An Unintended Effect Of Conservative Abortion Laws: Blue States Feeling The Pressure To Enshrine Protections

CNN: Abortion Rights Are Getting Stronger In Blue States This Year
The red-state drive to ban or severely limit access to abortion this year has sparked the opposite reaction in Democratic-led states, where lawmakers are cementing abortion rights and making it more accessible. Driving the moves on both sides is the rightward shift of the US Supreme Court, which is fanning fears on the left that the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion legal in the US could be gutted or overturned altogether. (Luhby, 6/22)

CNN: Wisconsin Governor Vetoes 4 Bills Restricting Abortion
Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a slew of bills restricting abortion on Friday, blocking measures that would have impeded abortion access by implicating doctors and cutting federal Planned Parenthood funding. "Everyone should have access to quality, affordable healthcare, and that includes reproductive healthcare," Evers said in a statement Friday. "Politicians shouldn't be in the business of interfering with decisions made between patients and their healthcare providers." (Kelly, 6/21)

The Hill: Wisconsin Governor Vetoes Abortion Restrictions
The move comes after the GOP-led Wisconsin Senate and State Assembly passed four measures that would further restrict abortions. The measures included the so-called "born alive" legislation, which requires health care providers to give care to babies who survive abortion attempts. If it became law, the "born alive" bill would reportedly enforce criminal penalties on doctors who did not provide necessary medical care to babies who survived abortion attempts. (Wise, 6/23)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Gov. Evers Vetoes 'Born Alive' Legislation And Other Abortion Measures
Republicans said they had hoped Evers would adopt the measures and held a public ceremony Thursday to send the bills to him in hopes that it would draw attention to the legislation. One bill would have required lifetime prison sentences for doctors if they did not provide medical care to babies who were born after attempted abortions. (Marley and Beck, 6/21)

Los Angeles Times: Georgia's Abortion Ban Forces Political Reckoning Among TV And Film Workers
Zombies lurk beyond the train tracks. They have been here for years, working under lights, swatting mosquitoes, bringing eerie charm to streets of gothic homes and magnolia. Tourists come from as far away as Japan to glimpse the set of “The Walking Dead,” which has become a neighbor in this town of Bible school classes and soft-serve ice cream. The show, like many film and TV productions, was drawn to Georgia over the last decade by big tax breaks. Legislators were welcoming and the locals, including those in Senoia, adjusted to shooting schedules and the generally liberal inclinations of thousands of set designers, prop masters, actors, makeup artists and others who descended from California, New York and other film states. (Fleishman, 6/23)

Columbus Dispatch: New Abortion Laws Drive Increase In Activism On Both Sides Of Issue
New and stringent rules limiting abortion in Ohio and a handful of other states — plus the renewed prospect that Roe v. Wade could be overturned — have revived an urgency and activism about an issue that has simmered at a low boil for years. It has spurred Isabella Guinigundo, at age 17, to plan a rally in her township near Cincinnati to oppose Ohio House Bill 182, which would bar insurers in the state from covering abortions and limit coverage of certain types of birth control. The bill is being debated in the aftermath of the enactment of an Ohio law banning abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, typically around six weeks into pregnancy. (Candisky and Wehrman, 6/23)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: With Ohio 'Heartbeat Bill,' Pittsburgh Abortion Clinics Expect To See Increase In Patients
Even though Gov. Tom Wolf has vowed to veto any anti-abortion bills that hit his desk, Pennsylvania clinics and patients seeking an abortion likely will still be affected by laws in neighboring states if and when they go into effect. The so-called “heartbeat bill” that is set to take effect July 11 in Ohio, makes illegal any abortion procedure once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which could be as early as six weeks into the pregnancy. The Ohio law makes exceptions for pregnancies that would endanger the health of the patient, but not in cases of rape or incest. (Klick, 6/23)

The Detroit News: Protesters At Rally: Abortion Bans Are 'going Back In History'
A few days after two separate anti-abortion ballot initiatives gained preliminary approvals from a state panel, protesters took to the Capitol steps with calls to preserve abortion in Michigan and threats to challenge Republican lawmakers who support the bans. (6/22)

The Associated Press: No Charges In Kentucky Anti-Abortion Activist Assault Case
A Kentucky grand jury has declined to indict a Louisville woman accused of attacking an 82-year-old anti-abortion protester while leaving a women's clinic. Court records show a grand jury decided against an assault charge on Thursday for 32-year-old Janaya Alyce Gregory, who is accused of knocking Donna Durning down outside Kentucky's only abortion clinic in April. The longtime anti-abortion activist was hospitalized with a broken femur and cut to her head. (6/21)

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton speaks out about the Trump administration's family planning rule changes —

The Hill: Hillary Clinton Slams Title X 'Gag Rule': 'It's Up To All Of Us To Fight Back'
Hillary Clinton told activists to "fight back" on Friday after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration could bar Title X providers from offering abortion services. Clinton tweeted Friday morning that the move was part of a widespread GOP effort to roll back abortion rights across the country and warned that it would extend to all reproductive health care, not just abortion. (Bowden, 6/21)