The Quickie: Rally Tomorrow at SCOTUS During Oral Arguments in Medication Abortion Case

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: Rally at SCOTUS tomorrow during mifepristone oral arguments and a state fights round up. 

RALLY TOMORROW AT SCOTUS DURING ORAL ARGUMENTS IN MEDICATION ABORTION CASE: Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that could make abortion even harder to access. 

Reproductive rights groups will host a rally starting around 9 am ET which will continue during oral arguments, gathering hundreds of activists, doctors, and patient storytellers to show support for safeguarding access to mifepristone. Speakers will share their stories and the impacts of this case and other attacks on sexual and reproductive health care.

Reporters interested in requesting an on the ground interview during the rally can reach out to [email protected]. For interview requests before or after the rally, please reach out to [email protected]. 

 

STATE FIGHTS ROUND UP: Attacks on young people’s access to health care are advancing in states like Idaho and Kentucky.

• Kansas: Several anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ bills continue to advance in Kansas:
  • The Committee on Federal and State Affairs passed HB 2813, a measure that criminalizes “abortion coercion,” out of committee. Although the bill was amended to address reproductive coercion more broadly, it still inappropriately differentiates abortion. A Senate version of HB 2813, which still addresses only “abortion coercion” is also moving.
  • HB 2653, a bill requiring child support from the date of conception, passed out of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee. A version of this bill has already passed the Senate.
  • SB 233, a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors, came one step closer to becoming law last week after being amended in the Senate. A version has already passed the House. 
• Idaho: The governor signed into law SB 1329, substantially changing current law to require parental consent for any health care service provided to a minor. The bill declares that parents have a “fundamental right and duty to make decisions concerning the furnishing of health care services” for young people under 18 years of age. The law will go into effect on July 1. It applies broadly to all health care services, including contraception, contravening long-standing Idaho law that, to date, has recognized the right of individuals, regardless of age, to consent to health care if they understand the need and risks of such care. 
• Kentucky: The Senate Health Services Committee passed HB 174, a bill that would affirmatively grant parents access to minors’ medical records. The bill could have a chilling effect on young people trying to access care such as birth control, mental health care, or STI treatment. HB 174 now moves to the full Senate. It has already passed the House. 
• Tennessee: The House passed HB 2435, a measure that would require schools to show a three-minute ultrasound or computer animation of a developing fetus as part of their “family life” curriculum and explicitly lists the video created by the anti-abortion group Live Action as an example of a compliant video.
• Wyoming: Gov Gordon vetoed HB148, a TRAP law that would have required that clinics providing abortion be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers. This means that the state’s one provider can remain open for now.