Jessica Valenti: Abortion, Every Day (12.21.22) Daily round-up of abortion issues

[Nevilledog]

https://jessica.substack.com/p/abortion-every-day-122122

In the states…

Wyoming’s Supreme Court has declined to weigh in on the case over the state’s abortion ban for now, ruling that there isn’t enough information to answer the legal questions at hand. Essentially, that means the case will remain in state district court for the time being. (And that it will remain blocked.) The ban would make abortion a felony punishable by 14 years in prison.

Florida Republicans continue to be shady on their next moves to restrict abortion. Gov. Ron DeSantis already signaled his support for a ‘heartbeat’ ban (reminder that there is no heartbeat at 6 weeks, which is when those laws start), but state Senate President Kathleen Passidomo says they can’t do anything until Florida’s Supreme Court weighs in on the existing 15 week ban. “If the Supreme Court strikes it down, we start over again,” she said. But here’s the thing: the state Supreme Court has already signaled that they’re leaning against abortion rights proponents when they ‘accidentally’ issued an order on the case early. Another state representative gave a clue in a recent appearance on a conservative podcast, when he said there’s “a movement” among legislators there to pass stricter abortion restrictions.

Also in Florida: DeSantis just appointed the judge who was ousted over his decision denying a teenager an abortion because of her grades to the 6th District Court of Appeal. In short: He gave the asshole a better job.

Colorado women are having a harder time accessing abortion and reproductive health care because of the strain put on clinics by bans in surrounding states. Doctors there are overwhelmed with out-of-state patients, which means that women in the state have to wait weeks to be seen, as well. Public radio in the state spoke to doctors who are worried that the wait means that patients who would normally be able to use medication abortion will end up having to get surgical abortions because of the wait times. And the concern for women’s health goes beyond abortion care. Kristina Tocce, the medical director of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, points out that patients are also having to wait to see a doctor for preventative healthcare: “Are we going to see in the future more incidences of cervical cancer and breast cancer that we do a lot of screening for?”

*snip*