The Quickie: Virginia Canvassers Urge Voters to Keep Abortion Legal
For Immediate Release: Oct. 9, 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: PPAV kicks off canvassing efforts for upcoming elections, Ohioans rally for reproductive rights, and the DEA extends telemedicine prescription rule
VIRGINIA CANVASSERS URGE VOTERS TO KEEP ABORTION LEGAL: This weekend, Planned Parenthood Action Fund president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson and Jamie Lockhart, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia kicked off canvassing efforts in Leesburg, VA to encourage voters to cast their ballots for reproductive rights champions running for Virginia’s state legislature. They were joined by candidates, including Russet Perry, Delegate Dan Helmer, Rob Banse, Delegate Suhas Subramanyam, and State Senator Dave Marsden, and dozens of volunteers. Early voting is underway in Virginia, where every seat in the legislature is up for grabs. With Governor Glenn Youngkin making his intent to ban abortion in the state clear, winning pro-reproductive rights majorities in the state House and Senate is critical. Alexis noted:
“The eyes of the nation are on [Virginia] right now. You know why? Because you are the last line of defense in protecting abortion rights in the South. … Democracy is only as strong as our ability to show up and be active, to have those conversations with people, and get them inspired to come out and vote. I have seen story after story — patients who are driving upwards of 500 miles one way just to get access. Pregnancy has become more dangerous throughout the South because doctors no longer want to practice in these states with severe restrictions and bans. Virginia wants no part of what’s going on right now across this country and you have the power to change that.”
OHIOANS RALLY FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS, ONE MONTH OUT FROM PIVOTAL VOTE: Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights (OURR) — which includes Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio — organized rallies in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, and Akron this weekend, one month out from the pivotal vote on the state’s reproductive rights amendment. Across the state, Ohioans spoke to each other about why this vote matters, sharing their personal experiences of abortion and their hopes for the future of reproductive freedom.
Outside of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, two friends donned their decades-old wedding dresses to say “I do” to Issue 1. OURR co-chair Lauren Blauvelt told rally attendees, "The majority of Ohioans support abortion access. They just need to know this is the election to vote for it.”
The challenge is not insignificant: voters could be confused because they just turned out in August to vote on a different Issue 1, which would have limited the use of direct democracy in the state. Because of this, OURR spokesperson Gabriel Mann told NBC News, “We know that voters are on our side, but we’re not at all taking it for granted that we can win. We’re making sure to keep pushing as hard as we possibly can on voter turnout.”
DEA EXTENDS TELEMEDICINE PRESCRIBING FLEXIBILITIES THROUGH 2024: On Friday, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), along with other government agencies, announced a temporary rule that will allow prescribing flexibilities through 2024, meaning that Planned Parenthood health centers can continue to prescribe schedule II-V controlled substances, including testosterone for gender-affirming hormone therapy, via telehealth visits – rather than in person – for both new and established patients through the end of next year. Earlier this year, Dr. Halley Crissman — Associate Medical Director and Director of Gender Affirming Care at Planned Parenthood of Michigan — explained why telemedicine is so important to her patients:
“In Michigan, where I practice, telemedicine has played a crucial role in expanding access to gender-affirming care – allowing the concentration of health care providers in the Southern portion of the lower peninsula to extend the reach of their care to the more rural and remote reaches of the state. Requiring even a single in-person visit to access testosterone could mean that many patients will be prevented from accessing gender-affirming hormone therapy entirely – a potentially catastrophic result for their health and lives.”
Read more about this extension from the Hill.