Judge Thwarts Trump’s Changes To Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program
In her ruling Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said the policy change was “motivated solely by political concerns, devoid of any considered process or analysis." Meanwhile in the courts, Missouri's attorney general tries to access medical records for patients who have had abortions.
AP:
A Judge Has Blocked A Trump Administration Effort To Change Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs
A judge Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from requiring recipients of federal teen pregnancy prevention grants to comply with Trump’s orders aimed at curtailing “radical indoctrination” and “gender ideology.” The ruling is a victory for three Planned Parenthood affiliates — in California, Iowa and New York — that sued to try to block enforcement of a U.S. Department of Human Services policy document issued in July that they contend contradict the requirements of the grants as established by Congress. (Mulvihill, 10/7)
On tracking abortion seekers in Missouri and Texas —
AP:
Planned Parenthood Officials Say Missouri Is Seeking Abortion Patient Records
Missouri’s Republican attorney general is trying to get the medical records of Planned Parenthood patients who’ve had abortions, officials who oversee clinics in Kansas City and St. Louis said in legal filings. The fight over the subpoenas is playing out in a lawsuit filed last year by Planned Parenthood Great Plains, the abortion provider’s affiliate for Kansas City, and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, the affiliate for St. Louis. Planned Parenthood officials argue that the state’s restrictions violate an amendment to the Missouri Constitution narrowly approved by voters in November to protect abortion rights. (Hanna, 10/7)
Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Texas Sheriff Claimed License Plate Search Was For A Missing Person. It Was An Abortion Investigation.
New documents and court records obtained by EFF show that Texas deputies queried surveillance company Flock Safety's data in an abortion investigation, contradicting the narrative promoted by the company and the Johnson County Sheriff that she was “being searched for as a missing person,” and that “it was about her safety.” The new information shows that deputies had initiated a "death investigation" of a "non-viable fetus," logged evidence of a woman’s self-managed abortion, and consulted prosecutors about possibly charging her. (Maass and Alajaji, 10/7)
On reproductive health access in Wisconsin, Tennessee, Colorado, and Wyoming —
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
As Planned Parenthood Of Wisconsin Halts Abortions, Other Clinics Scramble To Absorb Demand
Care for All Community Clinic in Milwaukee has been overwhelmed with calls lately. The independent, nonprofit clinic opened in June as Wisconsin's fifth abortion provider, and has been hiring more staff to keep up with demand, said co-founder and executive director Ali Kliegman. The number of abortion procedures scheduled has doubled. Typically, the clinic could see patients within a day. Recently, it has been booking out a week. (Heim, 10/7)
Tennessee Lookout:
Planned Parenthood Closes A Memphis Clinic After Trump Administration Stops Medicaid Payments
Planned Parenthood has temporarily closed one of two Memphis clinics as a result of a federal appeals court decision that allowed the Trump administration to block patients from using Medicaid as their insurance at the reproductive health provider. A new federal law passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump implements a one-year block for patients with Medicaid – TennCare in Tennessee – from getting care at Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide. (Wadhwani, 10/7)
Colorado Newsline:
Providers Work To Overcome Difficulties For Reproductive Health Care Access In Southwest Colorado
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountain’s efforts to reopen its Durango clinic come amid an increasingly difficult landscape for reproductive health providers in Southwest Colorado and rural communities like it around the country. Tracy Anselmo, director of the La Plata County Public Health Department, said because Durango is the largest municipality in the area outside of Farmington, people seeking health care come from all over the Four Corners. “The landscape in the southwest part of the state related to sexual and reproductive health is quite grim,” Anselmo said. After being shuttered for just over a year, the Durango Planned Parenthood clinic will reopen this month for two days a week. (Toomer, 10/7)
WyoFile:
Abortion Ruling Not Expected Until Year’s End, Wyoming Chief Justice Says
The Wyoming Supreme Court may not issue its highly anticipated decision on whether the state constitution protects abortion rights until sometime closer to December, Chief Justice Lynne Boomgaarden told WyoFile. (Graham, 10/6)
Also —
The 19th:
ICE Fears Put Pregnant Immigrants And Their Babies At Risk
In the lead up to her son’s birth, Jacqueline made plans to call 911 for an ambulance to pick her up from her North Florida home and transport her to a hospital about an hour away. The second-time mom and Guatemalan immigrant, who has lived in the country for a decade, would have relied on her husband to drive her to the hospital. But a few months ago he was deported, leaving Jacqueline and her daughter without the family’s primary source of income, transportation and support. (Barclay and Luthra, 10/7)
