The Quickie: Pres. Biden Announces Post-Midterms Abortion Rights Plans
For Immediate Release: Oct. 19, 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: Pres. Biden announces post-midterms abortion rights plans, highlighting Michigan’s AG race and abortion rights referendum, new WI Planned Parenthood Votes ad, Alexis McGill Johnson on “What a Day”, and sharing abortion stories!
PRES. BIDEN ANNOUNCES POST-MIDTERMS ABORTION RIGHTS PLANS: Yesterday, President Joe Biden announced that if the Democrats maintain control of the House of Representatives and increase their numbers in the Senate, the first bill he signs in the new year will be an abortion rights law, codifying the protections previously established in Roe v. Wade. President Biden emphasized the importance of voting in the midterms to protect reproductive rights and so many other freedoms that are under threat from politicians looking to control our lives.
Watch the full speech and read more at Vanity Fair.
PEOPLE SHARE THEIR ABORTION JOURNEYS–AND DANGEROUS CONSEQUENCES OF ABORTION BANS: With Roe v. Wade overturned, more and more people are sharing their abortion stories, helping the public understand that abortion is an essential, and sometimes life-saving, health care procedure. This week, the “You’re Wrong About” podcast released a special episode featuring people sharing their own stories about their abortions without stigma or shame. While their reasons for having an abortion are all different, they all strongly believe it was the right choice for them and their families.
Tragically, we are also seeing stories that lay out the devastating, and sometimes life-threatening, consequences of the elimination of our reproductive rights. This week, Jezebel featured a Missouri woman, Mylissa Farmer, who was denied an emergency abortion, even though “her water had broken 17 weeks into her pregnancy, and her medical records indicated a number of health factors placing her at greater risk of pregnancy-related complications, including increased risk of sepsis, loss of her uterus, and even death.” She called her state senator for help, who then referred her to a crisis pregnancy center rather than help the woman get life-saving care. Stories like this are not uncommon: People published a story this week about a Texas woman, Amanda Zurawski, who was also denied an emergency abortion.
"It took three days at home until I became sick 'enough' that the ethics board at our hospital agreed we could begin medical treatment; three days until my life was considered at risk 'enough' for the inevitable premature delivery of my daughter to be performed; three days until the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals were allowed to do their jobs," Zurawski wrote in an essay for The Meteor.
Listen to the full episode on “Your Wrong About” and read more at Jezebel and People.
ABORTION RIGHTS ARE ON THE BALLOT IN MICHIGAN: You’ve stuck with us as we’ve highlighted the various races to watch as part of Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s partnership with Cosmopolitan, and we’ve got to talk about the Michigan. This election, Michiganders have the opportunity to vote to enshrine abortion rights into the Michigan constitution once and for all through Proposition 3 (Prop 3), also known as the Reproductive Freedom for All proporsal.
“This would be a historic win for not only Michiganders but for patients in neighboring states who are depending on Michigan to remain an access point in the Midwest,” says Nicole Wells Stallworth, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan.
But that’s not all. Dana Nessel, a reproductive right champion, is running for re-election as attorney general. AGs are one of the many backstops to protecting reproductive freedom in our states, and Nessel’s opponent, Matthew DePerno, “said he would fully support abortion bans and intends to prosecute anyone who defies them. Yikes.”
Read the full feature on Prop 3 and the Michigan AG race at Cosmopolitan and tune back in tomorrow for the final day of our midterm highlights series.
ANOTHER REASON TO “ROE” TO POLLS: Following President Biden’s pledge to codify Roe, Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Alexis McGill Johnson joined the What a Day podcast to discuss the announcement, and highlighted Planned Parenthood’s efforts to mobilize voters in the upcoming midterm elections:
“This is a state-by-state battle. This is an opportunity for abortion to save our democracy, because we are on the ground now connecting people to the reality that the majority of people across the nation believe that Roe should have been the law of the land.”
“It’s an opportunity to educate people about how the opposition has gerrymandered and put people into power that are completely out of touch with where the majority of their constituents are, and they can make these decisions without any accountability..”
Alexis also spoke on Arizona’s abortion ban, and the new mobile clinic operated by Planned Parenthood St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri.
Listen to the episode here.
NEW AD FROM PLANNED PARENTHOOD VOTES BLASTS RON JOHNSON FOR HIS SUPPORT OF ARCHAIC 173-YEAR-OLD ABORTION BAN: Last Friday, Planned Parenthood Votes announced the release of a new ad focused on Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate race. The second release in a six-figure digital ad campaign, the new 30-second spot highlights Ron Johnson’s support for state abortion bans like one from 1849 that has effectively outlawed essential health care in Wisconsin, forcing patients to flee their state for abortion. The ad urges voters to elect reproductive health champion Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes to restore and protect their rights.
The ad reminds voters just how out of touch Johnson is with the needs of Wisconsinites today, who are currently forced to live under a 173-year old law that predates many of the most seismic events in our nation’s history, including the Civil War, women winning the right to vote, and even the invention of the telephone.
