The Quickie: Uh...Congressional Fight Club?

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: House GOP pushes for more reproductive health restrictions, Former Planned Parenthood litigator nominated to judgeship on the 4th Circuit, Planned Parenthood Southeast appoints a new President and CEO, and a new ballot initiative coming to Nebraska.

THEY CAN’T HELP THEMSELVES: ANTI-ABORTION REPUBLICAN HOUSE MAJORITY PUSHES FOR MORE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE RESTRICTIONS: Yesterday, Congress was a lot. While certain members were literally fighting each other, reproductive rights champions in the House were channeling their energy to fight for things that actually matter – like people’s health care. 

Exactly one week after voters across the country showed up in droves to protect abortion rights, it’s clear the anti-abortion House majority didn’t get the message. Yesterday, they debated a federal spending bill that attacks access to sexual and reproductive health care, including a measure to “defund” Planned Parenthood. The House version of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations bill has no chance of passing in the Senate. 

Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, called the members out: 

“The anti-abortion House Republican majority really can’t help themselves: they’d rather force through their extreme agenda than govern. It’s only been one week since the election where voters again made it clear that they do not want politicians restricting access to health care. But the anti-abortion majority clearly didn’t get the message and they are up to their usual antics. Attacking people’s access to crucial reproductive health care is not what they were sent there to do.” 

 

FORMER PLANNED PARENTHOOD LITIGATOR NOMINATED TO JUDGESHIP ON 4TH CIRCUIT: This morning, President Biden nominated Nicole Berner — an outstanding lawyer with a commitment to public service, a labor rights advocate, and a former Planned Parenthood litigator — to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. If confirmed, Berner would be only the third out lesbian on any U.S. circuit court and the first to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 

As Planned Parenthood Action Fund president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson explained, “We need judges who have a demonstrated commitment to protecting the inherent right to equality under the law and the right to make our most personal decisions, including whether to have an abortion. It is also essential that our courts reflect the diversity of this country — and we know that diversity makes our judiciary and the country stronger.”

While at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Berner litigated cases protecting medication abortion in Ohio, defending the rights of young people to access abortion in Missouri, and working to increase abortion access in New Mexico, among other projects. 

Read more about her nomination from Reuters and the Washington Post, and read the White House’s announcement here.
 

PLANNED PARENTHOOD SOUTHEAST NAMES NEW CEO AND PRESIDENT:  Yesterday, Planned Parenthood Southeast (PPSE) announced their new President and CEO, Carol McDonald (they/them) —  a lifelong organizer who is native to the South. Carol grew up in North Carolina, attended UNC at Chapel Hill and Emory, and joined what was then Planned Parenthood of Georgia. They managed electoral and issue campaigns at Planned Parenthood Federation of America starting in 2006 and spent years fighting for reproductive health and access to high-quality health care.

They are the first non-binary person of color to lead PPSE. Given the state bans across the South, their leadership will be key to expanding access to sexual and reproductive health care in Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama.

“It is only fitting that my journey with Planned Parenthood has come full circle. I began my journey as an organizer in the South, laying a foundation for the work to come,” Mcdonald said. “As a proud,  devoted organizer, and a queer non-binary person raised in the South, I not only plan to bring my lived experiences to the table but the lived experiences and voices of all those continuing to do the work and build this movement.”

Read PPSE’s full statement here.

 

NEW BALLOT INITIATIVE COMING THROUGH: NEBRASKA INTRODUCES ABORTION RIGHTS AMENDMENT: On Thursday,  advocates in Nebraska will officially launch a ballot initiative campaign to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. Nebraska joins Arizona, Colorado, Florida, and Nevada in pursuing citizen-initiated abortion access campaigns in 2024. (Maryland and New York also will have ballot measures referred to voters by their legislatures). 

Nebraska’s measure would establish a right to abortion prior to fetal viability and when needed to protect a patient’s life or health, prohibiting state interference in these personal decisions. The campaign coalition Protect Our Rights includes Planned Parenthood North Central States. 

Ashlei Spivey, a member of Protect Our Rights’ executive committee and executive director of I Be Black Girl, explains why Nebraska needs a constitutional amendment in 2024:

“Our constitutional amendment is informed both by medical experts and where most Nebraskans are on this issue. Unlike the state officials working to totally ban abortion, we're elevating the voices and lived experiences of Nebraskans who believe that pregnant people should be able to access needed care with compassion and privacy, free from political interference. This amendment will ensure that these personal decisions stay with Nebraskans — not politicians.”

Earlier this year, Nebraska lawmakers passed a ban on abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy, severely limiting access to care in the region. 

Read more about the effort at Protect Our Rights' website