New Hampshire’s Strict Abortion Ban Gets Fetal Anomaly Exception
The post-24-week abortion ban had exceptions only for situations where the pregnancy threatened the mother's health, but the House then added an exception for fatal fetal anomalies. PBS NewsHour, meanwhile, calls Oklahoma's anti-abortion law a "tipping point" for the future of abortion access.
AP:
New Hampshire House OK's Exception To New Abortion Ban
The New Hampshire House approved Thursday amending the state’s new abortion ban to add an exception for fatal fetal anomalies. Since Jan. 1, New Hampshire has outlawed abortion after 24 weeks gestation, with exceptions only for pregnancies that threaten the mother’s life or health. Doctors who provide late-term abortions can face felony charges, and ultrasounds are required before any abortion. (3/31)
In abortion news from Oklahoma —
PBS NewsHour:
New Oklahoma Abortion Ban A ‘Tipping Point’ In The Fight Against Roe V. Wade
As the fate of Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance in the Supreme Court, many states are moving ahead with their own restrictions on abortion. Oklahoma’s state House voted 78-19 to pass a near-complete ban on abortions in mid-March, legislation that would go farther than the Texas six-week ban on which it was modeled. Under the Oklahoma bill, abortions would be banned immediately after conception unless it met one of two exceptions: “to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency” or if the pregnancy was the “result of rape, sexual assault, or incest that has been reported to law enforcement.” (Kemp, 3/31)
Also —
The Washington Post:
5 Fetuses Found In D.C. Home Of Woman Charged In Abortion Clinic Blockade
Five fetuses were removed from a Southeast Washington home Wednesday, the same day a federal indictment was announced against nine people in the 2020 blockade of an abortion clinic with chain and rope. The residence was where Lauren Handy, one of the people indicted, was arrested and had lived or stayed, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss the case. (Peiser, Hermann, Zapotosky and Boorstein, 3/31)
The Boston Globe:
Two Mass. Women Among Nine People Charged In Washington, D.C., Reproduction Clinic Blockade Plot
Two Kingston, Mass., women in their 70s who were among nine people arrested for allegedly blocking access to a reproductive health center in Washington, D.C. in October 2020 played supporting roles in the plot, according to federal court papers filed in their cases. Kingston residents Paula “Paulette” Harlow, 73, and Jean Marshall, 72, made initial appearances in federal court in Boston Wednesday on charges, issued out of Washington, of conspiracy against rights and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, according to legal filings. (Andersen, 3/31)
In other reproductive health news —
The Washington Post:
Biden Wants More Funds For Family Planning. Clinics Say They Need It
On Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced $256.6 million in funding for 76 grantees in the Title X network. Among the grantees was Public Health Solutions, which has a network of sexual and reproductive health centers in New York. According to Sarah Blust, director of the sexual and reproductive health centers, Title X typically provides about one-third of funding for the two PHS clinics in Brooklyn. The centers have been trying to rebound after a Trump-era rule preventing federal funding from going to clinics that offered abortion services or referrals. (Uyeda, 3/31)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Nonprofit Continues Control Of Title X Funds In Missouri, Beating Bid By The State
The nonprofit Missouri Family Health Council will continue its 40-year-long role as the sole administrator of the federal Title X family planning program in the state, beating out a bid by the state’s health department. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this week announced the recipients of $256.6 million in Title X funding, which has provided breast and cervical cancer screening, contraceptives and sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment to low-income or uninsured individuals for the past 50 years. Missouri Family Health Council was awarded more than $5.3 million, which will be allocated to 16 health systems operating 65 clinic sites throughout Missouri. They include local health departments, federally qualified health centers, community action agencies, hospital-based clinics, and two Planned Parenthood affiliates. (Munz, 3/31)
