It’s ‘Like Some Nightmare We Couldn’t Have Conceived’: Abortion Opponents Shaken As Defunding Plans Falter
Defunding for Planned Parenthood was tied into the Republicans' health care bill, and now that talks around it are collapsing, abortion opponents are left scrambling. Meanwhile, Politico looks at Ivanka Trump's quiet attempts to reach out to the organization.
The Washington Post:
Conservatives Fall Short Of Another Goal: Defunding Planned Parenthood
Antiabortion groups thought they had a sure way to slash funding for the country’s largest abortion provider as part of the health-care overhaul proposed by the House Republican leadership. But the overhaul failed — a nascent effort to revive it has also stalled — dampening conservatives’ once-high hopes to achieve one of their dearest goals: defunding Planned Parenthood. (Cunningham, 4/5)
Politico:
Ivanka's Secret Planned Parenthood Outreach
In the weeks following her father’s inauguration, Ivanka Trump quietly reached out to the president of Planned Parenthood seeking common ground on the contentious issue of abortion. ... Their under-the-radar meeting — a rarity between a well-known Democratic activist and a close adviser to a Republican president — has not been previously reported. (Karni, 4/6)
And in the states —
KCUR:
Judge Plans To Strike Down Missouri Abortion Restrictions
A federal judge says he plans to block Missouri’s abortion clinic restrictions in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last June. In a “Memorandum to Counsel” on Monday, U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs said he would grant the preliminary injunction requested by Planned Parenthood, but would give the state additional time to avoid “unintended damage” to standard medical regulations. (Margolies, 4/5)
The Associated Press:
Judge Plans To Block Missouri's Abortion-Restricting Rules
A federal judge says he plans to issue a preliminary injunction to block abortion-restricting rules in Missouri similar to ones in Texas that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down last year. U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs announced his move in a memo filed Tuesday in Kansas City, Missouri. He said he would give the state time to craft a plan for patients to avoid unintended "collateral damage" from the injunction, which was sought by Planned Parenthood. (Suhr, 4/5)
Houston Chronicle:
Wendy Davis: Women's Health Is Under Attack
Hundreds of people clad in pink rallied and roamed around the state capitol Wednesday to tell lawmakers about why they support Planned Parenthood, an organization many conservative lawmakers would like to see disappear. At a rally on the steps of the Texas Capitol, former gubernatorial candidate Sen. Wendy Davis, who is known for her 2013 filibuster to block an anti-abortion bill, urged women to tell their stories about the role Planned Parenthood played in their reproductive care. She added that women and advocates are facing "the worst political attacks on women's health in a generation." (Zelinski, 4/5)
Reuters:
Abortion Rights Activists Rally At Texas Capitol Against Restrictions
Hundreds of abortion rights activists rallied at the Texas Capitol on Wednesday, saying a raft of proposed legislation placing restrictions on the procedure in the most populous Republican-controlled state would endanger millions of women. (Herskovitz, 4/6)
Texas Tribune:
Planned Parenthood Supporters Rally For Reproductive Health Access
More than 400 people rallied in front of the Texas Capitol on Wednesday, calling on state legislators to stop trying to block Planned Parenthood from offering reproductive health services. Clad in pink and holding signs reading, "I Stand with Planned Parenthood," "We March for Women's Rights" and "Don't Take Away Our Care," supporters of the women's health provider got charged up for Planned Parenthood's lobby day in Austin. (Evans, 4/5)
Boston Globe:
Sending Anti-Abortion Ads By Phone Is Creepy, But Not Illegal
Massachusetts has built a new buffer zone around reproductive health clinics to fend off protesters. Granted, this one is digital, but it’s just as debatable as the physical buffer zone law that was struck down in 2014 by a unanimous US Supreme Court.On Tuesday, Attorney General Maura Healey struck a deal with Boston-based Copley Advertising that bars the company from using smartphone location tracking to detect people approaching clinics and send them antiabortion ads. (Bray, 4/5)
Houston Chronicle:
Texas Masturbation Bill Is Now In The Hands Of The Texas State Affairs Committee
In March, Texas State Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, filed a bill that would penalize men for "unregulated masturbatory emissions" and the bill has now made its way into the hands of the Texas State Affairs Committee on Tuesday. The committee is typically the panel that hears abortion-related legislation and it will now address Farrar's House Bill 4620, which is named the "Men's Right to Know Act." (Leighton, 4/5)
