News : What’s next in the abortion-rights fight

Thursday, June 30, 2022

What’s next in the abortion-rights fight

Jun 30, 2022

'NOT DONE BY A LONG SHOT' — As House lawmakers gathered to pass a sweeping abortion-protections bill Wednesday afternoon, abortion-rights advocates were meeting just down the hill with Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey to plot their next steps in a post-Roe v. Wade world.

The House bill, approved in a bipartisan 136-17 vote, includes broad protections from out-of-state legal action for those seeking and providing reproductive and gender-affirming care. It shields providers from licensing board discipline and allows them to make their home addresses confidential, expands access to emergency contraception and requires insurance cover abortion and related care without copays or other cost-sharing. And it permits abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy in cases of "severe" fetal anomalies, not just fatal fetal anomalies.

Abortion-rights advocates hailed the House's "timely and robust response" to the Supreme Court ruling and said the bill's provisions will "strengthen abortion access in Massachusetts" in post-vote statements from the leaders of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Reproductive Equity Now and the ACLU of Massachusetts.

But the bill only covers about "eight or 10" of the 21 recommendations the Beyond Roe Coalition laid out after POLITICO published the draft Supreme Court opinion signaling Roe's demise, according to Rebecca Hart Holder, executive director of Reproductive Equity Now. "We're not done by a long shot," she said.

Advocates also signaled the next frontier in the abortion-rights fight: a crackdown on so-called crisis pregnancy centers, operations that seek to dissuade people from getting abortions. The centers outnumber abortion clinics three to one in Massachusetts, which Hart Holder said is "the highest ratio in New England."

Warren, who has already introduced federal legislation she says will prevent those centers from using deceptive advertising to steer people away from abortions, is now calling for similar action at the state level.

"The idea that centers have grown up to prey on people who are pregnant and vulnerable and seeking help is fundamentally wrong. We should stop it nationwide," Warren said, and "we can move on it now right here in Massachusetts."

But C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League, told Playbook that the "pro-life centers offer women compassionate alternatives to abortion." He blasted Warren's proposal as "special interest legislation on behalf of Planned Parenthood intended to shut down that organization's opponents" and said it would "likely fail a constitutional test on First Amendment grounds."

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Markey is endorsing state Attorney General Maura Healey for governor.

"She is a climate champion, a consumer protection advocate at her core, and a historic leader for these times," Markey said of Healey in a statement shared first with Playbook. "We need her experience and fierce commitment to progress and justice as Massachusetts's governor."

Markey joins a list of Healey supporters that's growing almost by the day now that her last remaining Democratic rival, state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz, has bowed out of the primary race. Warren, the Democratic Governors Association, Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Teachers Association have all endorsed Healey in the past week, a show of force in a race where those hoping to see a Democrat in the governor's office no longer have another choice.

TODAY — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and incoming BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper host a media availability at 9 a.m. at TechBoston Academy. Wu attends a Mattapan coffee hour at 9:30 a.m. and is on GBH's "Boston Public Radio" at 11 a.m. Wu's belated Inaugural Celebration, a summer block party, runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Boston City Hall Plaza.

Rep. Lori Trahan celebrates federal funding in Littleton at 10:30 a.m. Senate President Karen Spilka and colleagues host a press briefing on "An Act to expand access to high-quality, affordable early education and care" at 1 p.m. at the State House. GOP governor/LG candidates Chris Doughty and Kate Campanale announce a small business initiative at 12:30 p.m. on the Taunton Green.

Tips? Scoops? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Massachusetts Playbook will not publish on Monday for the Fourth of July. Your scribe will return on Tuesday, July 5.

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THE LATEST NUMBERS

— "BA.4, BA.5 variants could spark 'new wave' of COVID this summer, Massachusetts reports 1,529 new cases," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "[T]he Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Wednesday reported 1,529 new COVID cases — a tick down from last Wednesday's total of 1,636 infections."

DATELINE BEACON HILL

Massachusetts State House Employee Union members rally outside the State House

State House staffers seeking to unionize hold a press conference outside the building on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO

— "'I want to continue this work:' Senate staffers hope leaders will voluntarily recognize their union as legislative session nears its end," by Alison Kuznitz and Chris Van Buskirk, MassLive: "It's been three months since IBEW Local 2222 delivered a letter from the Massachusetts State House Employee Union to Senate President Karen Spilka's office asking for voluntary recognition, to meet with IBEW representatives, and provide a list of staff to union organizers. … In the months since the official launch of the Senate staffers union, Senate leadership has moved to increase base pay for staffers and offer health insurance within the first month of employment, a provision that is being negotiated as part of the state's fiscal 2023 budget. … A longtime Senate staffer, who has decided to leave her job soon out of frustration with what she described as a 'toxic' workplace environment, privately cautioned against calling the salary adjustments 'pay raises.'"

