The Quickie: Vice President Harris Announces 2024 Reproductive Freedom Tour

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: Vice President Harris announces reproductive freedom tour, Planned Parenthood Wisconsin resumes abortion care, anti-abortion groups are still trying to keep abortion off the ballot, and Planned Parenthood Illinois opens a new health center.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS ANNOUNCES 2024 REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM TOUR: Today, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that she will be kicking off a nationwide reproductive freedoms tour to highlight the extreme attacks and sexual and reproductive health throughout the nation. The VP plans to host several events across the country that highlight the harm caused by abortion bans while uplifting the stories of those who have been impacted.

“Extremists across our country continue to wage a full-on attack against hard-won, hard-fought freedoms as they push their radical policies – from banning abortion in all 50 states and criminalizing doctors, to forcing women to travel out of state in order to get the care they need,” Vice President Harris said in a press release “I will continue to fight for our fundamental freedoms while bringing together those throughout America who agree that every woman should have the right to make decisions about her own body – not the government."

The tour will kick off in Wisconsin on January 22, 2024, on what would have been the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade. 

Read more from CNN here. 
 

PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF WISCONSIN TO EXPAND ABORTION CARE: This week, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced it would resume abortion care services in Sheboygan, the only county in the state with a health center that had not done so since the state restarted its abortion care services in September following a pause of over a year.

Earlier this month, a judge reaffirmed the argument that an 1849 statute that seemingly banned abortion does not apply today and therefore should not interfere with abortion access. Abortion services had not resumed in Sheboygan county because District Attorney Joel Urmanski believes that the old law does constitute a ban and plans to appeal the earlier decision. “While we are grateful to be resuming medication abortion care at the Sheboygan Health Center, there is more to be done,” Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin President Tanya Atkinson told AP. “We will continue essential work to help protect and expand reproductive freedom in Wisconsin so that everyone who needs comprehensive reproductive health care in our state can get the nonjudgmental and compassionate care they deserve.”

Read more in AP.

 

ALERT: ANTI-ABORTION GROUPS ARE STILL TRYING TO KEEP ABORTION OFF THE BALLOT IN 2024: Abortion initiatives continue to win at the polls, and anti-abortion policymakers are feeling the pressure. A new report in Politico details the range of new tactics they’re using to prevent the initiatives from ever making it in front of voters. Keep your eyes on these:   

• Changes to ballot initiative processes: Some GOP lawmakers are attacking initiative processes themselves in an effort to undermine efforts to approve abortion protections on the ballot in 2024. In Missouri, Rep. Brad Hudson filed legislation that would raise requirements for constitutional amendments, including approval by a state-wide majority and a majority in more than half the state's congressional districts. It mirrors an Ohio effort that was overwhelmingly rejected by voters last summer. 
• Legal battles: Anti-abortion advocates and Republican state attorneys are challenging  initiatives in court by claiming they are  “vague” and “misleading,” as seen in Florida, Missouri, and Nevada.
• Slowing down routine procedures: Routine steps such as certifying ballot language and estimating the cost to taxpayers are being leveraged to derail initiatives, most notably in Missouri. 
• Localized campaigns: Some groups attack ballot initiatives by urging their communities not to sign ballot initiative petitions through ads and doorknocking. This tactic has support not only from organizations like Students for Life, but also Catholic interest groups. 

Read more in Politico.

 

PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF ILLINOIS ANNOUNCES NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART HEALTH CENTER: Today, Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) is proud to open the doors of a new 11,200 square foot, state-of-the-art health center in Carbondale, Illinois. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe, Illinois has seen the highest increase in patients traveling from other states — a 54% increase in overall abortion care patients from 38 different states. Jennifer Welch, president and CEO of PPIL said: 

“We take our responsibility as a haven for reproductive care in the Midwest seriously and do everything we can to meet our patient's need to access abortion, gender-affirming care, and other essential reproductive health care services. … Our new health center makes reproductive health care more accessible for communities across southern Illinois and also for patients forced to flee from their home state to access care. PPIL welcomes all patients regardless of their zip code.”

Read the full statement here.