Repro Roundup: Supreme Court rejects attempts to prevent patients on Medicaid from obtaining non-abortion healthcare at abortion-providing clinics

Welcome to my column, The Repro Roundup, in which I summarize abortion news happening around the country, why it matters, and what you can do about it — in 250 words or less.

What’s the issue? According to Politico, the Supreme Court has rejected South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s executive order that prevented anyone in the state on Medicaid from obtaining care from a healthcare clinic that also provided abortions even if the healthcare they were seeking was not abortion care. Now, any patients on Medicaid can exercise their mandated right to seek care from a provider of their choosing. The Supreme Court has also rejected similar requests from Louisiana and Kansas.

Why does this matter? Preventing a person from obtaining healthcare at a clinic of their choosing because the clinic happens to provide abortion is unjust. Preventing a person on Medicaid from obtaining healthcare at a clinic that also provides abortion even though it's one of the few places that will accept Medicaid is cruel and, as the Supreme Court has once again reaffirmed, illegal. As of today, there are three abortion clinics in the state that provide an array of healthcare beyond abortion. Patients have a legal right to access healthcare in those clinics using their Medicaid coverage. As is stands, pregnant people cannot use Medicaid insurance to cover the cost of an abortion anyways, except in the case of risk to the pregnant person’s health, rape, or incest.

What actions can I take? Help protect abortion access in South Carolina by:

• Donate to the Carolina Abortion Fund
• Volunteer with the Carolina Abortion Fund
• Purchase swag from the Carolina Abortion Fund
• Learn more about the EACH Woman Act from AllAboveAll*, which will overturn the Hyde Amendment that prevents people from using their federal or public insurance on abortion care and interferes with the use of private insurance to cover abortion care
• Write a Letter to the Editor using this template from AllAboveAll*
• Contact your Representatives and urge them to pass the EACH Woman Act

• Subscribe to The Repro Queen of DC, my monthly newsletter on abortion access, activism, and writing on the frontlines of DC.
• Subscribe to Repro 101, a seven-week educational email series about all things repro. Topics include the basics of funding abortion, clinic escorting, anti-choice violence, and more.