Nebraskans Call Out Sneaky Language On Abortion Petitions
The Secretary of State's office has received a slew of affidavits from voters who want their names removed from petitions. The majority stem from a petition by Protect Women and Children, which wants the 12-week abortion ban codified in the constitution. In Kansas doctors challenged a law requiring they collect data on patient's reasons for abortions.
AP:
Some Nebraskans Say Misleading Words Led Them To Sign Petitions On Abortion They Don't Support
Tea Rohrberg was heading into her county’s treasurer’s office in Omaha, Nebraska, on Monday when she says she was approached by a man and asked if she wanted to sign a “pro-choice petition.” Because she believes access to abortion is a right all women should have, she readily signed. But Rohrberg soon learned from a different volunteer that she had actually signed a petition being circulated by Protect Women and Children, which seeks to ask voters in November to codify Nebraska’s new 12-week abortion ban in the state constitution. (Beck, 7/1)
NPR:
New Abortion Laws Take Effect In Kansas, But Doctors Are Challenging One In Court
A Kansas judge allowed a group of abortion providers to expand an existing lawsuit and challenge a new law requiring them to collect information about their patients’ reasons for ending their pregnancies. The law was slated to take effect Monday, along with two other laws backed by anti-abortion groups. But a Planned Parenthood Great Plains spokesperson said Monday that the Kansas health department “has stated that it will not enforce this intrusive law for now.” A health department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Conlon, 7/1)
The New York Times:
Abortion Rights Supporters Put A Winning Strategy To The Test In Arkansas
In states like California, Ohio and Michigan, supporters of abortion rights have been undefeated in using ballot measures to ensure constitutional access to the procedure. But their approach is about to face perhaps its toughest test yet in Arkansas, a state with a near-total abortion ban and where conservative and evangelical values run deep. ... Organizers have until Friday to gather enough signatures to get their initiative on the November ballot, and are optimistic of at least passing that first hurdle. (Cochrane, 7/1)
Politico:
‘A Battle To The Death’: The Next Abortion Cases En Route To The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court’s decision to sidestep key legal questions in its abortion decisions this term sets up another showdown as early as next year. And the next wave of lawsuits around the procedure — including challenges targeting the ability of patients to cross state lines for abortions, the regulation of abortion pills, and minors’ ability to get an abortion without parental consent — is already moving toward the high court. (Ollstein, 7/1)
In other reproductive health news —
ProPublica:
The Failure To Track Data On Stillbirths Undermines Efforts To Prevent Them
From a public health perspective, fetal death certificates provide essential data that helps shed light on stillbirth, the death of an expected child at 20 weeks or more of pregnancy. They serve as the underpinning for much of the research on stillbirth, as well as an evaluation of care in pregnancy and delivery. Tracking the cause of death is key to understanding how to prevent stillbirth, which research shows may be possible in nearly 1 in 4 stillbirths. ProPublica, which has spent the past two years reporting on stillbirths, has found that state and federal health agencies, lawmakers and local hospitals have failed to prioritize data collection needed to accurately track and understand stillbirth or provide parents with that critical information. (Hwang, Chou and Eldeib, 7/2)
