The case that could upend abortion access — again

Presented by Cisco: Your definitive guide to women, politics and power.

Feb 10, 2023 View in browser   By Katelyn Fossett Presented by Good morning, rulers! Happy Yo La Tengo album release day to all who celebrate. Also: It’s Girl Scout cookie season again. If you haven’t yet been connected with a Girl Scout troop yet, consider buying some cookies from Troop 6000, made up of girls in New York City’s shelter system. Thanks to Sophie Gardner for putting together this newsletter, producing it and sometimes writing it! Any day now, a judge will issue a ruling that could ban access nationwide to abortion medication — the most common way the procedure is performed in the United States. If that happens, abortion access, in both red and blue states, will dramatically change. The backstory: In November, a group of anti-abortion organizations sued the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration in a bid to reverse the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, the first of two medications which together are known as the abortion pill. Use of the abortion pill had been increasing during the pandemic, and in 2021, the FDA permitted prescribing the medication via telemedicine and sending the pills by mail. The lawsuit: In the lawsuit, the lawyers for anti-abortion groups argue that the FDA did not adequately study the effects of the drug, which was approved by the agency two decades ago. If the judge in this case, Judge Matthew Kacsmarky, rules in favor of the plaintiffs, he could block access to mifepristone in the states where abortion is legal or rescind the rule allowing doctors to prescribe it via telemedicine. POLITICO reporters Alice Miranda Ollstein and Adam Cancryn reported on the lawsuit this week. I called Ollstein to ask some of the questions this lawsuit has raised for me about possible outcomes and how this ruling could upend abortion access in the United States — again. This interview has been edited. Katie Fossett: There have been some people saying for a while, before and after Roe v. Wade was overturned, that the decision would mostly just make abortion access a red-state-blue-state issue — that the ruling mattered a lot for red states, but not Democratic-led states where abortion would still be legal. But a ruling in this abortion pill case seems like it will be huge for states even where the legislatures have decided they want to keep the procedure mostly legal. Alice Miranda Ollstein: Oh, absolutely. And I think that was never the case [that only red states would be affected by the Roe decision].I was writing before the ruling about how blue states would absolutely be affected. They’re being affected by the huge influx of patients from red states seeking abortions. And that has led to wait times going up. Fossett: And a lot of abortions are done via medication now, right? Ollstein: Yes, the majority. That was a growing trend, but it definitely accelerated due to the pandemic. People were not wanting to go into a clinic out of fear of Covid, and around the same time, the government loosened some of the restrictions on abortion pills to allow them to be sent by mail and prescribed with a telemedicine appointment with a doctor instead of an in-person appointment. Fossett: So would a ruling against the pill go into effect immediately? Would it be appealed? Ollstein: If a ruling comes out against the pill, the administration would appeal it. But, you know, in the meantime, we’re waiting for that appeal to be heard, the judge could issue a temporary ban [that would stay in place until a higher ruling] that could really cause a lot of chaos. Fossett: You note in your story that HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra has been saying that he expects the judge to rule in favor of the FDA. But why are abortion rights advocates more concerned? Ollstein: Judge Kacsmaryk is a good example of what is called “judge shopping.” You might ask: Why is the case that’s challenging the FDA’s decades-old approval of these pills happening in a random courthouse in Amarillo, Texas? And the answer is because a lot of anti-abortion advocacy groups are intentionally filing cases before judges that they think will be more sympathetic to their cause. This judge was appointed by President Donald Trump and used to work for an advocacy group that brought anti-abortion lawsuits of their own. And those anti-abortion advocates see him as more likely to rule in their favor and thus planned the case to specifically go before him. And what we explored in our piece is how the Biden administration is publicly saying they are confident about winning this case. But behind the scenes, they’re definitely worried and they’re definitely looking into what, if anything, they can do. Fossett: Is this lawsuit part of a trend? Ollstein: There has been a lot of focus from the anti-abortion side on the abortion pill specifically. Not only are they the most common method of abortion in the U.S., but they’re a lot harder to ban and crack down on. Red states have been very successful at forcing clinics to close or shut down operations, but it’s a lot harder to track when people are receiving the pill by mail to their private home, taking them in private and terminating pregnancies that way, which is what’s going on. So this is one of many different attempts that they’re putting forward to try to stop that from happening. Also, the point could be to increase the chilling effect. Short of opening everyone’s mail, banning abortion medication is a very hard thing to enforce. But if they are aiming to make people scared to use the pills, this would increase that.   