Lone House Anti-Abortion Democrat Faces Unseating By Progressive

CBS News: Henry Cuellar, Only Democrat In The House Who Doesn't Support Abortion Rights, Faces Progressive Challenger Jessica Cisneros
Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas is the lone anti-abortion Democrat left in the U.S House of Representatives. He has survived challenges from the left over the years because of his strong ties to his border district, and his appeal among constituents who share his more moderate approach. But with the Supreme Court now poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, progressives feel they have their best chance yet to defeat him. Voters in the south Texas district will head to the polls Tuesday to choose between Cuellar and his liberal challenger, Jessica Cisneros. The contest is a runoff after neither candidate broke the 50% threshold needed to win outright in March. The race figures to test the strength of the abortion rights movement among more conservative Latino voters. (Navarro, Huey-Burns and Brewster, 5/23)

Slate: Texas Democrat Runoff to Conclusively Determine Whether Moderates or Progressives Are Better
Tuesday is Election Day in Texas, as well as other places in which everything is not bigger. In the 28th District, which runs along a stretch of the Rio Grande at the border and then kind of lurches up and over to the eastern suburbs of San Antonio, incumbent Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and immigration lawyer Jessica Cisneros are in a runoff. ... Cisneros is pro-choice, and had been working to highlight Cuellar’s record of voting against abortion rights even before news broke that the Supreme Court may be about to overturn Roe v. Wade. In addition to her endorsements from progressive figures like Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, she is also backed by more traditionally mainstream pro-choice Democratic groups like Emily’s List and NARAL Pro-Choice America. (Mathis-Lilley, 5/23)

Politico: House Dems Shun Primary Fight Against Anti-Abortion Incumbent 
House Democrats have vowed to do whatever it takes to protect abortion rights. But there’s one step many don’t want to consider. Only a handful of them have endorsed the primary challenger running against Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar — their only colleague who opposes codifying Roe v. Wade into law — in a Tuesday runoff in Texas. And as dozens of House Democrats gathered on the Capitol steps earlier this month to rally support for abortion rights, they really didn’t want to talk about why. (Mutnick and Ferris, 5/23)

In related news —

Politico: State Democrats, Abortion-Rights Activists 'Incredibly Frustrated' With Federal Inaction
State-level Democratic officials and abortion-rights advocates are discouraged by how little their allies in Congress and the White House have done since a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade became public. Instead of executive actions that could increase access to abortion pills or help protect people’s medical information, national Democrats have largely highlighted what they can’t do in the Senate and focused on fueling midterm-election turnout, angering state and local leaders who feel the burden to protect and expand access is falling almost entirely on their shoulders. (Messerly and Ollstein, 5/23)

In other abortion news from across the U.S. —

Los Angeles Times: California Lawmakers Take On Texas By Blocking 'Heartbeat' Abortion Laws
A proposal that cleared the California Assembly on Monday seeks to guard against so-called fetal heartbeat laws and abortion restrictions imposed by other states amid uncertainty over the landmark ruling in Roe vs. Wade. The bill reinforces California’s pro-abortion rights status as federal protections are in jeopardy and after Texas and almost a dozen other states have passed laws to ban the procedure as early as the sixth week of pregnancy. Texas law allows civil lawsuits to be filed against abortion providers or anyone who otherwise “aids or abets” a person receiving an abortion after a heartbeat has been detected — a hard-to-define timeline that significantly limits abortion access. (Mays, 5/23)

Slate: Texas Pharmacies Are Refusing To Fill Prescriptions Because Of Abortion Bans.
In an interview with the Slate podcast What Next, Natalie Crawford, an Austin-based OB-GYN and fertility doctor, said that pharmacists in her area “do not want to fill” prescriptions for misoprostol, a drug commonly used to prevent stomach ulcers and induce labor. Crawford and other physicians sometimes use misoprostol to soften the cervix of a patient who isn’t pregnant before performing a gynecological procedure, such as inserting an IUD or examining the inside of her uterus. (Cauterucci, 5/24)

Chicago Tribune: With Roe V. Wade At Risk, Planned Parenthood Of Illinois Makes Abortion Pills Available By Mail For State Residents 
With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood of Illinois said Monday it has begun offering abortion pills by mail for state residents who qualify. The agency said the relatively new means of abortion access will break down “unnecessary barriers to health care” and also expand access to underserved parts of the state. “Now more than ever it’s crucial that our patients can access the care they need, when and where they need it,” Dr. Amy Whitaker, chief medical officer for the agency, said in a news release. (Lourgos, 5/23)

AP: Planned Parenthood To Step In If North Dakota Clinic Closes
Planned Parenthood said Monday it will offer abortion services at its clinic in Moorhead, Minnesota, if North Dakota’s only abortion clinic does not quickly relocate from Fargo should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. Planned Parenthood said it expected Red River Women’s Clinic, a private clinic not affiliated with it, to make the short move across the river by July 1, if necessary. (Kolpack, 5/23)

NPR: Abortion Debate Surrounds New Clinic Planning To Open In Wyoming 
A modest, tan building sandwiched between a gas station and a small apartment house near downtown Casper, Wy., has become an unexpected focal point of America's abortion debate, just weeks before Wyoming could outlaw the procedure. Inside, a nonprofit is renovating the space into a clinic that, beginning in June, would be the only one in Wyoming to provide procedural abortions. The Casper clinic also would become the closest option for people in what the nonprofit's founders describe as an "abortion desert," extending into western Nebraska and South Dakota. (Zionts, 5/24)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Lebanon Abortion Ban: Opponents To Rally, Council To Mark Anniversary
Last May, Lebanon became the first in Ohio to ban abortions, a move that drew protests, praise and prayers. One year later, the entire landscape of abortion has changed – or is about to, thanks to a leaked Supreme Court ruling that suggests the court may strike down the right to abortion. The ruling means more battles over abortion could be coming to a statehouse or city hall near you, as it did in Lebanon. Both abortion rights advocates and abortion opponents are planning to observe the one-year anniversary of Lebanon's abortion ban Tuesday, signaling their willingness to keep fighting. (Glynn, 5/24)

The Hill: Arkansas Governor Says Abortion Exceptions For Rape, Incest, Life Of Mother ‘Could Be Revisited’ In State Ban
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) on Sunday said exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother “could be revisited” in the state’s abortion ban, which would take effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Hutchinson signed a bill in February 2019 that called for banning abortion in the state if the Supreme Court overturns the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which protects access to the medical procedure on the federal level. The measure in Arkansas, however, does not allow exceptions for cases of rape and incest, or if the life of the mother is in danger. (Schnell, 5/22)

Also —

USA Today: Some Gen Z Girls Are Worried About Losing Their Abortion Rights
For every teenage girl in the United States, Roe v. Wade has always been the law of the land. But they might be soon entering adulthood in a nation where abortion rights would be decided state by state. Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z children have benefited from a political era where Roe v. Wade has been linked with helping to reduce teenage pregnancy, along with improved access to contraception and sex education. Gen Z girls are also having less sex than their predecessors but many are still sexually active. (Williams and Ruiz-Goiriena, 5/24)

The 19th: Medication Abortion Is Safe, But Pain And Recovery Are Different For Everyone
When Layidua Salazar showed up at the Oakland Planned Parenthood eight years ago, she thought she was going to get a wellness exam. Then the nurse walked in. They couldn’t do Salazar’s Pap smear after all — she was pregnant. The clinic knew she was on birth control, but the positive result wasn’t a mistake. They had checked three times. “As soon as she closed the door, I broke down into tears,” Salazar recalled. “I definitely was not intending to be pregnant.” (Luthra, 5/23)