The Quickie: South Carolina Abortion Ban Upheld

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: South Carolina 6-week abortion ban upheld - press call at 1pm ET, GOP Presidential candidates debate, PPFA’s Jacqueline Ayers talks about post-Dobbs impact, Illinois health centers see surge of high-risk patients

SOUTH CAROLINA SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS SIX-WEEK BAN: Today, the South Carolina State Supreme Court ruled 4-1 to uphold the state’s contested six-week abortion ban. The court struck down a nearly identical ban earlier this year; however, the makeup of the court has changed since then, making South Carolina the only state in the country with no female justices on its state supreme court. 

“Today’s decision puts the dangerous politicization of South Carolina’s highest court on full display and will cause irreparable harm to the people of South Carolina. This abortion ban is nearly identical to the ban struck down by this court just months ago — the only thing that has changed is the makeup of the court”, said Jenny Black, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, in a release. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic’s doors remain open, and we will continue to provide abortion care in South Carolina under the severe restrictions of this law, but we know that’s not enough. This abortion ban takes away people’s ability to control what happens to their bodies, forcing many South Carolinians to remain pregnant against their will. Planned Parenthood and our partners will keep fighting for our patients’ ability to control their own bodies, lives, and futures — no matter what.”

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic will hold a press call at 1:00 PM EST today – RSVP here. 

Read more in South Carolina Public Radio and AP.

ABORTION RIGHTS AREN’T UP FOR DEBATE: Tonight, several GOP presidential contenders are facing off on the first RNC of the 2024 cycle. They’ll discuss their plans for the economy, visions for the future, and if FOX moderators do their jobs right, abortion rights. We can expect some of them to boldly talk about their anti-abortion agenda while others try to hide their extremist views. The strategies and tactics will vary but one thing remains consistent: for the overwhelming majority of Americans, there is no debate. Abortion rights are popular and people do not want politicians making their personal health care decisions. 

But something tells us the GOP candidates running for president didn’t get that memo. No matter what happens tonight, we are in for a show. If you have to watch for work, we got the receipts, you grab the popcorn, and let’s try to make the best of it.

OUR RIGHTS, OUR DECISIONS: This week, Jacqueline Ayers, Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s senior vice president for policy, campaigns and advocacy, joined host Nicole Kalil on the podcast This is Woman’s Work to talk about the importance of abortion access, reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy. In the podcast, Jacqueline highlighted the devastating impact of the Dobbs decision on people across the country.

“If you are having people delay what is time-sensitive care, if you are turning people away from emergency rooms — we’ve heard awful stories coming out of Texas now of people who have very much wanted pregnancies but due to complications are showing up in emergency rooms and being told, ‘actually we need to contact our lawyers before we can see you”, said Jacqueline. “It is irresponsible that the choices to keep these bans means that people are going without care, and yes, we are going to see that results in people really being harmed.”

Listen to the episode here

DENIED ABORTION IN THEIR OWN STATES, HIGH-RISK PATIENTS GO TO ILLINOIS: Across the Midwest, abortion bans are sending more and more people with high-risk pregnancies to Illinois to seek care. In Chicago and other Illinois cities, hospital-based physicians are filling a critical need, with some hospitals seeing a quadrupling in out-of-state patients since the Dobbs decision in 2022. NPR spoke with patients, physicians, and policy experts about what this increase says about the region’s reproductive health landscape. 

One patient seen in Chicago was told by her doctors in her home state of Missouri that while her life was not in immediate danger, carrying her pregnancy to term would put her own life at risk. But Missouri’s so-called exceptions did not allow her to get an abortion, forcing her to travel out of state. With the help of national and regional abortion funds, the patient was able to connect with a provider, travel to Chicago, and have the specialized, in-hospital procedure she needed. It cost $6000 for her abortion. 

Her story is not uncommon among the patients seeking care at Chicago hospitals — and that’s causing worry among providers and advocates. Dr. Jonah Fleisher, an OB-GYN at UI Health, told NPR, "The current financial way in which people are paying for their abortions I fear is not sustainable.” And National Abortion Federation chief program officer Melissa Fowler said that the need for care is rising: "We're seeing more cases right now (of) people who are later in gestation. More adolescents who are later in gestation, who are showing up at hospitals because this is really their last resort. They've been referred all over."

Read more here