Tag: Ashley Coffield

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What Texas’ Abortion Ban Could Mean for Tennessee

Ashley Coffield

The abortion ban that went into effect in Texas on Wednesday is a part of a national agenda to end abortion access in the country, according to the head of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi. 

“People in Tennessee have got to watch what’s happening in Texas really closely because Gov. [Bill] Lee and the General Assembly could very easily replicate S.B. 8. here,” said president and CEO Ashley Coffield. 

The attacks on abortion access are relentless and have been ramping up in Tennessee, she said, citing a 2020 executive order from Lee that excluded abortions as an essential healthcare service. 

Texas law, S.B. 8, which bans abortion at around six weeks or when there is cardiac activity, went into effect Wednesday. Abortion providers say this is before many women even know they are pregnant. 

“This means as of today any pregnant person who lives in Texas will simply not be able to access an abortion,” Coffield said. 

The law makes no exceptions for pregnacies resulting from rape or incest. 

Unlike other six-week bans, Texas’ law turns over enforcement of the ban from the government to private citizens. The law allows anyone to sue abortion providers and anyone who helps a woman get an abortion. Those sued could have to pay up to $10,000 in damages. Coffield said the law was designed to “nefariously skirt” being struck down in court as unconstitutional.

Tennessee passed a “heartbeat bill” last year, but it was immediately blocked by a federal court from going into effect. However, the court allowed a portion of the law, which prohibits abortions based on a Down syndrome diagnosis or because of the gender or race of the fetus, to take effect. 

The case is currently being reviewed by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Under current Tennessee law, abortions are illegal after viability (which is around 24 weeks), except in cases where a woman’s life is endangered. Among other provisions, Tennessee requires parental consent for minors seeking abortion and a mandatory 48-hour waiting period before women can receive an abortion. This measure was ruled legal by a U.S. Appeals court last month.

Most recently, the state passed a law requiring medical providers who provide abortions to bury or cremate the fetal remains. Coffield calls this a “hateful and intrusive measure.”

“These mandates were written by politicians and not doctors in an effort to shame people who need an abortion and make abortion providers jumo through more costly and unnecessary hoops to provide healthcare,” Coffield said. “These mandates just tell us that the legislature and Gov. Lee will stop at nothing to take our rights away.”

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a case on Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban later this year, which could overturn Roe v. Wade, Coffield said. 

“Unfortunately, we’re starting to think about what it will take to help our patients find care outside of Tennessee if the worst happens,” Coffield said. “Without Roe, there is no protection for abortions in Tennessee. No one should have to prepare for losing access to essential healthcare or have the added burden of figuring out how to find an out-of-state healthcare provider because of politicians.” 

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Justice Ginsburg Succumbs to Pancreatic Cancer

CREDIT: Official Photo

Official Photo

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg

As the weekend began, amid what was already a smoldering political landscape, the nation got the sad and long-dreaded news that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, aged 87, had died, a victim of recurrent pancreatic cancer.

Justice Ginsburg, who had been the leading liberal light on the Court, leaves behind a tribunal dominated by conservative jurists, and speculation inevitably ensued as to what comes next.

Meanwhile, the immediate reaction, transcending partisan divisions, was simply one of sorrow. Among the early reactions:

“I’m very sad to learn of the passing of Justice Ginsburg. She was a marvelous lady who valued justice and nurtured justice and loved life to the fullest. She made a major difference in the lives of all Americans, but particularly in the lives of the young women who just want a chance to compete on a level playing field and pursue their dreams. Hers was a life well-lived. Thank you, RBG.” — 9th District Congressman Steve Cohen

“Justice Ginsburg brought decency, intelligence, and principle to the Supreme Court. Her life inspired many Americans, especially young women. Her service to our country deserves great respect.” — Senator Lamar. Alexander

“We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a towering jurist and an empowering figure for the most vulnerable. She was a kind and gentle soul who never shied away from a fight for what’s right. The country was fortunate to have Ruth Bader Ginsburg for as long as we did. Her contributions made the United States a more just and equitable place.

“Today we lost the best of America. But it’s not just the nation that is forever changed by her service and her commitment to uphold our Constitution and the progress it demands. Every day we see women stepping up to stand on her shoulders and continue her fight. We honor her legacy, we are grateful for her work, and we are fortunate to watch the impact her life has had, and will have, on future generations. L’Shana Tovah, Justice Ginsberg, and may God rest your soul.” — Mary Mancini, Chair, Tennessee Democratic Party

“Justice Ginsburg was a smart, talented trailblazer who paved the way for women in the judiciary. She worked hard to achieve prominence on her own merit, and I thank her for her service to our country. My condolences go out to her family and friends in the wake of this loss.” — Senator Marsha Blackburn

“Justice Ginsburg was a pioneer for gender equality and an American hero. There’s so much at stake with the selection of her replacement — the fate of the Affordable Care Act and abortion rights are just two issues among many. We’ve got to vote like our lives depend on it because it’s true.” — Ashley Coffield, Tennessee Planned Parenthood

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Justice Ginsburg’s family and friends during this difficult time.” — 8th District Congressman David Kustoff

Beyond the condolences, there were immediate indications of the political undercurrent to Justice Ginsberg’s passing. The obvious question, crucial to both Democrats and Republicans: Would President Trump attempt to appoint a successor either before the November 3rd election or in the interregnum between then and January, when either he for Joe Biden would begin the next presidential term along with a new Congress?

More, as the story develops. 

