Evan Thomas, a 64-year-old transgender man, was denied coverage for transition-related surgery, despite experiencing severe depression associated with gender dysphoria.
Dr. Warren Hern, a prominent provider of later abortion care, didn’t mince words in his reply to Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives Chair Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), starting with how she had described him in her initial outreach: as an “abortionist.”
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic used Facebook to urge the pro-choice community to send comments to the state's health department, saying that many of the recommendations were “blatantly unconstitutional,” “medically unnecessary,” and “intended to shame women.”
Pro-choice advocates have pointed to a rash of anti-choice policies pushed through the Republican-held Tennessee legislature since 2014, reducing access to reproductive health care in the state.
"It’s very worrisome because it speaks to the level of anxiety in the United States," said Joyce Arthur, executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada. "If you’re listening to the right-wing movement, anti-abortion is their top priority."
Restricting access to abortion care is expected to be a legislative priority for Kentucky's new GOP majority. The state's Republican lawmakers in recent years have introduced several anti-choice bills, only to have them blocked by the House's Democratic majority.
Expanding the budget for an investigative panel tasked with targeting abortion providers and fetal tissue researchers marks one of the first actions House Republicans will pursue as they return to a radically different Washington after Election Day.
A partnership is making sure that 7,000 people in the state will get no-cost contraception and is documenting its impact. A key question is how the most effective methods—such as the IUD or implants—make a difference in the long run.
