Planned Parenthood, ACLU File Lawsuit Over Missouri’s 8-Week Abortion Ban
Under the Missouri law, any provider that performs an abortion at the eight-week mark or later could be charged with a felony and face up to 15 years in prison. There are no exceptions for rape or incest in the law, scheduled to go into effect Aug. 28. Meanwhile new Planned Parenthood chief Alexis McGill Johnson talks about how the organization is a health care group, first and foremost.
The Associated Press:
Planned Parenthood And ACLU Suing Over Missouri Abortion Law
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union are suing the state of Missouri to stop a law that bans abortions beyond the eighth week of pregnancy from taking effect Aug. 28. The organizations allege in the federal lawsuit filed Tuesday that the abortion bill signed in May by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson that does not include exceptions in cases of rape or incest is part of an "unrelenting campaign to deny patients the health care they seek and to which they are entitled." (7/30)
KCUR:
Planned Parenthood, ACLU Sue To Overturn Missouri's 8-Week Abortion Ban
“Extreme legislators are really pushing to find any way possible to outlaw abortion in the state,” said Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri. Among the defendants named in the lawsuit are Republican Gov. Mike Parson, Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Randall Williams, director of the state Department of Health and Senior Services. The Republican-controlled Legislature passed HB 126 in May. Parson signed it over objections from abortion-rights activists, Democratic lawmakers and Republican megadonor David Humphreys. (Fentem, 7/30)
CNN:
Planned Parenthood And ACLU Sue Missouri Over 8-Week Abortion Ban
"By imposing a ban on abortion prior to viability, the 8-Week Ban violates Plaintiffs' patients' rights to privacy and liberty guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution," the groups wrote. The challenge joins several others by abortion rights supporters in response to laws passed this year restricting abortion in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana and Ohio. (Kelly, 7/30)
The Hill:
Planned Parenthood's New Chief: 'We're Not Political By Nature, But We've Been Politicized'
Planned Parenthood's new president said Tuesday that the organization has been “politicized” by abortion opponents and that it is first and foremost a health group. “We are primarily a health care provider. We provide access to sexual and reproductive health, in some cases primary care,” Alexis McGill Johnson told CBS News in her first interview since becoming head of Planned Parenthood. (Pitofsky, 7/30)
The CT Mirror:
Local Planned Parenthood Chief: We Won't Silence Our Workers
The head of Planned Parenthood in Southern New England said employees across the region’s 17 clinics are undaunted by threats to the nonprofit’s federal funding, and she pledged not to let attacks from government leaders interfere with the group’s mission. Amanda Skinner’s remarks on Tuesday came days after the Trump administration began enforcing new regulations that prohibit Title X grant recipients from counseling patients about abortion. (Carlesso, 7/30)
And in other news —
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Abortions Dropped Nearly 20% In Georgia Over Two Decades
While Georgia’s population has ballooned in recent decades, the number of abortions dropped more than 18% in 23 years, according to state records, much of it due to increased access to birth control, experts say. Anti-abortion activists and lawmakers motivated by the desire to stop even one abortion from occurring in the state passed legislation earlier this year that all but outlaws the procedure as early as six weeks into pregnancy. (Prabhu, 7/30)