A message from Cisco: Cisco is empowering the tech workforce of the future Cisco is partnering with government leaders, educators, and communities worldwide to bring digital and cybersecurity skills training to millions of learners through Cisco Networking Academy – including more than 4.6 million female learners since its inception. Cisco is working to bridge the digital divide, empower underrepresented communities, and build a more equitable and inclusive workforce through the power of technology. Learn more here.   POLITICO Special Report Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images “Klobuchar rising: Leadership path opens for Minnesota Dem,” by Burgess Everett for POLITICO: “Amy Klobuchar made her debut as a member of Senate Democrats’ leadership “Big Four” with a dash of sarcasm. “Oh, the first time ever at the microphone,” the Minnesotan said after Chuck Schumer introduced her to the Capitol press last month as the first new face in the party’s Senate upper ranks in six years. … “After rising quietly but steadily since dropping out of the White House hunt nearly three years ago to endorse President Joe Biden, Klobuchar now chairs the Senate Rules Committee and, as chief of the Democratic Steering Committee, sits fourth in the leadership hierarchy. The 62-year-old could keep testing how big her internal clout can get within the Democratic caucus.” “Dianne Feinstein's extremely awkward, very uncomfortable exit from the political stage,” by David Siders for POLITICO. “Federal judge says constitutional right to abortion may still exist, despite Dobbs,” by Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein for POLITICO: “A federal judge in Washington, D.C., suggested Monday that there may be a constitutional right to abortion baked into the 13th Amendment — an area she said went unexplored by the Supreme Court in its momentous decision last year overturning Roe v. Wade. “In a pending criminal case against several anti-abortion activists, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization concluded only that the 14th Amendment included no right to abortion but stopped short of definitively ruling out other aspects of the Constitution that might apply.” “Florida athletic association will no longer ask high school students about menstruation cycles,” by Anna Wilder for POLITICO. Number of the Week Read more here. MUST READS Justin Sullivan/Getty Images “‘There is no standard’: investigation finds AI algorithms objectify women’s bodies” by Gianluca Mauro and Hilke Schellmann for The Guardian: “Images posted on social media are analyzed by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that decide what to amplify and what to suppress. Many of these algorithms, a Guardian investigation has found, have a gender bias, and may have been censoring and suppressing the reach of countless photos featuring women’s bodies.” “Women Physicians Face Burnout Crisis Amid Lack Of Support From Staff,” by Corinne Post for Forbes. “First woman pastor in Holy Land ordained,” by Yolande Knell for the BBC: “In many parts of the Christian world, female church leaders are no longer unusual. But until now, the Holy Land - where events in the Bible are set - had not seen a local woman ordained. “On Sunday, a Palestinian from Jerusalem, Sally Azar, became its first woman pastor at an event at the Lutheran church in the heart of the Old City, attended by hundreds of international well-wishers.” “These Black women are changing TV weather, a field long dominated by White men,” by Amudalat Ajasa for the Washington Post. Quote of the Week Read more here. Transitions Anne Feldman is now senior adviser at HHS. She previously was deputy comms director for Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.). … Macarena Martinez is joining Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) office as Texas comms adviser. She most recently was Texas comms director for the RNC, and is a Trump campaign alum. … Lisa Vedernikova Khanna is now chief of staff to the chief corporate affairs officer at Instacart. She most recently was director of strategic planning at the DNC and is an NYT and HFA alum. (h/t Playbook)   A message from Cisco: Cisco is empowering the tech workforce of the future Cisco is partnering with government leaders, educators, and communities worldwide to bring digital and cybersecurity skills training to millions of learners through Cisco Networking Academy – including more than 4.6 million female learners since its inception. Through Cisco Networking Academy, Cisco is working to bridge the digital divide, empower underrepresented communities, and build a more equitable and inclusive workforce through the power of technology. For example, Cisco partners with U.S. states to provide access to its Skills For All program, which offers free, mobile-first online learning programs aligned to in-demand jobs in networking, cybersecurity, and software development. Building a strong, competitive workforce takes connecting people with the digital skills of the future. Learn more here.     Follow us on Twitter Katelyn Fossett @KatelynFossett   Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.