Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
400 Workers In 5 States Push For Unionization At Planned Parenthood
AP: Planned Parenthood Workers In 5 Midwest States Seek Union
About 400 workers at Planned Parenthood offices in five states said Thursday they plan to unionize as their employer deals with the potential loss of business in states where abortions may become illegal if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. Workers for Planned Parenthood North Central States in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota said they have signed cards showing majority support for unionization, and on Thursday they formally filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board, said Ashley Schmidt, a training and development specialist for Nebraska and western Iowa. (Pitt, 5/26)
Des Moines Register: Union Drive Seeks To Organize Iowa Planned Parenthood Workers
Citing understaffing and a "sense of urgency" amid reports that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn abortion protections, Planned Parenthood employees in Iowa have announced their intention to unionize. Workers at the nonprofit, which provides abortions and other reproductive services, have filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board, forming a potential bargaining unit with Planned Parenthood North Central States employees. In addition to employees in Iowa, the unit would cover those in Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. (Jett, 5/26)
Fortune: The Head Of Planned Parenthood Has Advice For CEOs Preparing For The End Of Roe V. Wade
Before Alexis McGill Johnson became the CEO of Planned Parenthood, she was the cofounder of Perception Institute, an organization that advises C-suite executives and other leaders on issues of bias and discrimination. It’s a background that’s serving her well today. Since the May leak of the Supreme Court draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade, her phone has been ringing nonstop. On the line: CEOs seeking her counsel as they face not only an end to the constitutional protection of abortion rights, but also the growing expectation that they do something about it. (Hinchliffe, 5/26)
In other news about abortion and reproductive health —
AP: On Remote US Territories, Abortion Hurdles Mount Without Roe
Women from the remote U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands will likely have to travel farther than other Americans to terminate a pregnancy if the Supreme Court overturns a precedent that established a national right to abortion in the United States. Hawaii is the closest U.S. state where abortion is legal under local law. Even so, Honolulu is 3,800 miles (6,100 kilometers) away — about 50% farther than Boston is from Los Angeles. (McAvoy, 5/27)
Oklahoman: Oklahoma Anti-Abortion Group Spent More On Salaries Than Pregnancy Centers
When a newly created nonprofit won a contract with the state to administer millions of dollars to crisis pregnancy centers across Oklahoma as part of a plan by lawmakers to reduce abortion procedures by encouraging women to carry their pregnancy to term, it pledged to help 9,300 women in less than 16 months. But records show only 524 women were served as the organization spent twice as much on its own administrative costs and salaries as it did on supporting anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers across the state. (Felder, 5/26)
Detroit Free Press: Whitmer To Michigan Supreme Court: 'Time Is Of The Essence' On Abortion
A temporary ban on enforcing a dormant state law that criminalizes most abortions makes it even more important for the Michigan Supreme Court to quickly consider whether there is a state constitutional right to an abortion, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her team argued in a recent legal filing. The filing, submitted Wednesday, included answers to multiple questions posed by the state Supreme Court in response to a Whitmer lawsuit. The responses ranged from how the governor had standing to bring the case to the relatively obscure power she's using to ask the high court to immediately consider her arguments. (Boucher, 5/26)
The 19th: Most Americans Don’t Want Key Decisions Overturned By Supreme Court
Two-thirds of Americans say they don’t want the Supreme Court to reverse its decision that legalized abortion federally, and even larger majorities say they do not want opinions on personal liberties involving marriage and contraception overturned. An exclusive The 19th/Momentive poll of more than 8,000 Americans revealed strongly held opinions on maintaining Supreme Court precedent on cases rooted in the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of personal liberty. (Gerson, 5/26)
Reuters: The Next U.S. Abortion Battle Is Over Pills, And It's Already Begun
The U.S. Supreme Court has not yet released its decision that looks set to dramatically scale back abortion rights, but one of the next legal battles has already begun in a Mississippi court. That is where the manufacturer of a pill used to carry out medication abortions, Las Vegas-based GenBioPro Inc, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the conservative state's restrictions on the pill, used in more than half of all U.S. abortions. (Hurley, 5/26)