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News The Fly-By

Q & A with Ashley Coffield

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) giveth, and the Supreme Court taketh away. At least that’s the case for women affected by the high court’s June 30th ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods, both companies claiming that having to cover birth control in their employer health plans violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The ACA mandated that employers with 50 or more employees cover preventative health-care, such mammographies, colorectal cancer screenings, flu vaccines, or birth control. Although some religious nonprofits were exempt from covering birth control, for-profit businesses were required to until last week.

The national Planned Parenthood organization fought to have birth control included with other preventative health-care under the ACA. Ashley Coffield took a few minutes to discuss the broader implications of the birth control ruling and other legal matters regarding women’s reproductive health.

Flyer: can for-profit employers now deny coverage of other preventative services or just birth control?

Coffield: The Supreme Court ruling was really specific to what two contraceptives these two plaintiffs had a problem with. That was IUCs (intrauterine contraception) and emergency contraception. But I think anyone who reads [the ruling] realizes that this really opens the door to organizations with other religious objections to health-care services bringing complaints. That could include blood transfusions, vaccines, mental health care, or other types of contraception.

Can you talk a little more about specific forms of birth control in the Hobby Lobby case.

IUCs can be implanted in the uterus or in the arm. It provides hormonal birth control for many years. And the morning-after pill is like a high dose of birth control pills. You have a 72-hour window before the egg can be fertilized, so no fertilization takes place in either case. What is interesting to me is you can bring a religious objection to something that isn’t scientifically factual. I can understand bringing a religious objection to something that actually was abortion, but this is not.

What will be the cost to women affected by this ruling?

Pills might cost $40 to $50 a month, maybe even higher. An IUC plus the insertion could be $1,200. That could be as much as a low-wage worker makes in a month. The point Justice [Ruth Bader] Ginsberg made in her opinion was that high cost.

Can’t birth control also be used for other health reasons?

Yes. Women of reproductive age who are being treated for cancer often have to take hormonal birth control for health reasons. And it treats endometriosis, ovarian cysts, and premenstrual pain. It regulates cycles. There are all kinds of reasons to use hormonal birth control.

The Supreme Court also recently struck down a buffer zone law in Massachusetts that kept anti-abortion protesters from getting too close to patients. Does that set a precedent for other states?

I think it does. There’s a buffer zone law in Maine that may be called into question. In Colorado, there’s a bubble that gives people personal space, and that may be called into question. In Tennessee, we do not have a buffer zone law. At Planned Parenthood, we have a natural buffer zone because we have a parking lot that surrounds our building, and protesters are not allowed on private property.

There seems to be a lot of blows to women’s reproductive rights lately. Is there anything else of concern in the pipeline?

None of the hospital-admitting privileges cases [which require that doctors who perform abortions at clinics have such privileges], including in Alabama, Mississippi, Wisconsin, and Texas, are going to reach the Supreme Court in the near future. They are winding their way through the lower courts now. Considering the decisions they’ve made recently, the Supreme Court could uphold this type of law, and that would have disastrous consequences for abortion access in communities in which religiously affiliated hospitals refuse to offer privileges to physicians who perform abortions. Private hospitals that have no accountability to the community should not have this power over women’s access to abortion.

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News The Fly-By

Amendment to Tennessee Constitution Threatens Abortion Access

If an amendment to the Tennessee Constitution is approved by voters in November, state legislators will have the ability to pass all manner of restrictions on abortion.

“They’ll be able to pass a whole slew of regulations here, the same kind of regulations that are closing clinics all over the country,” said Rebecca Terrell, executive director of Choices Memphis Center for Reproductive Health.

Those include 72-hour waiting periods between the initial doctor consultation and the procedure, mandated counseling that opponents of the amendment fear may include misleading information about abortion risks, and requiring that all second trimester abortions be performed in a hospital, among others.

“It’s not a change in law. It’s an amendment to our constitution. The language is flawed and dangerous and gives carte blanche to the legislature to ban abortion, even when a woman’s health is in danger or if she is a victim of rape or incest,” said Ashley Coffield, executive director of Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region, which launched a “Vote No on 1” campaign last week.

In 2000, the Tennessee Supreme Court found that a woman’s right to a safe and legal abortion is part of a “fundamental right to privacy,” making privacy rights in the state broader than those provided in Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that ruled that 14th Amendment privacy protections extended to a woman’s decision to have an abortion.

Because those privacy protections were found to be broader in Tennessee, that 2000 court decision meant several restrictions passed by the General Assembly in 1998, such as the aforementioned waiting periods and counseling, were unconstitutional. Now, if Amendment 1 passes in November, the legislature will have the ability to bring back those restrictions overturned by the court in 2000.

In the states surrounding Tennessee, similar regulations have closed many abortion clinics and patients from other states must travel to Tennessee for the procedure.

The proponents of changing the constitution to allow for abortion restrictions have launched an aggressive “Vote Yes on 1” campaign, and they’re claiming Tennessee is the third most popular “destination for out-of-state abortions.”

“Mississippi has one clinic, and they’re trying to close that. Half the clinics in Louisiana are closing. Texas went from 64 clinics to six. Where are people supposed to go? The fact that we’re still up and running and seeing patients in Tennessee drives them crazy,” Terrell said.

Coffield says that even pro-lifers should be against changing the state constitution to limit privacy rights.

“Not all of us agree about abortion, but I think we can agree that we can’t stand in another woman’s shoes and make a difficult decision for her when she may be faced with a cancer diagnosis or a rape or an incest,” Coffield said.

To fight the passage of Amendment 1, Planned Parenthood has hired a full-time community organizer in AFSCME Director Gail Tyree. She is organizing 13 community action teams to canvas and phone-bank for the “Vote No on 1” campaign prior to the November election.