Abortion Rights Activists Flood Lower Courts With Their Eyes On SCOTUS. But Will The Justices Be As Friendly To The Cause As They Hope?
Twice in recent months, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has sided with liberal justices in abortion cases--a sign that to some suggests that the court isn’t likely to rewrite its longstanding holding, laid down in Roe v. Wade, that a woman has a constitutional right to an abortion before the fetus attains viability. Meanwhile, there's a growing push on the Democrats' side to allow abortion coverage in publicly funded health programs. And in Ohio, health officials cut off funding to Planned Parenthood following court ruling over public money going to the group.
The Wall Street Journal:
New Anti-Abortion Measures Could Struggle For Traction In Courts
Republican-led states are pushing through a raft of new anti-abortion legislation recently, but it’s far from clear that the toughest restrictions will survive judicial scrutiny. States this year have introduced hundreds of anti-abortion bills—including “fetal heartbeat” laws recently enacted in Mississippi and Kentucky—at a rate abortion-rights advocates say is unprecedented. Perhaps most notably, the governors of Kentucky and Mississippi signed bills this month making it a crime for doctors to terminate a pregnancy after an ultrasound detects fetal cardiac activity. (Gershman, 3/24)
The Hill:
Dem Support Grows For Allowing Public Funds To Pay For Abortions
Support is growing among Democrats in Congress for allowing abortion coverage in publicly funded health programs. House Democrats, who say they have a “pro-choice majority” for the first time in history, are vowing to end a long-standing ban of abortion coverage in Medicaid. They also want to ensure that future government healthcare plans allow recipients to get abortion coverage. (Hellmann, 3/23)
The Associated Press:
Ohio Cuts Funding For Planned Parenthood After Court OK
The Ohio Department of Health is ending grants and contracts that send money to Planned Parenthood after a divided federal appeals court upheld a state anti-abortion law that blocks public money for the group. The department notified recipients and contractors Thursday that it will end that funding within a month to comply with the law, unless the court delays the effect of its ruling as Planned Parenthood has requested. The health department said the law requires it to ensure state and certain federal funds aren't "used to perform or promote nontherapeutic abortions." (3/22)
Columbus Dispatch:
After Favorable Court Ruling, State Cutting Off Funding To Planned Parenthood
The state is cutting off Planned Parenthood’s funding from Ohio taxpayers.Last week, a federal appeals court in Cincinnati upheld an Ohio law that allows the state to cut off state funding to abortion providers. On Thursday, the Ohio Department of Health announced it will end Planned Parenthood’s funding in 30 days. (Prosser, 3/22)
Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Planned Parenthood Sites Across Ohio Receive Notice Of State Funding Termination
Planned Parenthood locations across Ohio on Thursday received notice from the Ohio Department of Health that their state funding will end next month. The notice comes following a federal appeals court ruling this month that upheld a 2016 Ohio law forbidding the state from sending preventive health funding to any organization, or affiliate of an organization, that “performs or promotes” non-therapeutic abortions. (Zeltner, 3/22)
And in other news —
NPR:
'Abortion Reversal' With Progesterone Is Being Tested In Study
Dr. Mitchell Creinin never expected to be in the position of investigating a treatment he doesn't think works. And yet, Creinin will be spending the next year or so using a research grant from the Society of Family Planning to put to the test a treatment he sees as dubious — one that recently has gained traction, mostly via the Internet, among groups that oppose abortion. They call it "abortion pill reversal." (Gordon, 3/22)
CQ:
Abortion Rights Activists See Win On Grant Changes As Harbinger
The Trump administration quietly declined this week to keep defending in court its controversial changes to the Teen Pregnancy Prevention, a bipartisan grant program that emphasizes evidence-based programs. Abortion rights advocates hope that the administration’s surrender foreshadows success on other legal challenges to women’s health changes. The Health and Human Services Department has prioritized many regulatory moves over the past two years that would change access to reproductive health services including contraception, sexual health education, and abortion – and many of those changes have been challenged in court. (Raman, 3/22)
