This Week in Abortion: January 14

Jan 14, 2023

Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were relaxing and you took time to unplug from the daily grind and the relentless news cycle.

The election is behind us, but things on abortion are only going to get more complicated in 2023. Let’s get caught up.

When it comes to state laws, advocates on both sides are raring to go. (Listen) I won’t go into every bill that’s out there, but as with last year, I aim to cover those that move forward week by week.
I’ll also be sharing major legal updates on the many cases making their way through state courts. You can see more at the Brennan Center on the dozens of active cases challenging abortion bans.

North Carolina Republicans may have just made it easier to override the Governor’s veto. That’s the same veto that was supposed to protect abortion access in NC for the next two years.
Thanks to an FDA rule change, medication abortion (the most common procedure used in the US) will be accessible at any pharmacy, instead of in-person specialty providers. But, that’s only in states where abortion remains legal. The decision has already been challenged. So while this is good for some, best to think of it as another chapter in the continuing saga for abortion pills. In just a few days Alabama’s AG already issued and then appeared to walk back threats to prosecute people who take the pills.

The House passed a bill. It will not become law. Nothing that either chamber passes on abortion for the next two years is going to become law. But, if nothing else, the bill is notable for being the first attempt by Republicans to find their footing on abortion policy post-election. (The bill doesn’t do anything to put legal limits on access. Instead, it highlights an extraordinarily rare risk in late-term abortions and, critics say, unnecessarily criminalizes providers. )
In another effort by the Republican Party to find solid ground, the House approved a resolution condemning violence in crisis pregnancy centers. Fox New’s take: House approves resolution to protect pregnancy centers, nearly all Dems oppose. Coupled with news accusing the FBI of slow-walking an investigation into the bombing of a crisis center, there is the making of a strategy here.
Illinois joined a handful of states with shield laws - laws that protect abortion providers within a state from being prosecuted by other states. The recently passed bill will also allow some nurses and physician assistants to perform abortion procedures that don't require general anesthesia - something advocates there have long been pressing for.

Montana may limit access to abortion for the state’s poorest residents. The state is one of 16 in which Medicaid is required to cover “medically necessary” abortions. Now, proposed rule changes would require doctors to submit information supporting why the procedure is medically necessary. Officials have argued that they are currently covering more abortions than they are required to. But, knowing that access is already more difficult the fewer resources you have, this move just seems cruel and (quite frankly) a bad long-term financial strategy for the state. Thankfully, it’s unlikely that the other 15 states will face a similar rule change, Minnesota and possibly Maine being the exceptions. You can check out if you live in one of the states here.

Texas teens can no longer access birth control without their parent’s permission thanks to a court ruling last December.

This Week in Abortion