Monday, May 16, 2022 | Kaiser Health News

The Washington Post:
With Fear And Fury, Thousands Across U.S. Rally For Abortion Rights

Lisa Branscomb marched on Saturday outside the Supreme Court among scores of abortion rights protesters and tried to hold back her tears. All day she heard stories of women choosing abortion and saw others holding signs proudly declaring they had, too. She had listened to the crowd chant, “My body! My choice!” (Silverman, Swenson, Asbury and Elwood, 5/14)

The Boston Globe:
‘I Cannot Contain My Rage.’ Abortion Rights Activists Rally In Boston And Across The Country

Thousands of abortion rights activists rallied and marched through the streets of downtown Boston Saturday to protest the leaked Supreme Court draft decision that would overturn the constitutional right to abortion established nearly 50 years ago in the landmark case, Roe v. Wade. The demonstrations on Boston Common and in Copley Square coincided with nationwide demonstrations supporting abortion rights, including a protest in Washington, D.C., where thousands listened to speeches at the Washington Monument and then marched to the Supreme Court. In speeches and chants of the slogan, “Bans Off Our Bodies,” demonstrators on Boston Common expressed fury over the prospect of the Supreme Court overturning Roe. (Crimaldi and Stoico, 5/14)

Columbus Dispatch:
Ohio Abortion Rights Advocates Support Roe V. Wade Outside Statehouse

Organizers handed out signs reading “Bans off our bodies” and “Stand with Black women,” while handmade signs in the crowd had more scathing messages, such as “If you cut off my reproductive choice, can I cut off yours?” with a hand-drawn picture of a pair of scissors, and “If I wanted the government in my uterus, I’d (expletive) a senator.” “I want Mike DeWine to understand, or hopefully Nan Whaley, if she gets elected, but I want the Ohio Legislature to understand that we need access to safe abortion,” said Christina Pusecker, 48, of Cedarville. “The first rally I attended was in Washington, D.C., in April 1992, when the Supreme Court was deciding the Casey case.” (Hanks, 5/14)

Chicago Tribune:
‘I Hope People Get As Scared As I Am’: Thousands Gather, March In Chicago Supporting Abortion Rights 

Carly Mostar started marching for abortion rights almost 20 years ago and though she said she’ll keep showing up when needed, she finds it hard to believe that giving a woman a choice still needs to be fought for. Mostar was one of about 1,000 people representing many different communities gathered in Union Park in West Town Saturday morning under the beaming sun to support the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. (Ahmad and Casanova, 5/14)

Kansas City Star:
Hundreds Attend Abortion Rights Rally At Plaza In KC 

M’Vyonne Payne was 11 weeks pregnant when she collapsed on her bathroom floor and was rushed to a Kansas City hospital in 2018. She was bleeding internally and lost up to a liter of blood. Doctors told her she had an ectopic pregnancy, which occurs when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus. The pregnancies are not viable and can threaten a woman’s life. Payne spoke to more than 300 people gathered Saturday at Mill Creek Park at a rally for abortion rights. “Bans Off Our Bodies” was organized by the Reale Justice Network and numerous other organizations. It was the latest protest in the Kansas City area in the weeks since Politico published a Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. Rallies were held Saturday in several cities across the country. (Torres, 5/15)

Salt Lake Tribune:
Abortion-Rights Rally Draws About 2,500 To Utah Capitol, Including Women Who Fought For Roe V. Wade Decades Ago

It’s been over 49 years since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, which established a constitutional right to abortion. But decades later, the women who fought for that ruling are still screaming to be heard. And they are fearful for what the recently leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court, which showed a a majority of the court privately voted to overturn Roe, will mean for the future of women’s rights in the U.S. “I remember when the decision was made for birth control, let alone for abortion,” said Beverly Cooper, who was 26 when Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. “And so I’ve lived in times, and I never imagined I’d be living in a time like this. Never would I have thought this would be my future.” (Miller, 5/14)

