The Quickie: West Virginia's Abortion Ban Restricts Mifepristone
For Immediate Release: Aug. 28, 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: West Virginia restricts mifepristone despite FDA approval, Planned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill Johnson honors the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, and Pennsylvania emerges as a battleground state for abortion rights.
WEST VIRGINIA’S ABORTION BAN RESTRICTS MIFEPRISTONE: On Friday, federal judge Robert Chambers ruled that West Virginia’s near-total abortion ban overrides the FDA approval of the abortion pill, mifepristone. Judge Chambers’ basis in this ruling was that there is “no disputing that health, medicine, and medical licensure are traditional areas of state authority”, emphasizing how the Dobbs ruling handed issues around abortion back to the states. This decision dismissed the challenge brought forth by GenBioPro, a manufacturer of mifepristone, which argued that the state cannot block access to a drug that has been FDA-approved.
GenBioPro is “confident in the legal strength” of their case, and Judge Chambers will allow their challenge regarding telehealth to move forward while the Supreme Court rules on the approval of mifepristone.
Read more in AP.
WE MARCH TO FIGHT FOR THE DREAM: Today marks the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, where more than 250,000 people came to the nation’s capital to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream for his children, their children, and for the people all across this country. This weekend, Planned Parenthood Action Fund President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson joined the King Family, Rev. Al Sharpton, dozens of civil rights and reproductive justice advocates, faith leaders, and more, to honor the legacy of civil rights champions and continue to fight for their dream. In her address to the crowd, Alexis noted:
“Even as the Supreme Court tries to wind back the hands of time. 60 years of voting rights. 50 years of reproductive rights. Even as politicians move to deny our history, stop us from talking about our bodies, sexuality, and our self-determination, and scare us out of crossing state lines for care — literally trying to hold us hostage in our states. Even as they try to block us from exercising our right to vote…Try as they might — we stay encouraged and ready for the fight. Last year, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and stripped us of our freedom to control our own bodies. But reproductive rights and civil rights groups came together… We know that the same states banning abortion rights are also blocking our ballots. We know that we are stronger together, bolder together, and that our arms must be linked because our fates and our freedoms are intertwined.”
Watch the full program here on C-SPAN.
EYES ON PENNSYLVANIA AS SUPREME COURT RACE HEATS UP: The race for a vacant Pennsylvania Supreme Court seat is the latest referendum on reproductive freedom, putting a usually low-profile election in the spotlight. The contest between Superior Court judge Dan McCaffrey — already endorsed by Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates — and vehemently anti-abortion candidate Carolyn Carluccio comes less than a year after a similar contest flipped Wisconsin’s highest court in favor of abortion rights. While the Pennsylvania election won’t put control of the court at risk this year, it’s likely to be a bellwether for 2024 and beyond. And it’s expected to be expensive:
“You’re probably looking at something in the range of $20 million, $25 million,” said J.J. Abbott, a Pennsylvania-based Democratic strategist with ties to abortion rights groups. “There’s really significant repercussions nationally in terms of access to reproductive care if Pennsylvania were to limit it.”
Earlier this month, Planned Parenthood Votes launched a six-figure digital ad campaign, telling voters that Carluccio can’t hide her record on abortion. Carluccio may have scrubbed her website of any mention of abortion, but she’s been endorsed by the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation and promised to defend “all life under the law.”
Read more at Politico