NEWS

SGOTUS Update Memo - February 19th, 2024 

Spotlight 

● Researchers at UC San Francisco published a study this week supporting the safety and efficacy of abortion pills delivered by mail. These findings emerge amidst ongoing efforts to restrict access to the abortion medication, Mifepristone. Late last year, an appellate court in Texas questioned the rigor of the FDA’s approval process and ruled that the pill should not be prescribed via telemedicine or delivered by mail. The makers of Mifepristone, backed by an amicus brief from the FDA, contested this ruling, and they will present a case to maintain full Mifepristone access to the Supreme Court in March. 

● This study follows last week’s retraction of a paper questioning the safety of Mifepristone. The paper, which was found to lack scientific rigor, had been cited numerous times by a federal judge when ruling to restrict the drug. 

Anti-Abortion Legislative Updates 

● A bill passed by the West Virginia Senate requires abortion providers to inform patients about options for “perinatal care” and “medication abortion reversal”. Though anti-abortion groups promote “abortion reversal” drugs like progesterone, the American College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians asserts these claims of reversing a medical abortion are not scientifically based, warning that “unfounded legislative mandates like this one represent dangerous political interference and compromise patient care and safety.” Ultimately, this measure threatens to obfuscate established medical expertise with unsubstantiated and misleading reproductive health recommendations that further stigmatize abortion. 

● A proposed amendment to Kansas family statutes would grant pregnant women child support beginning at conception, enshrining “fetal personhood” in state law and establishing precedent for future restrictions of reproductive rights. Anti-abortion groups notably backed the bill in Monday’s initial senate hearing. Other states have already enacted similar language in their legislation, and Florida's alarming decision earlier this year to allow wrongful death suits in the event of an abortion presents an extreme and immediate illustration of where these bills can lead to. 

● Iowa’s medical board released guidance for abortion providers as the state’s Supreme Court deliberates a restrictive six-week ban. Should the ban be upheld, the board expects physicians to make “a bona fide effort to detect a fetal heartbeat” using ultrasound and to document any detected abnormalities in patient medical records. However, it remains unclear how the board intends to determine and punish noncompliance. Furthermore, the guidelines fail to define a medically necessary abortion, leaving physicians unsure how far a pregnant woman’s health must deteriorate before they are allowed to intervene. As seen in the case of Kate Cox in Texas, fear of prosecution due to loopholes and vague language functionally reverts exception clauses to total bans. It is also worth noting that these

guidelines define an “unborn child” as “all stages of development, including embryo and fetus,” continuing the encoding of anti-abortion language seen in Kansas and Florida. 

Positive News 

● Virginia State Democrats passed a bill this week protecting women who come to the state seeking an abortion from extradition. The bill also prevents Virginia-based physicians from being punished in other states. Alabama’s Attorney General previously expressed a willingness to “bring women from other states back to Alabama to be prosecuted,” illustrating the dangers of seeking reproductive care post-Roe. 

● As neighboring states imposed abortion bans, Illinois saw increased demand for reproductive health services from out-of-state visitors. A new bill proposed in the Illinois legislature would offer a $500 tax credit to anyone who comes to the state seeking an abortion. 

● For the second time in four years, the Missouri Supreme Court blocked efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, citing proposed budget cuts as unconstitutional. The two Planned Parenthood locations in Missouri do not offer abortions on account of the state’s near-total ban, but lawmakers attempted to deny them Medicaid Reimbursement because Planned Parenthood offers abortions elsewhere. Preserving this funding will allow Planned Parenthood to continue to provide crucial STI testing and reproductive health resources to low income communities in Missouri. 

Additional Quick Hits 

● The overturning of Roe v. Wade increased demand for and reliance on early prenatal testing as increasingly restrictive abortion bans impose urgent decision deadlines on pregnant women. 

● A memo analyzing tax documents from anti-abortion centers reveals a staggering $1.4 billion intake the year Roe was overturned, including over $300 million in government funding. These centers did not, however, report a proportional increase in client numbers, raising concerns over how the money is being spent. 

Media Highlights 

● An evangelical ad funded by Hobby Lobby’s billionaire Green family aired during the Super Bowl this weekend. Evoking imagery of Jesus Christ, the ad depicted an anti-abortion protester washing a woman’s feet outside a “family planning clinic” along with the message “He didn’t hate.” Backed by a company that opposed the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate and blocked employee access to birth control, the portrayal of the protester as a humble peacemaker surrounded by sinners sends an insidious anti-abortion message that represents just the latest attempt in an ongoing campaign to dissuade people from seeking necessary reproductive care and to conflate exercising personal freedom with immorality.