Tom Price, the public health chief who believes “there’s not one” woman who can’t afford birth control, is out at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as other virulently anti-choice candidates are reportedly in the running to take over the job.

The Trump administration is considering Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator (CMS) Seema Verma, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, and former Louisiana GOP Gov. Bobby Jindal, according to a Friday morning Axiosreport.

The candidates would presumably pick up where Price left off in his quest to blow up the Affordable Care Act’s popular birth control benefit guaranteeing contraception without co-pay to some 62.4 million cisgender women and an untold number of transgender and gender nonconforming people.

Verma stood by Trump’s side as he signed off on congressional Republicans’ plan to undermine Obama-era Title X safeguards intended to stop state-level interference in the federal funding stream for family planning clinics. A leaked draft obtained by Vox listed CMS as one of the government arms involved in the unraveling of the benefit.

Gottlieb has attempted to stoke fears about the birth control benefit, falsely claiming that under President Obama’s signature health-care law, women “risk losing far more than they’ll gain.” And Jindal falsely claimed the Obama administration limited, rather than expanded, access to birth control, according to a 2012 report by journalist Irin Carmon for Salon. Two years later, Jindal signed an omnibus anti-abortion bill in Louisiana.

By late Friday afternoon, Price tendered his resignation to the White House as the reported price tag for his taxpayer-funded travels exceeded $1 million. Politico first uncovered that Price had taken more than $400,000 worth of charter flights, rather than readily available commercial flights, then found that the outgoing secretary traveled abroad, with the White House’s approval and with his wife by his side, on military jets that cost taxpayers another $500,000–plus. Price offered to reimburse the federal government for a mere fraction of the charter flights only.

Price was a budget hawk during his time in the U.S. Congress. He gave up a plum House Budget Committee chairmanship for the HHS top spot. Charmaine Yoest, the former Americans United for Life president charged with overseeing the agency’s messaging, had the job of defending Price in the news as the scandal unfolded.

With Price’s ouster, Yoest remains one of the most high-profile anti-choice extremists in an agency stacked with officials who tout failed abstinence-only education and distort or deny the scientifically proven efficacy of birth control. Teresa Manning, the notorious birth control foe nevertheless charged with administering Title X funds to ensure people with low incomes can access family planning services, claims that “family planning is something that occurs between a husband and a wife and God” and isn’t a matter for the federal government.

https://rewire.news/article/2017/09/29/price-ouster-isnt-end-anti-choice-hhs-leadership/

People across the country are banding together to fight against anti-choice legislation, and Illinoisians are no exception. As Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) is set to decide the fate of a bill that would expand abortion coverage to Medicaid users and state employees, his male constituents are helping sound the alarm about his apparent abandonment of pro-choice promises.

Men4Choice, a concerned group of pro-choice allies, and the Illinois-based Personal PAC have launched a regional campaign, aptly titled #CallBullshit, to engage men on reproductive rights issues. As the campaign’s website says, “Men don’t have to put up with this bullshit. Why should women?”

In addition to putting pressure on Gov. Rauner to sign HB 40, the campaign aims to get men actively involved in a variety of abortion-related concerns, including a judge’s decision to halt an Illinois abortion notification law and the dearth of clinics in the middle of the country.

Rewire spoke with Blake Kelley, a Men4Choice board member, about the campaign, how men can be better allies and activists, and more.

Rewire: Reproductive rights have long been under attack, both nationally and in Illinois, where the #CallBullshit campaign is focused. Was there a specific incident that led Men4Choice and Personal PAC to galvanize and launch this campaign?

Blake Kelley: It’s no secret that historically, men haven’t been there to help women in the fight for their bodily autonomy. That hasn’t changed in the age of social media activism. It seemed whenever there was an attack on reproductive rights, women were the only ones talking about it, despite the fact that 75 percent of men in Illinois say they’re pro-choice. #CallBullshit is meant to specifically target these men, to encourage them to get educated and use their privilege to #CallBullshit on anti-choice policies.

Rewire: Why it is important for men to be involved in reproductive rights activism? And what role should they play as they get involved in this work (to avoid mansplaining an issue women have been working on for centuries)?

BK: Men need to get involved because bodily autonomy is a human right. When a man chooses to be silent on reproductive rights, he is choosing complacency with inequity. Silence is being comfortable with the privilege of not having to be concerned about the government regulating their bodies or the health risks of pregnancy.

