Last week, anti-choice protesters stormed the waiting rooms of at least two separate abortion clinics. The protesters were arrested, but quickly returned to protesting after being released. Data from the Pew Research Center suggests that more people than ever before support a woman’s right to legal and safe abortion. Yet anti-abortion actions and legislation grow increasingly more extreme.
With a Supreme Court aligned with the far right and the majority of governorships in Republican hands, anti-choice extremists are emboldened. Here are five abortion stories you might have missed this month.
Anti-Choice Activists Test FACE Act
The Federal Access to Clinics Entrance (FACE) Act makes it a federal crime to use force or the threat of force to block access to abortion clinics. New abortion protests appear to be testing the willingness of the Jeff Sessions-led Justice Department to enforce this law. Across the country, anti-choice activists are blocking clinic access and storming abortion clinics. So far, Sessions has shown no willingness to enforce federal law.
Scaling Back Women’s Health Care Under Republican-Backed Health Care ‘Reform’
Republicans’ latest attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the Graham-Cassidy Bill, has already been criticized for increasing costs and potentially removing access to care. What much coverage has missed is that the bill also removes funding for many women’s health care services. Specifically, the bill prohibits funding for any provider who provides abortions—even if the funding goes to some other form of care. That means any health care system that offers abortions would lose government funding if it didn’t stop offering abortions.
South Carolina Targets Abortion Providers
South Carolina has enacted legislation similar to that proposed under the Graham-Cassidy Bill to restrict abortion. New state law prohibits state funding for providers that offer any abortion services. This means doctors who perform abortion would no longer be paid for other services, such as mammograms or pap smears.
Kansas City Planned Parenthood Wins Back its Abortion License
Under harsh anti-abortion laws enacted five years ago in Missouri, the state’s Planned Parenthood lost its license to provide abortions. The legislation required clinics to meet the same requirements as ambulatory surgical centers—a requirement that lacks medical justification. Thanks to a ruling by the Missouri Supreme Court, the facility can again offer medication abortions.
Federal Judge Blocks Texas Abortion Law
A federal judge last week blocked provisions of sweeping Texas ant-abortion legislation that would criminalize the most common second trimester abortion procedure. The judge, George W. Bush appointee Lee Yeakel, issued a temporary restraining order pending a hearing on the matter. The order states that women seeking abortions could be irreversibly harmed if denied an abortion. Under the ruling, D&E procedures remain temporarily legal until a final order. No matter the outcome of the hearing, the case could head to the Supreme Court.