— "Second top official at Chelsea Soldiers' Home placed on paid administrative leave," by Kathy Curran, WCVB: "5 Investigates has learned another top leader at the Chelsea Soldiers' Home has been placed on paid administrative leave. This comes just weeks after the home's superintendent was placed on leave. Now, the chief operating officer, Bob Maniatis is also on paid leave. … Maniatis has worked at the home for more than 10 years, but 5 Investigates has learned the COO was placed on paid administrative leave after an interaction with a long-time employee inside the home in early June that ended with that employee being disciplined."

— "Municipal leaders urge lawmakers to boost regional transit funding," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "Municipal leaders are urging lawmakers to approve a plan expanding regional transportation services, which they say are limited for riders outside of Greater Boston who depend on the state's public transit system. In a letter to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, elected officials from nearly a dozen 'gateway' communities call on the panel to advance a stalled proposal that would increase annual funding for the state's 15 regional transit authorities to $94 million and index future increases to inflation."

VAX-ACHUSETTS

— "Gov. Charlie Baker's COVID vaccine rollout gets graded; new report card criticizes accountability, data reporting," by Chris Van Buskirk, MassLive: "The Baker administration 'lacked the intent' to ensure accountability in the state's vaccination rollout and lacks the ability to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic based on specific demographics including primary language, occupation and disability status, says a new report card released Wednesday afternoon. … The report card, issued by the Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition, gives the Baker administration an 'F' on accountability."

— "After two years of COVID, many hospitals feel unprepared to manage future crises," by Priyanka Dayal McCluskey, WBUR: "In a survey from the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, slightly fewer than half of hospital leaders — 49% — said they felt prepared for the next emergency — whether it's another disease outbreak, a mass casualty event, climate change-related disaster or something else. Hospital leaders said they've learned lessons from the pandemic, including the importance of setting aside competition and collaborating to weather new challenges. But they are ill-equipped to face new crises because their workforce is tired and depleted."

FROM THE HUB

— "School Committee names Mary Skipper Boston's next superintendent," by Bianca Vázquez Toness, Boston Globe: "Amid a split vote and public calls for reopening the search process, the Boston School Committee Wednesday night chose Mary Skipper to be the next superintendent of the long troubled school district. Currently the head of Somerville Public Schools, Skipper will take over at a crucial juncture for Boston, which only days ago fended off a state takeover by agreeing to a long list of improvements that she will now be charged with seeing through. She narrowly edged out the other finalist, BPS regional superintendent Tommy Welch, in a 4-3 vote. … Skipper's selection could carry some risk for the district, since she's not available to take over full time in Boston until late September, after the deadline for completing 10 of 24 action steps required by the joint agreement for improving Boston's schools."

— "Boston City Council override to cut police funding fails as budget goes into effect," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "The first run-through of the city budget process is now over as the council approved overrides taking money away from the fire department — but ultimately not the police department. Mayor Michelle Wu's amended $4 billion budget will now take effect July 1, but with $1.5 million cut out of the $279 million fire budget and a few hundred thousand each from the law department, budget and technology budgets to allocate toward other initiatives. The winners included the Office of Black Male Advancement, a housing voucher program, services for people coming back from jail and tree maintenance, which all received some of that reallocated money under an override package that the council unanimously approved on Wednesday."

— "Boston ARPA money on hold over Dorchester field house amendment as councilor suggests Wu 'stuck up'," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "The city's omnibus $350 million ARPA package will wait at least two more weeks to pass after a fuming Councilor Frank Baker, who suggested that the mayor is 'stuck up,' got his way to include an amendment that the administration apparently has vowed will bring about a veto."

— "New East Boston affordable housing effort would be the first of its kind on East Coast," by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: "Boston could be the first city east of the Mississippi River to pioneer a model that allows a trust of organizations to develop, own, and operate multifamily buildings, and preserve them for affordable housing."

— "Four protesters arrested for protesting in banned hours outside Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's house," by Flint McColgan, Boston Herald: "Four women were arrested and criminally charged with disturbing the peace after protesting outside Mayor Michelle Wu's Roslindale home Wednesday morning."

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— "MBTA puts operator of train that dragged passenger to death in April on unpaid leave," by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: "The MBTA this week put the operator of a Red Line train that dragged a passenger to his death in April on unpaid leave. On Monday, the MBTA switched the status of the employee who was driving at the time from paid leave to unpaid leave, 'pending final disciplinary action,' agency spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said via e-mail in response to a Globe inquiry."

— "Lynch optimistic about bringing back T retirees," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch is optimistic the MBTA and its unions can find a way to bring retired subway dispatchers back on the job to help raise staffing levels in the operations control center to a point where full service on the Red, Orange, and Blue lines can be restored."

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BALLOT BATTLES

— "Effort to undo undocumented driver's license law gains steam, as wealthy GOP donor said to back it," by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: "A Republican push to repeal a law that allows undocumented residents to apply for driver's licenses could face a clearer path to the November ballot, after GOP leaders said a wealthy donor has committed to supporting the effort. … Rick Green, an auto parts company executive, GOP activist, and onetime congressional candidate, 'will certainly be helping to support us,' GOP activist and ballot campaign coordinator Wendy Wakeman told the Globe on Wednesday."