Men need to understand foremost that their role in this fight is to be the support. This starts by listening; cis men [men who were assigned male at birth] will never have the same experiences women have when it comes to reproductive rights. But men can use their privilege to maximize women’s experiences and elevate their voices.

Rewire: What do you suggest to those men who are new to this space and want to create change under an aggressively anti-woman regime without perpetuating that same sexist, misogynistic ideology?

BK: Listen, get educated, and show up. Men can’t just show up one day and think they have the answers. We need to realize that we are new to this fight and there’s work we need to do: Educate ourselves, do our homework, and show up to support. Men can be supportive of women leaders and women-led organizations in this movement by showing up to knock on doors, being an abortion clinic escort, donating, sharing women’s voices on social media, and engaging with their male friends on why it’s important to be actively pro-choice. This also means calling out their buddies when they make a comment that is sexist or misogynistic.

Finally, chances are, men are going to make mistakes as they get involved. It’s going to happen and men need to learn to acknowledge mistakes, listen to the women who lead this movement, and learn to be better allies.

Rewire: What has the community’s response been to the campaign? Are men proactively and enthusiastically participating, or do you find it difficult to rally men on the issue?

BK: We’ve been blown away by the support. Men and women from all walks of life, including a lot of people we weren’t expecting, have come out to join the effort. We were excited to see roughly 100 people attend our #CallBullshit campaign launch in August. We’ve had over 12,000 one-on-one conversations with voters about reproductive rights. We’ve seen millions of impressions on social media and we’re just getting started.

Rewire: The campaign website lists several ways for men to #CallBullshit, such as by hosting parties and signing petitions. Are there specific actions that seem to engage men more than others? Why do you think this is?

BK: We all have different strengths. Some men are more comfortable talking about reproductive rights with their pro-choice buddies and some are comfortable talking about it with strangers when they go door to door. I think what’s important is creating multiple avenues to get men involved, to allow people to engage the way they think they can utilize their strengths. Once they get involved, people usually branch out and grow as activists.

Rewire: In your experience—with the #CallBullshit campaign or otherwise—what are the best ways to engage male allies in fighting for abortion access?

BK: In my experience, men aren’t engaging because they aren’t knowledgeable about the recent attacks on reproductive rights, and they don’t understand how to talk about the issue as a partner and an ally.

When I tell guys about the current trigger law in Illinois—which could make abortion and contraceptives illegal [and which HB 40 would overturn]—they almost always want to know more and how they can help. There are a lot of progressive, pro-choice men out there who don’t know what’s going on and don’t know the right way to engage as allies. Unfortunately, it’s not commonplace for a group of men to talk about abortion. But when one guy brings it up, it allows them to ask the questions they might have otherwise been uncomfortable asking before. We are here to instigate those conversations and teach men how to engage in those conversations the right way.

Rewire: Are there any plans to expand the campaign, perhaps regionally or nationally?

BK: Men4Choice is currently an Illinois-focused organization, but obviously, we’re not the only state where choice is in jeopardy or under attack. Men4Choice is just one small niche part of this giant pro-choice movement that we are seeing across the country. We know there are men in other states that care about these issues and would love to get them engaged, too.

Rewire: You have an event, called “Ma’am Up,” on Thursday. Tell us all about it!

BK: As someone who is queer, I’m really excited about our “Ma’am Up” event, focused on getting the LGBTQ community engaged. The event is in the heart [of] Boystown, the first officially recognized gay neighborhood in the United States. We will have speakers from LGBTQ-focused organizations there to show community support. The reality is LGBTQ rights and reproductive rights are not exclusive. This is a great opportunity to talk about the intersection of those identities, how it affects different people, and how we can work to bring both communities together.

https://rewire.news/article/2017/09/27/qa-one-men-calling-bullshit-anti-choice-legislation-illinois/

Texas has funneled millions to the anti-choice Heidi Group that a watchdog organization now accuses of breaking the law by misusing taxpayer funds.

The Campaign for Accountability, a nonprofit government watchdog, filed a complaint Tuesday with the Travis County District Attorney alleging the Heidi Group committed theft under state criminal law by taking state money for services the group never provided.

“Texas taxpayers deserve to know where their hard-earned money has gone,” Katie O’Connor, the Campaign for Accountability’s legal counsel, said in a statement.

