Good afternoon,

While families across the country celebrated Mother's Day, Republicans in red states have been passing legislation to restrict women's ability to determine what their families look like. During National Women's Health Week and every week, we are fiercely advocating for women's right to make their own healthcare decisions and access to affordable and reliable medical services.

THE DIVIDED STATES OF ABORTION

• This past weekend, North Carolina's General Assembly passed Senate Bill 20, misleadingly named the "Care for Women Children and Families Act," that would limit the window for women to have an abortion to only 12 weeks.
   
• A majority of North Carolina voters are opposed to limiting abortion access, including 36 percent of rural voters who "strongly oppose" the bill.
   
• "I believe women, their families, and their doctors should make their own healthcare decisions and not politicians in Raleigh," said OCP board member and North Carolina Representative Ashton Clemmons (D-Greensboro). "This bill will make my daughter and every other woman in our state more likely to suffer physical and emotional distress as they face the many unpredictable challenges that occur in women's reproductive health care."
   
• North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper vetoed the bill, but his veto could be overridden by the state legislature.
   
• In the post-Roe v. Wade landscape, the United States is a patchwork of differing abortion laws. See what the state of abortion access is where you live.

ABORTION RESTRICTIONS CRIMINALIZE DOCTORS, REDUCE ACCESS TO CARE

• Restrictive abortion laws are not just taking away women's right to health – they're also criminalizing doctors for performing their duties. Doctors simply doing their job – acting to save women's lives – may face legal suits, the suspension of their medical licenses, felony charges, and even prison time.
   
• Five of Idaho's nine remaining full-time maternal-fetal medicine physicians will leave the state by the end of the year. With staffing shortages and a hostile political climate, rural hospitals can no longer provide labor and delivery services – expanding maternity care deserts.
   
• Expecting mothers who experience pregnancy complications, from ectopic pregnancies to preeclampsia, are forced to travel to receive care – or they may die. Any deaths resulting from these terrible policies are not only devastating, they're an outrage – yet they will not even register, as Idaho's state legislature is sunsetting the Maternal Mortality Review Committee this summer and will no longer collect maternal mortality data.

WISCONSIN'S HIGH-STAKES FIGHT FOR RIGHTS

• There's a silver lining to this terrifying trend: voters are mobilizing in record numbers to preserve access to abortion and ensure women can determine the future of their own bodies and families.
   
• In the latest episode of the Hot Dish Podcast, OCP board member and Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Student Body President Yoshi Gaitan joined hosts OCP founder Heidi Heitkamp and Joel Heitkamp to discuss the shifting politics surrounding abortion and youth turnout in Wisconsin's Supreme Court election. Listen here.

RURAL PROGRESS SUMMIT 2023

• Registration is now open for OCP's second Rural Progress Summit! The Summit will take place Wednesday, June 7 through Friday, June 9 and will feature discussions addressing the most pressing issues facing rural America and innovative solutions from both policymakers and thought leaders.

SIGN UP HERE!

• The U.S. could default on its debt as soon as June 1 – a mere 16 days away.
   
• No Labels is looking to introduce a third party spoiler candidate in the 2024 presidential election. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, concerned that No Label is misleading voters who think they are signing a petition but instead are enrolling in a new party, sent them a cease-and-desist letter.

• Tomorrow...
   
  • The House Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce will hold a hearing focusing on "Tracking the Postal Service: An Update on the Delivering for America Plan."
     
  • The Senate Finance Committee's Subcommittee on Health Care will hold a hearing to examine improving health care access in rural communities.
     
  • The Senate Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy will hold a hearing examining rural broadband.

• Vox: Democrats have a huge opportunity to win back rural voters
   
• NBC News: Congress leaves town with no debt ceiling deal, but some see signs of progress
   
• National Education Association News: 'Lose Your School, You Lose Your Town': Educators in Rural States Mobilize Against School Vouchers

• Kansas Reflector: Provision of Kansas K-12 funding bill slices state aid to about 100 public school districts
   
• ABC Tampa Bay: 'We have to travel far in order to see a good doctor': 2 local counties considered primary care deserts
   
• KSHB: 'I'm not quite sure we're ready': Urban, rural health professionals wave caution flag as COVID officially ends
   
• Agri-Pulse: CBO raises estimated cost of farm bill programs

Be sure to follow the One Country Project on Twitter and Facebook, and check out The Hot Dish podcast.

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