Repro Roundup 02.09.24
Did you see the front page of the Boston Globe this week? Three Massachusetts mothers, Katie Forde, Katie Adamek, and Melissa Donahue shared their experiences with the exorbitant costs of pregnancy and birth care in Massachusetts. This piece is especially important right now because the Massachusetts Legislature just advanced our priority bill to expand insurance coverage in the Bay State to cover the full spectrum of pregnancy care, without any cost sharing.
As our own Claire Teylouni told the Globe, this is a critical gender equity issue. Nationally, women ages 19-44 spend 58 percent more on health care per capita compared to men in that age range, largely due to maternity care costs. Because high deductible plans are increasingly common in Massachusetts, pregnant people are paying higher out-of-pocket costs for care than ever before. By eliminating cost sharing for pregnancy care, we can help ensure that decisions about if, when, or how to start or grow a family are made by pregnant people, not their insurance deductibles.
We’re thrilled to see this bill progress with a favorable recommendation from the Joint Committee on Financial Services, and look forward to continuing our advocacy so we can see this legislation become law in Massachusetts!
Now, on to the week’s news—
News from New England
→ Results from Joint Rule 10 Day in Massachusetts
Joint Rule 10 Day is when committees in the Massachusetts legislature must take action on pending bills. Here’s a quick breakdown of how Repro Equity Now’s priority legislation fared on Joint Rule 10 Day this past Wednesday. (TLDR; all of our bills remain alive!)
⭐ An Act Ensuring Access to Full Spectrum Pregnancy Care (H.1137, S.646) → Reported Favorably by the Joint Committee on Financial Services
⭐ Common Start (S.301) → Reported Favorably by the Joint Committee on Education
⏰ An Act Relative to Birthing Justice in the Commonwealth (S.1415) → Extended by the Joint Committee on Public Health
⏰ Location Shield Act (H.357, S.148) → Extended by the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure
→ Court Gives Green Light to Clearway Clinic Lawsuit
A Worcester County judge has denied anti-abortion center Clearway Clinic’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against them, meaning the case can move to trial. Last year, the Clearway Clinic, an anti-abortion center in Worcester, failed to diagnose a patient’s ectopic pregnancy after she came to the center for an ultrasound. Because the patient was not accurately diagnosed, allegedly by a nurse practicing out of her scope of practice, she experienced complications that caused her to be hospitalized and lose a fallopian tube. Under previous case law, anti-abortion centers were not subject to consumer-protection complaints regarding deceptive advertising because they are generally categorized as nonprofits, but this lawsuit may have big ramifications for the way these centers can be regulated and held accountable. Read more from NBC Boston.
→ New Hampshire State Rep. Attacks Sex Ed
The New Hampshire State House considered a bill this past week that would severely limit what New Hampshire public schools can teach for sexual health and education classes, as well as limit instruction of these topics to registered nurses. The extreme provisions of these bills can best be described in the words of the lead sponsor –
“She said the focus in sexual education classes should be ‘on material relevant to heterosexuals which make up the vast majority of the population in this state.’ Reid also said that the material presented should be fact-based and not rely on ideology or value judgments. For example, she said she objects to any instruction that contains ‘misleading statements’ such as that ‘two people who live together without being married can have the same commitment and responsibility toward one another as married people.’”
Homophobic and transphobic attacks on our students and their right to learn about their own bodies in safe environments harm our children and our communities. Plain and simple.
→ New Hampshire Fails to Advance Proposal to Enshrine Abortion in State Constitution – But Also Successfully Blocks Proposed Extreme Ban
Last week, despite bipartisan and majority support, the New Hampshire House failed to advance Constitutional Amendment 23, a proposed amendment that would have codified abortion rights in New Hampshire’s state constitution if passed by 60% of both chambers and voted on favorably by the public. New Hampshire does not have an avenue for residents to engage in a citizen-generated ballot initiative or referendum, so the only way to empower Granite Staters to vote for abortion on the ballot is for the legislature to advance a proposal like CACR 23. However, this setback does not mark the end of the fight to codify abortion rights into New Hampshire law – this is only the beginning. Read our statement.
In good news, the legislature also voted down two anti-abortion bills that would have banned abortion after only 15 days and placed medically-unnecessary restrictions on abortion after 15 weeks. Abortion bans have no place in the Granite State.
→ New England Governors and Attorneys General Call on SCOTUS to Protect Medication Abortion
Last week, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined national coalitions of pro-choice governors and attorneys general in filing amicus briefs with the Supreme Court in the case of Food and Drug Administration, et al., v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. In this case that erroneously questions the safety of mifepristone, the leaders urged the Court to respect the longstanding authority of the FDA and to protect access to the safe and effective drug that has been approved for more than two decades. Missing from the coalition of state leaders is New Hampshire’s Governor Chris Sununu and Attorney General John Formella – both of whom were called out by Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington for putting politics ahead of their constituents.
