Watch: ABC News “On the Brink”
In a recent communication, PPFA President Alexis McGill Johnson recommended the ABC News special “On the Brink”:
I know we’ve all been following Kate Cox’s story, which shows the very real implications of politicians and courts making health care decisions for patients and providers. Of course, Kate Cox is just one patient, and we know there are many, many more in cruel and heartbreaking situations — including those like Brittany Watts, who is facing criminal charges after suffering a miscarriage. I highly recommend watching ABC News’ “On the Brink'' special on Hulu, which covers the stories of 18 other women who faced high-risk pregnancies and were denied abortions in states across the country. Nearly 100 physicians were interviewed for the segment, including Dr. Shelly Tien, a physician at Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida, who expressed fear and confusion over being denied the ability to provide the very health care they were trained to provide. Major shout out to all the brave women and providers featured in this report. Thank you for courageously sharing your personal stories with the public, highlighting the horrific harm caused by abortion bans, and giving us yet another reminder of why we must never stop fighting.
Watch the trailer for “On the Brink” here.
Attorneys General Coalition Condemns Texas Supreme Court
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 11 attorneys general released the following statement after the Texas Supreme Court denied abortion access to Kate Cox, a pregnant woman whose health and life were at risk as a result of a lethal fetal diagnosis. Ms. Cox was forced to travel out of state to receive abortion care.
No one should be forced to fight in court and leave their home state just to receive the health care they need. As this case shows, abortion bans pose dangerous health and safety threats wherever they are enacted. Decisions about abortion care should be made between patients and their doctors, not politicians. We will continue to fight to ensure everyone has the freedom to make their own reproductive health care decisions.
Mife Access Remains Unchanged
On December 13, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM) v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) case. The Supreme Court will now consider the case in its current term. If the Supreme Court had not agreed to hear the case and the Fifth Circuit’s ruling had been allowed to stand, the decision would have turned back the clock on the FDA’s decision to lift unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone, limiting access to medication abortion nationwide. Access to mifepristone remains unchanged at this time. We don’t know the schedule for oral arguments yet, but we expect that arguments will take place in the spring with a decision by the end of term (likely June).