(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Abortion opponents are trying to deter people from traveling out of state for care [1] [] Date: 2023-10-16 Shefali Luthra Health Reporter Originally published by The 19th More than a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion is almost completely outlawed in 15 states. Yet the number of abortions done in the United States—notoriously difficult to calculate—has by some estimates fallen by only about 2,900 procedures per month since Roe fell. Reproductive health researchers say the ability to travel to other states has played a major role in people’s continued ability to access abortions. Clinics in states such as Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, Kansas and Colorado—all close to states with near-total abortion bans—have reported major increases in the number of patients, with the majority often coming from out of state. In Florida, an estimate from the Society for Family Planning found that the number of abortions performed in-state increased by about 1,384 per month in the first nine months after Roe fell, a jump researchers and Florida clinicians alike attributed to more patients coming from out of state. But in places with total bans, some abortion opponents are trying to find ways to limit residents' ability to leave their states to access abortion, relying on novel legal strategies and targeting those who assist pregnant people in traveling for care—moves controversial even within the anti-abortion movement. “If you’ve banned abortion in your state and your goal is to have people in your state not be able to seek abortion anywhere, then obviously travel is what you’re looking at,” said Laurie Sobel, associate director for women's health policy with KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group. One example comes from a federal case out of Texas. Jonathan Mitchell, a lawyer known for helping craft the state’s six-week abortion ban, in mid-September served the state’s abortion funds with detailed discovery requests, a list of questions that the funds are ostensibly required to answer. The case concerns whether Texas’ existing abortion laws—including the six-week ban, which also prohibits “aiding and abetting” people who seek abortions—could apply to organizations such as abortion funds that help people leave the state for care. The discovery requests are unusual in the scope of detail they seek. A form submitted to the Lilith Fund, based in Austin, requests “every county in Texas” someone traveled through while leaving the state for an abortion, as well as “the identity of every person, other than the woman who aborted or who sought to abort her unborn child and her family members, who assisted or facilitated the abortion in any way.” Essentially, the requests represent an effort to find out how people are traveling out of state and who is supporting them. Mitchell declined to comment on the record for this piece, citing the pending case. The state’s abortion funds have asked the judge overseeing the case, Judge Robert Pitman, to issue an order protecting them from having to comply. Depending on how the judge rules, parties on either side of the lawsuit could appeal to the next federal court, the famously conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. No other attorneys in states with abortion bans have yet sought to emulate Mitchell’s discovery request, though some may wait to see whether this kind of filing succeeds. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/16/2199667/-Abortion-opponents-are-trying-to-deter-people-from-traveling-out-of-state-for-care?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_5&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/