Hours after GOP governor hopeful Geoff Diehl joined a press conference on the repeal effort, his rival, Chris Doughty, and Doughty's running mate, Kate Campanale, released a statement saying their team would also help collect signatures to get the question on the ballot.

— THEY'LL BE BACK: Groups on both sides of the court-tossed ballot question that would've asked voters to continue classifying app-based drivers as independent contractors vowed in separate press conferences on Wednesday to keep up their fight in the Legislature. But with only a month left in formal session, representatives of both coalitions said they're focusing their efforts on next session.

YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Progressive West Roxbury/Roslindale has endorsed Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo for Suffolk district attorney. "We worked really hard in 2018 to elect Rachael Rollins, who launched important reforms as DA. We want that work to continue," PWRR member Nina Lev said in a statement.

— The Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund is endorsing Katrina Huff-Larmond for Second Plymouth and Norfolk state senator. Huff-Larmond is challenging state Sen. Michael Brady.

— "As Democrats exit governor's race, some point to barriers for outsider candidates," by Emma Platoff, Boston Globe: "The evaporation of primary competition illustrates the difficulty of gaining traction in Massachusetts' calcified politics, where systemic and cultural barriers often cap the aspirations of outsiders, political neophytes, and anyone else who lacks a household name. And it illuminates, through its conspicuous absence, the importance of robust political debate: In the marquee race on the ballot, voters in the state's dominant party have been left with just one choice — which, ultimately, is no choice at all."

— "Candidates for Suffolk district attorney face off in online debate," by Tonya Alanez, Boston Globe: "[Suffolk DA Kevin] Hayden and [Boston City Councilor Ricardo] Arroyo sparred over Mass and Cass, epicenter of the city's opioid epidemic, the list of 15 low-level offenses [former Suffolk DA Rachael] Rollins' office chose not to prosecute, and what to do with the Boston Police Department's gang database."

ROE FALLOUT

— "The end of Roe could be a boon for the Mass. economy. Here's why," by Diti Kohli and Larry Edelman, Boston Globe: "Companies reluctant to grow in states with strict limits on abortion rights could turn to Massachusetts, where reproductive access is guaranteed by state law, business and industry experts say. It may give the Bay State a boost in its long-running competition for jobs with lower-cost, faster-growing states such as Texas and Florida, where politicians are pushing for near-total bans on the procedure."

— "So-Called 'Crisis Pregnancy Centers' Stirring Debate in Mass.," by Bianca Beltrán, NBC10 Boston: "[Cambridge City Councilor Quinton] Zondervan is a sponsor of a proposed ordinance that would prohibit the Cambridge city manager from issuing any permits or licenses for these types of centers that seek to prevent abortions, called 'Limited Services Pregnancy Centers' in the city ordinance. … The proposed ordinance in Cambridge was inspired by the city of Somerville."

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— "Holy Cross alumnus petitions for college to rescind Justice Thomas' honorary degree," by Cyrus Moulton, Worcester Telegram & Gazette: "A Holy Cross alumnus is petitioning to have the college rescind its 2012 honorary degree to fellow alum and Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, citing Thomas' refusal to recuse himself from cases involving the Jan. 6 Capitol riot."

— GOOD SAMARITAN: Ex-ambassador and former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown helped rescue the driver of a car that rolled over on I-495, per Boston 25 News.

MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

— "Democrats push for campaign reset in the most pro-abortion rights swing state," by Lisa Kashinsky, POLITICO: " Vulnerable Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan is hitting the airwaves with a direct appeal to New Hampshire voters after the end of Roe v. Wade: Return her to office or risk a nationwide abortion ban at the hands of Mitch McConnell. ... It's the start of a refocused midterm campaign in the libertarian-leaning state, which is now set to feature Democrats up and down the ballot leaning hard into abortion rights. But even New Hampshire — perhaps the most pro-abortion rights purple state in the country — will test just how much Democrats can rely on the issue amid deep voter concern about the economy."

MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND

— "Democrats alarmed at more signs Fung could win Langevin seat for GOP," by Ted Nesi, WPRI: "When Congressman Jim Langevin announced in January he would retire rather than seek re-election, top Rhode Island Democrats were immediately nervous about whether they could hold the seat in a brutal political environment for the party. Now, with the election barely four months away, evidence is piling up that they were right to be worried."

HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — Former Attorney General Martha Coakley has rejoined Foley Hoag LLP as co-chair of the firm's state attorney general practice.

— John Sten has been promoted to be office managing attorney in the Boston office of Armstrong Teasdale.

— Timothy Doyle has joined the Worcester Business Journal as a staff writer covering real estate and higher education.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Stephanie Miliano, Boston City Councilor Kenzie Bok, Plymouth County Register of Probate Matthew McDonough and Daniel Goldhagen.

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: SCOTUS SCARIES — Hosts Jennifer Smith and Steve Koczela break down the recent Supreme Court rulings. Boston Globe reporter Samantha J. Gross talks through the effort to repeal the state's new law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.

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