Star-Tribune:
Protesters March In Support Of Abortion Rights In Wyoming

Between Veteran’s Park and the Healing Park on Conwell, a crowd filled the sidewalk. They were protesting on Saturday the recently leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion, which shows that the justices seem poised to overturn Roe v. Wade this summer. Around 200 abortion rights demonstrators — children, parents, grandparents, students and friends — clutched cardboard signs and posterboards with slogans including “I marched for this 50 years ago,” “Stop the madness” and “Whose rights will be next?” As they walked, they chanted “My body, my choice.” When they arrived at Conwell Street, they chanted, “Hey hey, ho ho, the patriarchy has got to go.” (Shimizu Harris Casper, 5/15)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Pro-Choice Marchers Throng S.F.’s Market Street, Demand Abortion Protections

The demonstration was the largest women’s rights-focused march in San Francisco this year, drawing an estimated 10,000 people, said Sophia Andary, co-chair and director of leadership at Women’s March San Francisco, which co-sponsored the event. Participants came from across the Bay Area and were united in their desire to shape the national conversation around reproductive health care and related issues. The right to have an abortion “shouldn’t even be any form of law in the government,” Andary told The Chronicle. “This is about women’s autonomy and (people’s) right to choose. We need people to stay engaged and march, but more importantly, we need people to go beyond that.” (Picon, 5/14)

The Hill:
Oklahoma Governor Warns Tribes Not To Create Abortion Havens 

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on Sunday warned Native American tribes not to create abortion safe havens if Roe v. Wade is overturned and his state enacts a near-total ban on abortions. Stitt told “Fox News Sunday” there was a “possibility” tribes could establish abortion havens if his state makes most abortions illegal. “Oklahomans will not think very well of that if tribes try to set up abortion clinics,” Stitt said, warning he is monitoring the situation. (Dress, 5/15)

Politico:
Oklahoma’s New Abortion Law Could Be Undermined, Governor Admits 

Stitt was discussing that new law in the context of a 2020 Supreme Court ruling, McGirt v. Oklahoma, that held that crimes committed on tribal lands cannot be prosecuted by state or local law enforcement, only in tribal courts or federal courts, if a Native American is involved. A significant portion of Oklahoma is tribal land. “You know, the tribes in Oklahoma are super liberal,” he said. “They go to Washington, D.C. They talk to President [Joe] Biden at the White House; they kind of adopt those strategies. So yeah, we think that there’s a possibility that some tribes may try to set up abortion on demand. They think that you can be 1/1,000th tribal member and not have to follow the state law. And so that’s something that we’re watching.” (Cohen, 5/15)

In abortion news from California, Louisiana, Texas, and North Carolina —

AP:
California Governor: $98B Surplus Backs True Pro-Life State 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday pledged to use the state’s record-breaking $300 billion budget, including an unprecedented nearly $100 billion surplus, to “future proof” the state from the impacts of a volatile midterm election cycle that he fears will undermine abortion access, gun safety and privacy protections across the country. The first-term governor of the nation’s most populous state — and a potential Democratic presidential candidate — used his budget presentation on Friday to prop up his progressive credentials while attacking his rivals in conservative states. (Beam and Ronayne, 5/13)

The 19th:
Failed Louisiana Abortion Bill Shows Limits On How Far Anti-Abortion Groups Will Go

The failure of a Louisiana bill that would have classified abortion as a homicide exposed a limit in how far anti-abortion organizations and lawmakers are willing to go to end the practice. The legislation’s singular sponsor, Rep. Danny McCormick, removed the bill, titled the Abolition of Abortion in Louisiana Act of 2022, from consideration for a House vote after a proposed amendment would have stripped the most extreme sections of the legislation, making it more akin to a trigger ban already on the books. (Kutz, 5/13)

Dallas Morning News:
Most Texans Do Not Want Supreme Court To Overturn Roe V. Wade, New Poll Shows

