Oklahoma’s Governor Says He’s Wary Of Pro-Choice Policies On Tribal Lands

The Hill: Oklahoma Governor Warns Tribes Not To Create Abortion Havens 
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on Sunday warned Native American tribes not to create abortion safe havens if Roe v. Wade is overturned and his state enacts a near-total ban on abortions. Stitt told “Fox News Sunday” there was a “possibility” tribes could establish abortion havens if his state makes most abortions illegal. “Oklahomans will not think very well of that if tribes try to set up abortion clinics,” Stitt said, warning he is monitoring the situation. (Dress, 5/15)

Politico: Oklahoma's New Abortion Law Could Be Undermined, Governor Admits 
Stitt was discussing that new law in the context of a 2020 Supreme Court ruling, McGirt v. Oklahoma, that held that crimes committed on tribal lands cannot be prosecuted by state or local law enforcement, only in tribal courts or federal courts, if a Native American is involved. A significant portion of Oklahoma is tribal land. “You know, the tribes in Oklahoma are super liberal,” he said. “They go to Washington, D.C. They talk to President [Joe] Biden at the White House; they kind of adopt those strategies. So yeah, we think that there’s a possibility that some tribes may try to set up abortion on demand. They think that you can be 1/1,000th tribal member and not have to follow the state law. And so that’s something that we’re watching.” (Cohen, 5/15)

In abortion news from California, Louisiana, Texas, and North Carolina —

AP: California Governor: $98B Surplus Backs True Pro-Life State 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday pledged to use the state’s record-breaking $300 billion budget, including an unprecedented nearly $100 billion surplus, to “future proof” the state from the impacts of a volatile midterm election cycle that he fears will undermine abortion access, gun safety and privacy protections across the country. The first-term governor of the nation’s most populous state — and a potential Democratic presidential candidate — used his budget presentation on Friday to prop up his progressive credentials while attacking his rivals in conservative states. (Beam and Ronayne, 5/13)

The 19th: Failed Louisiana Abortion Bill Shows Limits On How Far Anti-Abortion Groups Will Go
The failure of a Louisiana bill that would have classified abortion as a homicide exposed a limit in how far anti-abortion organizations and lawmakers are willing to go to end the practice. The legislation’s singular sponsor, Rep. Danny McCormick, removed the bill, titled the Abolition of Abortion in Louisiana Act of 2022, from consideration for a House vote after a proposed amendment would have stripped the most extreme sections of the legislation, making it more akin to a trigger ban already on the books. (Kutz, 5/13)

Dallas Morning News: Most Texans Do Not Want Supreme Court To Overturn Roe V. Wade, New Poll Shows
Most Texans don’t want the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the landmark Roe vs. Wade ruling that established abortion rights nationwide, but they do support limits, according to a Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler poll released Sunday. With a ruling now pending in a key court challenge to Roe, 53% of Texans said they oppose overturning the 1973 case that originated in Dallas County, while 46% prefer abortion policy be decided by the states. Opposition to overturning Roe increased to 53% from 50% in a February poll, while support dipped to 46% from 47% – a shift that wasn’t statistically significant. Poll director Mark Owens, a political scientist at UT-Tyler, said the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion might have driven the 3% increase. (Hollers, 5/15)

The Washington Post: In N.C., A Black Senate Candidate Talks Abortion. Her Rival Doesn’t
Speaking to two dozen staunch Democrats on a day so windy some campaign signs blew away, Senate hopeful Cheri Beasley issued a warning about a leaked Supreme Court draft ruling on abortion. “No matter how you feel about the issue of abortion, the way that opinion was written, what we all know for sure is that all of our civil rights are under attack,” Beasley, a Democrat who made history as the first Black woman to be chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, said at an outdoor town hall meeting at a park here Thursday. “We must all feel a sense of urgency around this election.” (Linskey, 5/15)

In polling updates —

NBC News: Support For Abortion Rights Hits New High As Midterm Outlook Is Grim For Democrats
Support for abortion rights has reached a record high, and nearly two-thirds of Americans oppose the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, according to a new national NBC News poll conducted after the leak of a draft opinion that would strike down the constitutional right to abortion. What’s more, the survey finds abortion climbing up the list of issues that Americans believe are the most important, and that Democratic interest in the upcoming midterms has increased since earlier this year. (Murray, 5/15)

New York Post: Supreme Court Leak Over Abortion Rights Didn't Sway Voters: Poll
The recent leak of a draft opinion from the Supreme Court that could scrap abortion rights has done little to influence voters’ choice of which party they want running Congress next year, according to a new NBC poll. The opinion from Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, leaked earlier this month, indicates Roe v. Wade could be overturned, dramatically changing abortion rights in the country. (Propper, 5/15)

Also —

Bloomberg: Abortion Misinformation Surges On Facebook, Twitter After Leak
Conspiracy theorists have latched on to the debate over US abortion rights on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok, leading to a spike in misinformation around what is already one of the most politically-charged topics online — and signaling the complex decision-making that lies ahead for social media companies if the procedure becomes illegal in some states. For years, social networks have been criticized for hosting user posts and advertisements that seek to confuse people about their right to access abortion or about the safety of the procedure. Since May 2, when Politico published a draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade if finalized, researchers have seen a surge in posts connecting the leak itself to already-problematic conspiratorial storylines. (Alba, 5/13)

AP: Some Catholic Abortion Foes Are Uneasy About Overturning Roe
Top leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called on the faithful to pray and fast Friday, in hopes the Supreme Court is on track to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. Yet even among Catholics who oppose abortion, there is some unease about the consequences of such a ruling. A recently leaked Supreme Court draft opinion suggests that a majority of the nine justices are poised to reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision – a move that would allow individual states to outlaw abortion. (Crary, 5/13)

NPR: Turnaway Study Offers Insights On The Impact Of Losing Access To Abortion
Though it's impossible to know exactly what will happen to abortion access if Roe v. Wade is overturned, demographer Diana Greene Foster does know what happens when someone is denied an abortion. She documented it in her groundbreaking yearslong research project, The Turnaway Study and her findings provide insight into the ways getting an abortion – or being denied one – affects a person's mental health and economic wellbeing. For over 10 years, Dr. Foster and her team of researchers tracked the experiences of women who'd received abortions or who had been denied them because of clinic policies on gestational age limits. (Burbank and Kwong, 5/15)

KHN: Journalists Recap The Latest On The Supreme Court Leak, Mental Health Care, And Fentanyl Testing Strips
KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on abortion rights on Deep State Radio on May 5 and again on WFAE’s “Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins” on May 9. ... KHN correspondent Aneri Pattani discussed how our mental and physical health is connected on WNPR/Connecticut Public Radio’s “Where We Live” on May 6. ... KHN interim Southern bureau editor Andy Miller explored how fentanyl testing strips are gaining acceptance on WABE on May 5. (5/14)