Louisiana Trigger Bill Criminalizes Abortions Even For Rape, Incest Cases
The bill was signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, and will go into effect if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. In Iowa the attorney general pointed out that a 24-hour waiting period before abortions has not yet taken effect. And in Wisconsin, Republican lawmakers are reportedly planning to scuttle efforts to repeal the state's dormant abortion ban.
USA Today:
Louisiana Governor Signs Abortion Ban Without Rape, Incest Exceptions
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed a bill to criminalize abortion in Louisiana, with no exceptions for rape or incest, if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its historic Roe v. Wade decision. Senate Bill 342 by Democratic Monroe Sen. Katrina Jackson built on Louisiana's 2006 "trigger law" to outlaw abortion if the Supreme Court ever reverses Roe, which seems possible after a draft decision doing so was leaked in May. Jackson's bill specifically exempts pregnant women from prosecution but doubles the 2006 penalties for doctors or others who terminate pregnancies to a maximum $100,000 fine and 10 years in jail. (Hilburn, 6/21)
Des Moines Register:
Iowa Abortion Law: 24-Hour Waiting Period Has Not Taken Effect Yet
Iowa abortion providers are not required to impose a 24-hour waiting period before performing an abortion — yet. The Iowa Attorney General's office said Tuesday that the waiting period at the center of a state Supreme Court decision last week did not immediately take effect. Instead, the law will take effect on July 8, three weeks after the Supreme Court ruling. The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday ruled in the case of a 2020 law that required a 24-hour waiting period between a first appointment and an abortion procedure. (Akin, 6/21)
AP:
GOP Lawmakers Poised To End Special Session On Abortion Ban
Republican legislators in Wisconsin were poised Wednesday to meet in a special session Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called to repeal the battleground state’s dormant abortion ban and quickly adjourn without taking any action. Wisconsin adopted a ban on abortion except to save the mother’s life in 1849, year after the territory became a state. The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that essentially legalized abortion nationwide in 1973 nullified the ban. (Richmond, 6/21)
In election news —
The Washington Post:
Henry Cuellar Defeats Jessica Cisneros In Contentious Texas Primary Race
Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar will narrowly get to claim the Democratic nomination for Texas’s 28th Congressional District after a contentious reelection battle against attorney Jessica Cisneros. ... Cuellar, the lone antiabortion Democrat in the U.S. House, had the support of top-ranking House Democrats such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), while Cisneros was endorsed by a new generation of more liberal Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.). (Alfaro, 6/21)
Politico:
Inside Dems' Plan If Roe Falls: A Voter Turnout Blitz
In every poll running in every targeted House district around the country, House Democrats’ campaign arm is testing how voters feel about the Supreme Court likely overturning Roe v. Wade. The group’s strategists have drafted fundraising emails that will blast out to millions of supporters in the hours after the decision comes out. They’ve cut video clips of what GOP candidates say about abortion. They’re developing analytics models to find and target voters who back abortion rights. (Schneider, 6/21)
More on abortion and reproductive health care —
CBS News:
More Than A Quarter Of Abortion Clinics Could Close If Roe V. Wade Is Struck Down, Study Finds
More than a quarter of the nearly 800 abortion clinics in the U.S. would quickly shut down if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, according to newly released research. The nation's highest court is expected to issue a decision by the end of the month on whether to upend 50 years of legal precedent guaranteeing the right to abortion in the U.S. A draft opinion signaling that the top court intends to overrule federal protections for the procedure was leaked by Politico in early May. (Gibson, 6/21)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Providers At Milwaukee Planned Parenthood Clinic Brace For Roe's End
Under a nurse station desk in the Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin's Water Street Health Clinic, an unassuming stack of "recovery journals" sits in a paper bag. They've been carefully kept by the clinic's staff, which stopped putting the notebooks out in the clinic's softly lit recovery room when the pandemic hit. Over the years, hundreds of patients and family members have picked up the journals and read of the experiences of those who sat in these chairs before them. Some took up a pen to bare their hearts for those who were to come. (Shastri, 6/21)
ABC News:
For These Black Activists, Abortion Isn't Just A Woman's Issue. It's About Race, Too
Buried in the data about the nation's abortion debate is an uncomfortable truth: A disproportionate number of women seeking to end their pregnancies are Black. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women as a population have the highest rate of abortions -- nearly 24 abortions per 1,000 Black women, compared to about seven abortions per 1,000 white women. (Flaherty, 6/20)
USA Today:
Abortion Poll: 31% Say They're Less Likely To Live In States With Bans
In the category of unintended consequences, consider this: Nearly a third of Americans say they would find a state less desirable as a place to live if it banned abortions. In a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll, 31% say a ban would make a state less desirable; just 5% say it would make it more desirable. The negative reaction is particularly strong among young people – 42% of those 18 to 25 years old – and those with more education. Thirty-two percent of those with a college degree and 45% of those with a post-graduate degree say an abortion ban would make a state less desirable. (Page and Tran, 6/22)
