Advocates for abortion rights focus on access

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Jun 01, 2022 View in browser   By Jonathan Custodio Presented by AARP New Jersey Abortion care is explicitly protected in New Jersey, but there's still more to do to improve access, advocates say. Activists are pushing for more legislative action and funding for abortion care access that includes eliminating high out-of-pocket costs on state-regulated health plans and including coverage for people who do not have a pathway to health insurance. "The legal rights are protected but there are core and deep issues around access and that's what we're seeing in our state and what we hope to see addressed," Alejandra Sorto, a campaign strategist with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, told POLITICO. The issue took on new urgency after POLITICO published a Supreme Court draft opinion indicating that the Court was preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade. Gov. Phil Murphy called for stronger protections for abortion rights, re-upping measures that did not make it into the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act signed in January. Sorto noted that abortion care can cost patients hundreds or thousands of dollars, even those who have insurance coverage. Expanding access to people who are uninsured — including immigrant communities — is a primary issue, Sorto said. Kaitlyn Wojtowicz, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood Action Fund of NJ, echoed those concerns called for the inclusion of items removed from the bill Murphy signed in January, including "mandating insurance coverage for all the plans that the state can regulate, making sure that there is no cost sharing for abortion care." "There are folks who have to choose between buying groceries that week or that month or paying for their electric bill, or having the care that they need in order to have an abortion procedure," Wojtowicz said. Both Sorto and Wojtowicz said they'd like to see the state's reproductive health care fund expanded to include abortion care, and have been pushing for that inclusion in the state budget for this coming fiscal year. "We really believe that even though the right is protected here in New Jersey, that rights without access are meaningless," Wojtowicz said. "   A message from AARP New Jersey: Americans are struggling to afford rising prices on everything from groceries to gas. On top of this, we're paying the highest drug prices in the world. Your elected lawmakers have the power to reduce this burden by enacting S329/A1747 and establishing a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. This board is responsible for investigating high drug prices and recommending action to lower costs for consumers. It's time for real action. Tell Governor Murphy: Stand up to Pharma!   HAPPY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON — Hi there, I'm Jonathan Custodio, your Playbook PM author. We're adding New Jersey political trivia to this newsletter and will shout out one person who correctly answers the question in the following day's edition. Shout out to Michaela Walsh for correctly answering that Salem County is New Jersey's smallest county by population. Today's question (which you may have seen coming): What is New Jersey's largest county by population? Send answers and tips to jcustodio@politico.com. We're here with the latest from Trenton and elsewhere as New Jersey moves ahead in the budget process and the Legislature conducts hearings on Gov. Phil Murphy's spending plan. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY COUNTY LINE MOVES FORWARD — A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit challenging New Jersey's unique "county line" primary ballot structure can move forward, potentially upending decades of state political practice and chipping away at the power of New Jersey's political machines. "The court recognizes the gravitas of its decision to allow this case to move forward. The undersigned does not take it lightly. However, it is the Court's duty and imperative to protect the democratic process," U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi, who sits in Newark, wrote in the 39-page decision on Tuesday. A group of progressive candidates in the 2020 election, mostly for Congress, as well as the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, challenged the practice used in 19 of New Jersey's 21 counties, in which party-endorsed candidates are allowed to bracket together on the "county line," giving them favorable ballot placement and often shunting non party-backed candidates into far-flung parts of the ballot sometimes called "ballot Siberia." — Matt Friedman LACK OF STATE DATA ON RESTRAINED STUDENTS — Shane Camardo said he was "floored" when he first saw the photos and videos on the school's parent messaging app of his then-4-year-old son, Cole, wearing pale pink ankle weights in class in October 2021. Neither he nor his wife had given the Cherry Hill school district permission to use ankle weights, he said, but there was Cole, who is autistic, climbing ladders, playing with classmates and crawling through tunnels — with weights strapped to his still-developing legs. Camardo said Cole is "an active little guy" and when the family reached out to his teachers about why the restraints were being put on their son without their permission, they asked, "are they being used to slow him down?" "Yes," Camardo said they were told by an occupational therapist at the district. The Camardos' story is one example of how a school district may be interpreting New Jersey's relatively new restraint and seclusion policy for students with disabilities, but it's also illustrative of how opaque that data is in the state. New Jersey doesn't collect or make publicly available statewide data on district use of restraint and seclusion, and without stories like the Camardos', it's hard to know how schools are implementing the law and how many students are affected. — Carly Sitrin COVID NUMBERS — New Jersey reported 2,602 confirmed positive Covid-19 tests and 25 deaths from the virus today as Murphy said new cases "feel like they're leveling off" on a television appearance this morning. The state's seven-day case average is down 18 percent from a week ago and up 49 percent from a month ago. ON THE BEATS EDUCATION — The state Board of Education met today and board members shared their reflections on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas last week. Board member Joseph Ricca said, "we have a real problem when a uniquely American situation like murdering little children in their schools is something that we are becoming too familiar with." Ricca had strong words for elected officials recommending solutions like stricter school security methods rather than tightening gun laws. The solution, he said, "is not to turn our schools into fortresses. It is not to arm our teachers and expect them to draw down and kill potential assailants in their classrooms. It is not to blame and point fingers at folks who suffer from mental illness." Ricca said the issue instead "is access to high-capacity, high-caliber weaponry that is designed to kill humans." Board Vice President Andrew Mulvihill said he disagreed with Ricca. "I don't think now's the time to have that conversation. I think now's the time to mourn, and now's the time to pray," Mulvihill said. … Meanwhile, state Sen. Anthony Bucco (R-Morris) today released a statement highlighting existing resources that school districts can tap into to fund campus security, including bond money and a 2016 law that created a new class of special law enforcement officers for school security. Bucco also promoted a measure he is sponsoring, NJ S677 (22R), that would create a pilot program "to train law enforcement officers, mental health professionals, teachers and other school staff, and students to identify and report behaviors that signal potential threats to school safety." …. Efforts to "harden" schools in Texas prior to the Uvalde shooting do not appear to have been sufficient and some experts told The Texas Tribune there is "no indication" that increasing security in schools has prevented any violence. Beefing up security measures can be detrimental to children, especially children of color. During the New Jersey School Security Taskforce's public hearings in 2014, taskforce members reported encountering students who "expressed concern that the deployment of metal detectors made them feel as though they were to blame for school violence." — Carly Sitrin   A message from AARP New Jersey:   Around New Jersey ELECTION OFFICIALS SAY THEY'RE READY FOR PRIMARY — NJ Advance Media's Jackie Roman: "Election officials say they're ready for just about anything this primary after rising to the challenges thrown their way these last few years, first with the coronavirus pandemic and then with the hastened rollout of early voting in New Jersey. 'They've been throwing us a lot of curveballs,' said Passaic County Clerk Danielle Ireland-Imhof. Ireland-Imhof is one of a half dozen election officials NJ Advance Media interviewed ahead of the June 7 primary, who said their counties were prioritizing training, education, and transparency in order to avoid the technology glitches and long lines that plagued the general election last fall. Whether voters will actually turn out for the primary — in which voters will weigh in on mid-term Congressional races and about 100 contested county and municipal races — and put their preparations to the test, remains to be seen." HOBOKEN COUNCIL MULLS RENT MEASURE — Jersey Journal's Teri West: "During a period of the highest inflation in four decades, tenants in rent-controlled units may soon see reforms that could help contain their monthly payments. An ordinance on the City Council agenda for first reading Wednesday would lower the maximum annual rent increase in rent-controlled units from 7.5% to 4%. It would also lower the allowable rent hikes for vacant units from 25% to 10%. And currently, a landlord can potentially do that once every three years. This amendment would limit it to once every five." LAWSUIT CHALLENGES BAN ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SEX OFFENDERS — New Jersey Monitor's Dana DiFilippo: "Banning sex offenders from using social media or viewing adult pornography is an unconstitutional violation of their First Amendment rights, a Camden County woman says in a new lawsuit targeting New Jersey officials. Challenging restrictions the New Jersey State Parole Board placed on her, Carmen Ann Loniewski, 38, says such bans have been overturned by other courts because they are unconstitutional, according to a civil rights complaint she and her husband, Christopher Trahan, filed Friday in state Superior Court. Parole board spokesman Tony Ciavolella said Tuesday the board has 'no blanket 'social networking' ban for sex offenders.'" Odds and ends — New Jersey added 13,000 new voters in May. — With the growth of sports betting in the state comes an uptick in gambling addiction. — Nine independent candidates are running for Congress in New Jersey. The number may grow in the coming days. — Students at Morristown High School walked out of school today to protest gun violence. — Trenton education officials have renamed schools honoring Woodrow Wilson and Christopher Columbus.    A message from AARP New Jersey: New Jerseyans are struggling to afford rising prices on everything from groceries to gas. On top of this, Americans are paying the highest drug prices in the world. It's time to enact S329/A1747, which establishes a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. This board is responsible for investigating high drug prices and recommending action to lower costs for consumers. Governor Murphy has introduced legislation that addresses prescription drug costs, but it simply does not go far enough. It fails to address the root cause of the problem – the high prices set by drug manufacturers. Tell Governor Murphy: Stand up to Big Pharma!     Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  California Playbook PM  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  New York Playbook PM View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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