The Quickie: PPAF President Travels to GA for Critical Runoff Election 

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: PPAF president Alexis McGill Johnson to travel to Georgia for runoff election, PP stands with Dr. Caitlin Bernard, and how pregnant people deal with unexpected pregnancies in states with abortion bans. 

PPAF PRESIDENT TO TRAVEL TO GEORGIA AHEAD OF CRITICAL RUNOFF ELECTION: On Sunday, December 4, Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Alexis McGill Johnson will travel to Georgia to support reproductive rights, freedom, and Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock, who is running for reelection to the U.S. Senate. Ahead of the runoff on Tuesday, Alexis will mobilize and rally voters alongside civil rights leaders and reproductive rights champions to ensure that every voice is heard and every vote is counted. 

Alexis will attend two events in the metro Atlanta area: 

• Reclaim Your Vote Canvass Launch with leaders of National Urban League, NAACP, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Black Voters Matter, and Planned Parenthood Action Fund
  • Time: 12:00 - 12:45 pm ET; door knocking from 12:45 - 1:30 pm ET
  • Location: New Black Wall Street in Stonecrest, GA 
• Rally for Reproductive Freedom with NARAL Pro-Choice America president Mini Timmaraju and others guests Hosted by Georgia Votes. This event is in support of Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock’s reelection. 
  • Time: 2:30 - 3:30 pm ET
  • Location: Parking Lot of 8610 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, GA
  • More information via Mobilize here

***Use this link to request an interview with Alexis McGill Johnson in Georgia***

PP SUPPORTS DR. CAITLIN BERNARD AND OTHER ABORTION PROVIDERS: Yesterday, Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai‘i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky (PPGNHAIK) released a statement in support of Indiana OB/GYN Dr. Caitlin Bernard who delivered critical health care to a 10-year-old rape survivor in July 2022. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita referred Dr. Bernard to the Indiana Medical Licensing Board as an act of intimidation to abortion providers all over the state. 

“AG Rokita is launching a politically-motivated attack on Dr. Bernard to scare abortion providers out of delivering the safe, legal care their patients deserve,” Rebecca Gibron, CEO of PPGNHAIK, said. “But his far fetched accusations don’t scare us. We’ve said it before: we will not be intimidated by power-hungry extremists like Todd Rokita. We stand behind Dr. Bernard and all abortion providers across the country who are working through extraordinarily hostile conditions.”

ABORTION DIARIES: FACING UNEXPECTED PREGNANCIES IN THE POST-ROE WORLD: This week, the Washington Post featured the stories of three people who had unexpected pregnancies in states with abortion bans, illustrating the difficulties people face trying to access abortion care since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Lillith, Kae, and Taylor’s stories are highlighted: 

Lillith is a 17-year-old Oklahoman, who discovered she was pregnant at 20 weeks after experiencing sharp pains that sent her to the hospital. Lillith knew she did not want to be pregnant, but due to Oklahoma’s abortion ban had to find an out-of-state appointment. Kansas, which is much closer, was not an option because by the time she could get an appointment she would be past 22-weeks, the limit for abortions in the state. Lillith was able to get an appointment in New Mexico after calling around, but it would cost her $2,400. National Abortion Federation was able to cover the cost for her and Lillith and her father traveled with her to New Mexico for the procedure. 

Kae, a 24-year-old Ohioan, mistakenly visited a crisis pregnancy center to have an ultrasound done. She knew that Ohio has a fetal heartbeat ban, banning abortions at around six weeks of pregnancy. The crisis pregnancy center gave her misleading medical information and offered her prenatal vitamins and to pray for her rather than providing health care resources like they advertised. Kae and her boyfriend suspected that the information may be incorrect, so they decided to order abortion pills from Aid Access. Although Kae saw a future with her boyfriend and children eventually, she decided now was not the correct time to start a family. 

27-year-old Taylor booked travel to Florida from Georgia for her abortion. She had to book two separate trips due to Florida requiring an ultrasound at least 24 hours prior to the abortion. Before her second trip to Florida, she began to have doubts about her abortion, and ultimately did not attend her abortion appointment due to being uncertain.  But she blames Georgia’s six-week ban for constraining her time horizon to make a decision on whether to have a child.  

Read the full feature at the Washington Post.