Most Texans don’t want the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the landmark Roe vs. Wade ruling that established abortion rights nationwide, but they do support limits, according to a Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler poll released Sunday. With a ruling now pending in a key court challenge to Roe, 53% of Texans said they oppose overturning the 1973 case that originated in Dallas County, while 46% prefer abortion policy be decided by the states. Opposition to overturning Roe increased to 53% from 50% in a February poll, while support dipped to 46% from 47% – a shift that wasn’t statistically significant.
Poll director Mark Owens, a political scientist at UT-Tyler, said the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion might have driven the 3% increase. (Hollers, 5/15)

The Washington Post:
In N.C., A Black Senate Candidate Talks Abortion. Her Rival Doesn’t

Speaking to two dozen staunch Democrats on a day so windy some campaign signs blew away, Senate hopeful Cheri Beasley issued a warning about a leaked Supreme Court draft ruling on abortion. “No matter how you feel about the issue of abortion, the way that opinion was written, what we all know for sure is that all of our civil rights are under attack,” Beasley, a Democrat who made history as the first Black woman to be chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, said at an outdoor town hall meeting at a park here Thursday. “We must all feel a sense of urgency around this election.” (Linskey, 5/15)

In polling updates —

NBC News:
Support For Abortion Rights Hits New High As Midterm Outlook Is Grim For Democrats

Support for abortion rights has reached a record high, and nearly two-thirds of Americans oppose the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, according to a new national NBC News poll conducted after the leak of a draft opinion that would strike down the constitutional right to abortion. What’s more, the survey finds abortion climbing up the list of issues that Americans believe are the most important, and that Democratic interest in the upcoming midterms has increased since earlier this year. (Murray, 5/15)

New York Post:
Supreme Court Leak Over Abortion Rights Didn’t Sway Voters: Poll

The recent leak of a draft opinion from the Supreme Court that could scrap abortion rights has done little to influence voters’ choice of which party they want running Congress next year, according to a new NBC poll. The opinion from Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, leaked earlier this month, indicates Roe v. Wade could be overturned, dramatically changing abortion rights in the country. (Propper, 5/15)

Also —

Bloomberg:
Abortion Misinformation Surges On Facebook, Twitter After Leak

Conspiracy theorists have latched on to the debate over US abortion rights on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok, leading to a spike in misinformation around what is already one of the most politically-charged topics online — and signaling the complex decision-making that lies ahead for social media companies if the procedure becomes illegal in some states. For years, social networks have been criticized for hosting user posts and advertisements that seek to confuse people about their right to access abortion or about the safety of the procedure. Since May 2, when Politico published a draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade if finalized, researchers have seen a surge in posts connecting the leak itself to already-problematic conspiratorial storylines. (Alba, 5/13)

AP:
Some Catholic Abortion Foes Are Uneasy About Overturning Roe

Top leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called on the faithful to pray and fast Friday, in hopes the Supreme Court is on track to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. Yet even among Catholics who oppose abortion, there is some unease about the consequences of such a ruling. A recently leaked Supreme Court draft opinion suggests that a majority of the nine justices are poised to reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision – a move that would allow individual states to outlaw abortion. (Crary, 5/13)

NPR:
Turnaway Study Offers Insights On The Impact Of Losing Access To Abortion

Though it’s impossible to know exactly what will happen to abortion access if Roe v. Wade is overturned, demographer Diana Greene Foster does know what happens when someone is denied an abortion. She documented it in her groundbreaking yearslong research project, The Turnaway Study and her findings provide insight into the ways getting an abortion – or being denied one – affects a person’s mental health and economic wellbeing. For over 10 years, Dr. Foster and her team of researchers tracked the experiences of women who’d received abortions or who had been denied them because of clinic policies on gestational age limits. (Burbank and Kwong, 5/15)

KHN:
Journalists Recap The Latest On The Supreme Court Leak, Mental Health Care, And Fentanyl Testing Strips

KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on abortion rights on Deep State Radio on May 5 and again on WFAE’s “Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins” on May 9. … KHN correspondent Aneri Pattani discussed how our mental and physical health is connected on WNPR/Connecticut Public Radio’s “Where We Live” on May 6. … KHN interim Southern bureau editor Andy Miller explored how fentanyl testing strips are gaining acceptance on WABE on May 5. (5/14)

