The Quickie: Utah Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments in Trigger Ban Case Tomorrow
For Immediate Release: Aug. 7, 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: UT Supreme Court oral arguments on trigger ban tomorrow, PA Governor ends CPC funding, and advocates score victory in TX abortion case.
UTAH SUPREME COURT TO HEAR ORAL ARGUMENTS IN TRIGGER BAN CASE: Tomorrow at 9 AM MT/11 AM ET, the Utah Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case against Utah’s trigger ban. The law is currently blocked and abortion providers are calling on the court to maintain the preliminary injunction while the case proceeds. Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), Planned Parenthood Association of Utah (PPAU), the ACLU, and the ACLU of Utah will argue that the trigger ban violates the state’s constitution and that lifting the injunction will do irreparable harm.
Shortly after the arguments, the plaintiffs and litigators will hold a press conference outside the courthouse.
WHAT: Short remarks and then Q&A by PPAU President Kat Boyd and attorneys from PPFA and ACLU
WHERE: 450 S. State St., Salt Lake City on the front steps of the courthouse facing East
WHEN: 20 minutes after oral arguments end
Read more at KSL.
PA GOV ENDS FUNDING FOR ANTI-ABORTION FAKE HEALTH CENTERS AFTER 30 YEARS: Last Thursday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced he would terminate the state’s contract with Real Alternatives, an organization that runs a network of anti-abortion fake health centers (called “crisis pregnancy centers” by anti-abortion activists) after 30 years. Real Alternatives has received more than $30 million in state funding between 2012 and 2017 alone, only to spread medical misinformation, violate patient privacy, and drain resources from real health care facilities for Pennsylvanians.
“For decades, taxpayer dollars have gone to fund Real Alternatives,” Gov. Shapiro said in a statement. “My Administration will not continue that pattern – we will ensure women in this Commonwealth receive the reproductive health care they deserve. Pennsylvanians made clear by electing me as governor that they support a woman’s freedom to choose.”
“In a post-Roe world, we can’t settle for state funding of CPCs,” Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates Executive Director Signe Espinoza said. “We deserve the freedom and the privacy to make our most intimate health care decisions with our doctors and without the predatory influence of anti-abortion counseling.”
Read more at Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
ADVOCATES SCORE FIRST VICTORY IN TEXAS MEDICAL EXCEPTIONS CASE: On Friday, a group of women and doctors, represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), won a temporary injunction in their lawsuit against the state of Texas over its abortion bans’ limited medical exceptions. The temporary injunction would have allowed health care professionals to provide abortion in emergency medical situations based on their “good faith judgment”.
"It's never been clearer that the term 'pro-life' is a complete misnomer," Molly Duane, CRR attorney, said to NPR. "What our plaintiffs went through was pure torture, and the state is hell bent on making sure that kind of suffering continues."
However, just a few hours later, the Texas attorney general’s office filed an appeal with the state supreme court, blocking the judge’s temporary injunction. The decision on whether to allow the temporary injunction now goes to the state’s supreme court for review.
Read more at NPR.