The Quickie: South Carolina Physicians File For Rehearing Following Six-Week Ban Ruling
For Immediate Release: Aug. 25, 2023
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: Providers in South Carolina file for rehearing on the state’s six week ban, and Ohio approves deceptive language for abortion ballot amendment.
SOUTH CAROLINA PHYSICIANS FILE FOR REHEARING FOLLOWING SIX-WEEK BAN RULING: Yesterday, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, the Greenville Women’s Clinic, and two physician plaintiffs filed a request for rehearing on the South Carolina Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the six-week ban based on an ambiguity on the definition of “fetal heartbeat” as stated in the majority opinion. The lack of clarity is making it confusing for physicians in the state to provide care while trying to navigate the new restrictions.
Catherine Humphreville, senior staff attorney at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, predicts “widespread confusion resulting from the ruling.”
Following Wednesday’s ruling, several patients at the Columbia health center had to have their appointments put on hold, according to Dr. Katherine Farris, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. “In the setting of very high penalties,” Farris said, “the only option for providers is to pause as we try to figure this out.”
Read more in AP.
OHIO BALLOT BOARD APPROVES DECEPTIVE AMENDMENT SUMMARY: Ohio’s anti-abortion secretary of state is at it again, this time by getting a deceptive ballot measure summary approved to mislead voters in November. The new summary — which is longer than the reproductive freedom amendment itself! — misconstrues the amendment’s scope and is designed to confuse voters. Activists have already pledged to challenge the board’s actions.
This isn’t a new experience with Secretary of State Frank LaRose and the Ohio Ballot Board. Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights co-chair Lauren Blauvelt said, “Time and time again during this process, outrageous lies and deceptive statements have been made by anti-abortion extremists. This time, they are literally putting their lies right on the ballot itself. These distortions of the language are a blatant attempt to confuse and mislead voters instead of including the actual text of the amendment on the ballot.”
Read more from the Columbus Dispatch.