Texas officials contracted with the Heidi Group to provide $7 million in family planning services to families with low incomes when it barred health-care provider Planned Parenthood from the state health-care program. Reports showed the Heidi Group shifted the money to anti-choice crisis pregnancy centers, or fake clinics. A six-month investigation by the Campaign for Accountability found the Heidi Group misspent the money.

“Prosecutors should look into whether the Heidi Group and its founder and executive director, Carol Everett, misappropriated taxpayer funds by failing to deliver the services pledged in state contracts, but nevertheless continued to submit reimbursement requests,” O’Connor said.

Campaign for Accountability officials filed a complaint with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, asking the government to strip the Heidi Group of its tax-exempt nonprofit status. Through a public records request, the Campaign for Accountability discovered the Heidi Group had spent as much as 11 percent of its annual expenditures in one year on the “Heidi Group Cruise.” The anti-choice organization allegedly engaged in unreported lobbying and prohibited acts, such as electioneering and endorsing political candidates for state and federal office.

The complaint accuses the anti-choice group of a pattern of financial mismanagement, including operating for nearly a decade while technically insolvent. Since 2002, the Heidi Group has been in debt to its founder and CEO, Carol Everett, according to the complaint. Meanwhile, the Heidi Group has contracted with providers ineligible to receive state funds.

Responding to the accusations, Everett told the Dallas Morning News, “We’re here, our books are open, we’re not hiding from anyone. We’re not hiding anything, or from anyone.”

Such complaints are not new. Last year, critics called for an investigation of the Heidi Group, telling Rewire that Texas Health and Human Services Commission “just ignored the definition” of family planning clinics when it approved the Heidi Group contract.

After a critical Associated Press investigation this year, Everett told a deputy in Gov. Greg Abbott’s office: “No, we don’t look good, and no, we’re not doing what I planned to do, and no, we’re not doing what I wanted to do,” according to a voicemail the Campaign for Accountability obtained through an open records request.

The state said last month that it would cut the Heidi Group’s funding by $4 million after the organization failed to meet its own goals in providing family planning services to families. A spokesperson for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission told the Texas Tribune the funding cut was meant “to make sure we’re maximizing services for women.”

Amid reported problems, Texas continued to fund the Heidi Group, signing contracts in 2016 and 2017 worth $7 million, according to the Campaign for Accountability.

“In its zeal to defund Planned Parenthood, Texas has wasted money on a group that is misappropriating taxpayer funds and providing no services, leaving women without access to health care,” O’Connor, with Campaign for Accountability, said.

https://rewire.news/article/2017/09/26/government-watchdog-anti-choice-group-misused-millions-taxpayers/

Attorneys on behalf of Planned Parenthood on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and reinstate a lower court ruling that blocks the State of Missouri from enforcing anti-abortion regulations the attorneys claim are nearly identical to those ruled unconstitutional in last year’s Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedtdecision.

The case involves two Missouri anti-abortion regulations. The first is a requirement that any doctor who provides abortion care—including medication abortions—have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortion clinic. The second regulation requires that any facility providing abortions be licensed as a surgical center, even if the facility does not provide surgical abortions.

“As a doctor, I see just how hard it is on my patients when politicians put safe, legal abortion out of reach,” Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley, chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. “Many people don’t have the means to travel hundreds of miles or cross state lines to see a doctor, which means they simply go without care. We’re in court because every person deserves the right to decide whether and when to become a parent, regardless of who you are or where you live.”

Attorneys for Planned Parenthood in 2016 filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Missouri, arguing that the requirements were unconstitutional under Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. The district court blocked enforcement of the requirements in April 2017, ruling they were close enough to the Texas regulations at issue in Hellerstedt to be considered unconstitutional.

Attorneys for the State of Missouri appealed the district court’s order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, asking it to stay the lower court’s order pending appeal. After a panel of judges on the Eighth Circuit declined to stay that order, attorneys for the state went to the full panel of Eighth Circuit judges, which agreed to stay the injunction.

Associate Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch handles requests for the Eighth Circuit. He could decide on his own to accept or reject the appeal or pass it on to the full court for consideration. The Court could issue a ruling as soon as this week.

https://rewire.news/article/2017/09/25/supreme-court-may-step-fight-missouri-abortion-restrictions/