The Quickie: Twenty Governors Form Historic Abortion Rights Alliance

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: 20 governors form historic abortion rights alliance, voters head to polls in critical WI Supreme Court primary election, FL family denied abortion after devastating fetal diagnosis, and DOJ appeals federal court decision to mandate parental consent for birth control.

TWENTY GOVERNORS FORM HISTORIC ABORTION RIGHTS ALLIANCE: Today, governors from 20 states announced the creation of the Reproductive Freedom Alliance. The alliance will be a network for participants to share model statutory language and executive orders to protect abortion access, protect providers from prosecution, develop strategies to maximize federal funding for reproductive health care, and support manufacturers and distributors of medication abortion. Members of the alliance represent more than 170 million people from around the country. 

“With our country in the middle of an abortion access crisis, and medication abortion under threat in the courts, the Reproductive Freedom Alliance is needed now more than ever,” Alexis McGill Johnson, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said. “We will need the courageous and creative leadership of this alliance to step up and take action to protect access to care across the country. It will be more important than ever for elected leaders to be bold and invest in health care services, patients, and abortion providers.”

Read more at AP and Washington Post.  

ALL EYES ON WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT RACE: Today, Wisconsinites will vote in the primary election for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court ahead of the April 2nd general election. This race will have major implications for abortion rights in Wisconsin as the Court is likely to hear Attorney General Josh Kaul and Gov. Tony Evers’ challenge to the state’s 1849 criminal abortion ban, which has forced providers to suspend abortion services. 

“This is one of the most significant Supreme Court races in the history of the state as Wisconsinites look to the courts to protect voting rights, abortion access, fair maps, LGBTQ rights, and other rights and protections being threatened,” Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin Steven Webb said. “Justices are elected for 10-year terms and make decisions that become the law of the state, so what they do today can have a long-term impact on our futures. Electing a judge who shares our values will protect the rights of all people is critical for the future of abortion access in Wisconsin.”

Read more at CNN and Badger Herald. 

FLORIDA FAMILY DENIED ABORTION AFTER DEVASTATING FETAL DIAGNOSIS: Deborah and Lee Dorbert told the Washington Post that when they learned that their child would survive at most hours after birth that “the most painful decision of their lives was not honored by the physicians they trust.” Their hands were tied by Florida’s abortion ban, which has a fetal diagnosis exception so vague that hospital administrators declared Deborah ineligible. Now, Deborah is waiting until her doctor can induce labor at nearly 37 weeks. 

“It makes me angry, for politicians to decide what’s best for my health,” she said. “We would do anything to have this baby.”

They have resolved to wait in Lakeland, still confused by the law that is determining her care.

“We have never really understood,” Lee Dorbert said. “We were told there was an exception,” he said, recalling conversations with their doctors. “Obviously not enough of an exception in some cases.”... 

… David Berger, Deborah’s primary-care physician who learned of her diagnosis at her annual telehealth checkup in January, said the risk to Deborah increases as the pregnancy continues, with no additional benefit to the fetus.

The Dorberts are now one among many families harmed by Florida’s abortion ban, which has been in effect for more than seven months. They wondered about traveling for an abortion, but the high costs and worries about finding a new physician, or even facing legal repercussions, deterred them. Now, they wait until Deborah can be induced. They have decided to provide comfort, palliative care to Baby M when their child is born.

Read more at the Washington Post. 

DOJ APPEALS FEDERAL COURT DECISION TO MANDATE PARENTAL CONSENT FOR BIRTH CONTROL: On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) appealed a district court’s ruling in Deanda v. Becerra, which held that it violates Texas state law and the U.S. Constitution for youth to get birth control through Title X without parental consent, departing from decades of precedent:

“It is shameful how anti-abortion activists will stop at nothing to take away access to sexual and reproductive health care,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “It was never just about abortion — they’re coming for birth control, gender affirming care, and the full suite of sexual and reproductive health care. Young people deserve access to the health care they need to make their own decisions about their bodies, lives, and futures. And let’s not forget that these attacks disproportionately hurt Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities, people with low incomes, and people living in rural communities. We are fortunate that the U.S. Justice Department and the Biden administration are dedicated to fighting back.” 

Read PPFA and NFPRHA’s full statements here.