Politico:
Thomas Blasts Disclosure Of Draft Supreme Court Opinion As ‘Tremendously Bad’ 

Justice Clarence Thomas, the longest-serving sitting member of the Supreme Court, declared Friday that the publication of a draft majority opinion on abortion has permanently damaged trust within the nation’s highest court and is a symptom of a broader decline in America’s institutions. “I do think that what happened at the court is tremendously bad,” Thomas declared during a discussion at a conference for Black conservatives in Dallas. “I wonder how long we’re going to have these institutions at the rate we’re undermining them and then I wonder when they’re gone or destabilized what we will have as a country and I don’t think the prospects are good if we continue to lose them.” (Gerstein, 5/13)

The Hill:
Pelosi: Current Supreme Court ‘Dangerous’ For Families, Freedom

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sunday said the current Supreme Court is “dangerous” for families and freedom in the U.S., as justices appear poised to overturn the 1973 landmark decision legalizing abortion in the U.S. Pelosi, during an interview with co-anchor Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union,” said if the court scales back abortion rights on the federal level, restrictions on marriage equality could be next. (Schnell, 5/15)

Vanity Fair:
Mitch McConnell On Abortion: It’s The Supreme Court’s Job To Issue Rulings Americans Don’t Want 

Speaking to NPR, [Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell] claimed that the whole point of the Supreme Court is to make decisions that most of the country doesn’t agree with. “For the Supreme Court to on any issue, to reach a decision contrary to public opinion it is exactly what the Supreme Court is about,” he argued. “It’s to protect basic rights, even when majorities are in favor of something else, that happens all the time.” McConnell then chose to bizarrely point to the issue of flag burning, the prohibition of which the court ruled in 1989 was a violation of the First Amendment. “If you took public opinion polls on that issue, people would overwhelmingly support a legislative prohibition of flag burning, but the Supreme Court interpreted that as a violation of the First Amendment freedom of speech.” (Levin, 5/13)

An editorial in the Lancet warns against overturning Roe v. Wade —

Yahoo News:
Leading Medical Journal Warns ‘Women Will Die’ If Supreme Court Overturns Roe

One of the world’s oldest and most well-known medical journals published an editorial on Thursday warning that if the U.S. Supreme Court were to confirm Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade, “women will die.” “The fact is that if the U.S. Supreme Court confirms its draft decision, women will die,” the Lancet said in its editorial. “The Justices who vote to strike down Roe will not succeed in ending abortion, they will only succeed in ending safe abortion. Alito and his supporters will have women’s blood on their hands.” (Stableford, 5/13)

The Lancet:
Why Roe V. Wade Must Be Defended 

What is so shocking, inhuman, and irrational about this draft opinion is that the Court is basing its decision on an 18th century document ignorant of 21st century realities for women. History and tradition can be respected, but they must only be partial guides. The law should be able to adapt to new and previously unanticipated challenges and predicaments. Although Alito gives an exhaustive legal history of abortion, he utterly fails to consider the health of women today who seek abortion. (5/14)

In related news —

NBC News:
Trump Isn’t Talking About Delivering On A Major Abortion Campaign Promise

When Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, he promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who were certain to overturn Roe v. Wade. And he did just that. More than anyone in Republican politics, Trump reshaped the court so that the landmark abortion rights ruling was bound to fall. Yet the former president, always eager to tout his every accomplishment, has been uncharacteristically quiet about his own decisive role. (Nicholas, 5/14)

The Washington Post:
For Decades, Patty Murray Has Blocked GOP Attempts To Limit Abortion 

Moments before the Senate took a doomed vote on abortion rights Wednesday, it fell to Sen. Patty Murray — the highest-ranking Democratic woman and the party’s preeminent leader on health care — to sound a rallying cry against those seeking to reverse Roe v. Wade.“ To everyone who is scared, everyone who is furious, know this: They have some big roadblocks in their way — me, Senate Democrats, House Democrats, and millions of patients across this country who are going to stand up and speak out,” she said. (DeBonis, 5/15)