→ Medication Abortion on College Campuses Gets Some Love from Rewire – and Faces Attacks in Congress
Rewire News Group put out a profile last week on Massachusetts’ efforts to ensure college students can access medication abortion on campus (feat. Repro Equity Now!). However, these efforts are clearly making anti-abortion Republicans nervous, because a group of right-wing members of Congress are trying to pass a bill requiring colleges to dispense anti-abortion propaganda to their pregnant students via campus health centers. The misleading legislation, at first glance, appears to be an effort to provide pregnant students with university resources, but actually requires that health centers deliver disinformation about abortion to students who come to health centers seeking any form of pregnancy care, including termination.
→ Repro Equity Now Holds Testimony Workshop with UConn Medical Students for Choice
Last week, Repro Equity Now Connecticut State Director Liz Gustafson and Director of Government Affairs Claire Teylouni joined the UConn Medical Students for Choice for a testimony writing workshop. With Connecticut legislative session kicking off this week, we’re grateful to have powerful voices for reproductive equity stand with us in our legislative and policy work.
Liz, Claire, and members of UConn Med Students for Choice!
→ Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont Announced Historic Medical Debt Cancellation for Thousands of Nutmeggers
Connecticut will become the first state government to cancel medical debt for its residents this year. Governor Ned Lamont announced last week that Connecticut will eliminate medical debt for a quarter of a million residents this year, canceling $650 million dollars worth. Residents will not even have to apply for this program – the Connecticut government is partnering with a local nonprofit that will perform a robust analysis and automatically cancel debt for qualifying families.
National Notice
→ Ken Paxton Tests Strength of Shield Laws, Probes Georgia for Information About Out-of-State Gender Affirming Care
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made headlines a few months ago when he submitted a subpoena to a Seattle Children’s Hospital seeking information about adolescent patients seeking gender affirming care. Because of Washington State’s robust shield law, patient data privacy protections, and HIPAA, that probe has not been successful, so Paxton has set his sights on the gender-affirming clinic QueerMed in Atlanta, Georgia. The Washington Post noted that “It was not clear how many clinics across the country Paxton had requested records, though Lowell [of QueerMed] said she had seen letters sent to colleagues in other states.”
→ Studies Cited by Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Fifth Circuit Ruling on Mifepristone are Retracted from their Journals
Two studies cited in the judicial ruling in Food and Drug Administration, et al., v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine have been retracted from the academic journal Sage over concerns about undisclosed conflicts of interests from the authors and “lack of scientific rigor,” according to the Huffington Post. The authors of these studies failed to disclose their affiliations with the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the Elliot Institute, and American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which are all anti-abortion advocacy groups. Additionally, one of the peer reviewers for one of the studies is also affiliated with the Charlotte Lozier Institute, raising many questions about the integrity of the research.
→ Missouri Anti-Abortion Organization Launches “Snitch Line” for People to Report Neighbors who Sign Pro-Abortion Petition
Pro-abortion activists in Missouri have launched an effort to put abortion on the ballot this fall via a statewide petition – much to the chagrin of the anti-abortion politicians in the legislature. In response, Missouri Right to Life, an anti-abortion advocacy group, has launched an anonymous snitch line through which people can report their neighbors for signing the pro-abortion petition. As of right now, it is not clear what Missouri Right to Life intends to do with this list of pro-abortion Missourians. It sure would be a shame if their voicemail was clogged with fake anonymous tips, though.
→ The Anti Abortion Movement Has a Day One Plan for Trump
We know abortion is on the ballot in November. And so do anti-abortion extremists—they’re already making big plans for day one of a hypothetical Trump presidency. Politico reported that Students for Life, the Heritage Foundation, and more are busy drafting executive orders and memos to federal agencies that will allow effective abortion bans to be enacted without the consent of Congress. They plan to weaponize the FDA, the EPA, the DHHS, the FTC – they’re even scheming up ways to mess with HIPAA and reanimate the Comstock Act. Read more here.
Get Involved!
📍ANYWHERE! Join the Abortion Access Advocates!
The Abortion Access Advocates team is gearing up for their next training on February 12th! At the next meeting, the Repro Equity Now team will be joined by reproductive justice activists to discuss the history of the birth and abortion justice movement and how we can expand our vision as local activists from one that focuses on abortion legality to one that takes an intersectional, justice-driven lens. Register today!
📍ANYWHERE! Reserve your spot for Reproductive Equity Now’s Annual Gala
Save the date (and reserve your tickets today!) for Reproductive Equity Now’s Annual Gala on April 11th! We will be honoring reproductive equity activists from across New England, celebrating our wins from this past year, and honing in on our vision for reproductive equity across the region. We’d be honored to have you join us for what will surely be an incredible night!
Our Resources
Need to understand your legal rights to provide or access abortion care? Reproductive Equity Now’s Abortion Legal Hotline will help connect Massachusetts-based health care providers and helpers, as well as patients obtaining care in Massachusetts, with free legal advice and resources about abortion access.
Looking for an abortion provider in your area? Our New England Abortion Care Guide allows you to search by zip code for legitimate abortion clinics near you. It even flags dangerous and deceptive anti-abortion centers to avoid at all costs.
Do you want to help advance reproductive equity in your community? Our Win & Deliver Toolkit offers policy proposals and supporting materials to serve as a starting point for municipal leaders looking to move the needle forward on reproductive equity.
Thank you so much for powering this fight. We’re grateful to have you in the movement with us.
If there’s anyone you know who might be interested in receiving this newsletter, they can sign up here!
