to access reproductive health care, including assisted reproductive care, is in jeopardy, and now their freedom to decide if and when to parent is further diminished. The chaos and heartbreak that is already resulting from this ruling in just a few days is exactly what reproductive rights advocates warned of when Alabama considered its personhood amendment — and the decision could ripple across the country on the state and federal level as personhood laws proliferate under the guise of supporting families. We cannot be fooled: the ultimate goal of the politicians proposing these laws is denying people, especially those who are Black, Latino, or LGBTQ+, their reproductive freedom. We will continue to fight back in every venue possible. 

 

PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF WISCONSIN ASKS STATE SUPREME COURT TO TAKE UP ABORTION RIGHTS: Today, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced that it will ask the state Supreme Court to interpret Wisconsin's constitution as it relates to making decisions about whether and when to have a child, including the right to choose to have an abortion. Health centers in the state resumed abortion care last year after a judge ruled that an abortion ban from 1849 did not apply, and abortion rights advocates in the state have been working to roll back barriers to care. Their petition focuses on PPWI’s petition is Article 1, Section 1 of the Declaration of Rights in the Wisconsin State Constitution, which states: “All people are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights; among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;” – these inherent rights include bodily autonomy and integrity, and the right to self-determination.

“PPWI’s work is grounded in the shared value that each of us deserves the ability to make deeply personal decisions about what is best for us, with support and guidance from the people we trust— whether it is our family, close friends, or our doctor. This includes personal decisions about our health,  including abortion. Our decision to file this litigation reflects these values," said PPWI President and CEO Tanya Atkinson.

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