The Quickie: Wisconsinites to Rally for Abortion Rights this Saturday

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.

THIS SATURDAY: PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION FUND MEMBERSHIP EVENT: WISCONSINITES RALLY FOR ABORTION RIGHTS AND IN SUPPORT OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CHAMPIONS: This Saturday, October 8 at 5:30 p.m. CDT, Planned Parenthood Action Fund will host a rally for its members with special guests Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin President Tanya Atkinson, U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes, Governor Tony Evers, Attorney General Josh Kaul, Lieutenant Governor candidate Sara Rodriguez, and more. This members-only rally in Middleton, Wisconsin will highlight the fight for abortion rights ahead of the consequential midterm election.

The stakes for reproductive freedom have never been higher. Abortion rights are on the ballot this November and the election of reproductive health champions are critical to restoring access to safe and legal abortion in Wisconsin and across the country.

RSVP here to be credentialed for the event.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD VOTES LAUNCHES “TOO EXTREME,” NEW AD CAMPAIGN IN ARIZONA: Yesterday, Planned Parenthood Votes released “Too Extreme,” a six-figure digital campaign focused on Arizona’s gubernatorial race. The 30-second ad highlights anti-abortion rights candidate Kari Lake’s support of Arizona’s reinstated near-total 1864 abortion ban, which has no exception for rape or incest and would imprison doctors who provide abortion care. The ad is also being released in Spanish.

Statement from Kelley Dupps, spokesperson Planned Parenthood Votes:

“Right now abortion is virtually inaccessible in Arizona, forcing people to leave their communities to access essential, life-saving health care. If the extremist conspiracy theorist Kari Lake reaches the governor’s office, the loss of basic reproductive freedom will continue. We know where Lake stands and it’s not with the majority of Arizonans who support access to safe, legal abortion. She cannot be trusted to lead with our best interests in mind, and now is the time to take control and fight back at the ballot box. Katie Hobbs, a fearless champion of reproductive rights and abortion access, is the leader Arizonans needs in this moment of crisis.”

Watch the ad here. 

SCHMIDT REITERATES FAR RIGHT VIEWS IN FINAL KANSAS GUBERNATORIAL DEBATE: Yesterday, Kansas gubernatorial candidate Derek Schmidt and sitting governor Laura Kelly faced off in the state’s final debate before Election Day. During the debate, Schmidt said that voters have spoken on abortion and downplayed his support for the anti-abortion constitutional amendment. But it was another desperate attempt to run from his extremist beliefs. From his previous assertions that abortion rights are still up for discussion to his support today for policies that would harm transgender and gender-nonconforming youth, Schmidt is out of touch with Kansas values. 

In contrast, Gov. Kelly stood strong for Kansans’ fundamental freedoms, just as she has for her nearly two decades in elected office. Gov. Kelly said, “A woman's right to make private medical decisions should be made between her, her family and her doctor. Women should have bodily autonomy equal to that of men.” 

Kourtney Vincent-Woodbury of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes PAC responded to the debate, 

“Gov. Kelly has long championed the rights of Kansans to make their own health care decisions and today was no different. By reelecting Gov. Kelly, Kansans can be assured she will protect their rights, dignities, and futures. There is no mistaking the clear contrast in a leader like Gov. Kelly, who respects and listens to the majority of Kansans that want to protect abortion rights, and Derek Schmidt, who is determined to strip voters of the bodily autonomy they sought to uphold. Kansans deserve a leader who will fight for them – not their own self-interests – and that is Gov. Laura Kelly.”

Read more at The New York Times. 

ICYMI: PLANNED PARENTHOOD PRESIDENT JOINED VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS AND REP. JAHANA HAYES IN CONNECTICUT FOR A DISCUSSION ON ABORTION: Yesterday, Planned Parenthood Federation of America President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson moderated a conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris alongside Rep. Jahana Hayes (CT-05) on aboriton access post-Roe. The talk covered how Vice President Harris has been a longstanding champion of reproductive freedom even before the Dobbs decision, the intersection of reproductive rights and other freedoms, what it will take to protect abortion rights at the federal level, and Black maternal health. They also answered questions from audience members that touched on topics such as how — why — men can support abortion access, how young people should show up in this moment, and reconciling personal faith with support for self-determination. Officials, including Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, also joined the event.

Watch the full conversation here. 

PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF MICHIGAN EXPANDS CAPACITY TO SERVE DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF OF OUT-OF-STATE ABORTION PATIENTS: A new report, published in the Detroit Free Press yesterday, found that the number of abortions provided in Michigan for out-of-state patients has more than doubled since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. As one of the few Midwest states where abortion remains legal and accessible without interruption, Michigan has emerged as a critical access point in the region. Last month, a Michigan court blocked the state’s 1931 criminal abortion ban from being enforced, protecting access for both Michiganders and the out-of-state patients forced to flee their own communities since abortion bans have outlawed essential care there.

Planned Parenthood of Michigan has expanded capacity to respond to the patient influx, seeing up to triple the number of patients per day than they were prior to the overturning of Roe. PPMI has also dedicated additional resources to assist out-of-state patients, who now account for about 20% of abortion care appointments at PPMI’s 14 Michigan health centers. 

“When you make abortion illegal, abortion doesn't stop happening,” said PPMI President and CEO Paula Thornton Greear. “There's no conclusive, consistent data or research that shows the relationship between these draconian abortion laws and the likelihood of having an abortion. I think if anything, we know that abortion laws are associated with unsafe health care … There's not a day that goes by [where] we don't look at what we can do to expand that capacity."

Read more at Detroit Free Press.