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A Health Policy and Advocacy Update - September 2024

Thank you for your participation in the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s State Liaison Network (SLN). Our quarterly newsletter brings you the latest advocacy, policy, and public health updates, happenings, and actions from the Society.  

  • Get Out the Vote
  • Webinars
  • State Liaisons in Action
  • SMFM Actions and Updates
  • State Happenings
  • Action Opportunities
  • SMFM and Partner Resources
  • What We're Reading

 

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GET OUT THE VOTE

The 2024 general election is fast approaching, and SMFM is focused on helping enhance the civic health of our members and communities. As part of those efforts, the Society has developed resources on civic engagement and partnered with Vot-ER to help you ensure your communities’ voices are heard.

Learn more about how to get involved!

STATE LIAISON NETWORK WEBINARS

Countering Contraception Mis/Disinformation

Join the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Power to Decide on Tuesday, October 22 at 12pm ET for a briefing on how to fight mis- and disinformation related to contraception.

 

Power to Decide will provide advocates with information and tools, developed in conjunction with the Contraceptive Access Initiative (CAI), to combat mis- and disinformation about contraception. Speakers will give participants an overview of the anti-contraception battleground, tips on how to recognize and respond to such efforts, other relevant messaging guidance, and more.

Speakers:

  • Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley MD, MPH; CEO, Power to Decide
  • Tara Mancini, MA; Public Policy Director, Power to Decide

Please note: this webinar is for SMFM members only.

REGISTER TODAY

RECORDING:

State of the Society: Policy Updates and Preparing for the 2024 Election

Held on National Voter Registration Day, SMFM Advocacy staff provided federal and state updates related to abortion care and perinatal health, before discussing the 2024 election and our Get Out the Vote Initiative. 

WATCH THE RECORDING

STATE LIAISONS IN ACTION

Idaho – Dr. Stacy Seyb was interviewed and quoted in Salon. 

 

Minnesota – Dr. Kylie Cooper was featured in the Atlantic.

 

Ohio – Dr. David Hackney was interviewed and quoted in Salon.

Have you been advocating for reproductive and perinatal health in your state? Share your work with SMFM by emailing Samantha Berg at [email protected].


SMFM ACTIONS AND UPDATES

SMFM continues to submit friend of the court briefs to protect access to health care services critical to our mission. In August, we joined ACOG and other partners in a brief to the Montana Supreme Court outlining that abortion care is a safe and essential component of healthcare – we joined a similar brief earlier this month to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. We also joined ACOG and SFP in a brief to the Arizona Supreme Court in support of the Arizona Abortion Access Act.

In addition to these briefs, SMFM also joined several partner organizations last month in a joint statement regarding the US Supreme Court Decisions on EMTALA and mifepristone in June.


STATE HAPPENINGS

Most state legislatures are out of session and preparing for 2025. Below are the latest updates from over the summer.

 

Perinatal health advancements

  • IL HB 5282 enhances coverage for pregnancy and postpartum care. Specifically, requires coverage of treatment of mental, emotional, or substance use disorder for individuals experiencing miscarriage or stillbirth.

Celebrating abortion access wins

  • Earlier this month, a judge in North Dakota vacated the state’s abortion ban, ruling it unconstitutional. The ban was officially repealed on Thursday 9/26. However, the state's Attorney General is attempting to block this order and has asked a judge to keep the ban in place until the state Supreme Court has a chance to weigh in.

Monitoring abortion bans and restrictions

  • Earlier this month, the Louisiana Department of Health issued guidance regarding Act 246, which revised the list of Schedule IV drugs to include misoprostol and mifepristone. The act will go into effect on October 1.

 

As of September 26, 2024, 21 states have abortion bans up to 20 weeks gestation currently or soon to be in effect: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

 

13 of these states (Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and  West Virginia) have total bans.

 

For up to date information on state abortion policies, see resources from Abortion Finder,  Guttmacher Institute and the New York Times. You can also track pending state legislation alongside SMFM staff on our Advocacy Hub. 


TAKE ACTION

Track Policies and Submit a Request for Advocacy Support

Get more involved in advocacy in your state by tracking policies alongside SMFM staff and using our Request Support form to get assistance from Advocacy staff.

 


SMFM AND PARTNER RESOURCES

Advocacy Hub

 

Don't forget to utilize SMFM's Advocacy Hub! This is your one-stop shop for all things advocacy, providing all the information you need about SMFM’s advocacy priorities, activities and updates, and more. The Hub includes a state bill tracker that can help you monitor what is being proposed in your state, as well as an easy-to-use portal for you to request SMFM engagement and support for your advocacy efforts. You can also send your fellow SMFM members here to sign up for the State Liaison Network.

Guttmacher Institute Monthly Provision Study

Guttmacher Institute’s Monthly Provision Study tracks monthly estimates of medication and procedural abortions provided within the formal US health care system. It currently shows monthly data for all of 2023 and is designed to help measure the impacts of abortion policies on state-level abortion incidence and trends

 

Society of Family Planning: New #WeCount Report

The latest #WeCount report, which includes data through March 2024, is now available to view and share! #WeCount is a collaborative abortion reporting effort, which documents the changing trends in abortion access, nationally and by state, during a dynamic period in abortion delivery.


WHAT WE'RE READING

“Abortion Bans Have Delayed Emergency Medical Care. In Georgia, Experts Say This Mother’s Death Was Preventable,” ProPublica

 

“Afraid to Seek Care Amid Georgia’s Abortion Ban, She Stayed at Home and Died,” ProPublica

 

“Doctors grapple with how to save women’s lives amid ‘confusion and anger’ over new Louisiana law,” Louisiana Illuminator

 

“Helping a minor travel for an abortion? Some states have made it a crime,” Stateline

 

“RNC Attacks Nonprofit’s Voting Registration Efforts in Swing States,” Democracy Docket

 

“Supreme Court won’t stop Biden administration from withholding Title X funding from Oklahoma,” CBS News

 

“What Abortion Bans Do to Doctors,” The Atlantic

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SMFM's State Advocacy Manager ([email protected])

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