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WHERE AMERICANS STAND ON ABORTION RESTRICTIONS AS SCOTUS OPENS A NEW TERM
By Chloe Jones, @chloeleejones ([link removed])
Digital Reporter

The type of anti-abortion law enacted by the state of Texas last month is deeply unpopular with Americans, according to a new poll from the PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist. The novel legal strategy empowers private citizens to file civil suits against anyone who aids a person getting an abortion, rather than rely on a state agency to bar the medical procedure.

How people feel about the Texas law:
* 74 percent of Americans said they oppose a law that allows private citizens to sue abortion providers or others who provide any assistance. This majority holds across party lines: 90 percent of Democrats, 57 percent of Republicans and 74 percent of independents don’t support such a law.

* 18 percent of Americans support the rule, including 33 percent of Republicans, 18 percent of independents and 7 percent of Democrats.
* Women are more likely than men to oppose the law (79 percent vs. 68 percent), and the same is true of people younger than 45 compared to those 45 and older (77 percent versus 71 percent).

On abortion more broadly:
* In this poll, about one in three Americans support a law that outlaws abortions once there is cardiac activity — sometime after six to eight weeks — while 58 percent are opposed.
* Those numbers are virtually unchanged since June of 2019 ([link removed]) , the last time a PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll asked the same question.
* Gallup, which has been tracking views on abortion since 1975, published a poll in May ([link removed]) that found 32 percent of Americans think abortion should be legal under any circumstance, 48 percent think it should be legal under certain circumstances and 19 percent think it should be illegal in all circumstances. According to a Pew Research Center poll from the same month ([link removed]) , 59 percent of U.S. adults think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and 39 percent think it should be illegal in all or most cases

The big picture: This is one of several restrictive abortion laws that are making their way through the courts. Two of them, from Kentucky and Mississippi, will be considered by the Supreme Court this term -- with a more conservative bench, and the future of abortion rights on the line.

The justices will hear arguments later this month in Cameron v. EMW Women’s Surgical Center ([link removed]) , regarding a Kentucky law requiring that a fetus die in utero ([link removed]) before a procedure known as “dilation and evacuation” can be performed during the second trimester. The court is not ruling on the law’s constitutionality, but examining a specific question: Whether the Kentucky attorney general can bring the case to the Supreme Court when no other state actors will defend the law ([link removed]) . Law experts and abortion rights advocates say that decision could set the tone for future cases.

“It will give some indication about whether and to what extent the court is willing to basically overlook normal rules of procedure and ordinary processes in its eagerness to rule against abortion rights,” said Leah Litman, a constitutional law professor at the University of Michigan and podcast host of the Supreme Court-themed podcast Strict Scrutiny.

On Dec. 1, the court plans to hear arguments in its biggest abortion case of the term, over a Mississippi law than bans nearly all abortions after 15 weeks ([link removed]) — a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which prevents states from imposing an “undue burden” on someone seeking an abortion.

Litman said Roe v. Wade could be overturned, but the high court could also allow states to ban abortions before viability without saying it overruled the landmark decision. “That would be extremely destabilizing to the law and open the floodgates for a bunch of abortion restrictions that are definitely not allowed now.”

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion would be instantly illegal in a dozen states and greatly restricted in several others. The Texas law has already effectively ended abortions in that state and so far the Supreme Court has refused to block the law, due to its unique enforcement mechanism.

Read our full analysis on what’s next for abortion here ([link removed]) . And a bonus: Our latest poll also gave us new data to drill into the persistent political polarization around vaccines ([link removed]) , and why most people still aren’t motivated to move by ever-growing extreme weather events ([link removed]) .

FIVE OVERLOOKED POLITICAL STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK
By Saher Khan, @SaherMKhan ([link removed])
Politics Producer

Historically red Tarrant County diversified in the last decade. Now Republicans are trying to divide up its voters of color. ([link removed]) Oct 4. As part of Texas’ redistricting process, the state legislature has floated the idea of breaking up Tarrant County, where demographic shifts over the last 10 years have created a powerful, diverse electoral district that has voted Latino and Black Democratic candidates into office. Why it matters: Texas gained two extra congressional seats after the most recent Census, in large part due to growing communities of color. The Republican-led legislature says its process for drawing new districts are “race-blind,” but advocates worry the new maps diminish the voice of voters of color, and accordingly, who represents them. -- Texas Tribune

Inside Manchin’s search for GOP votes on elections reform ([link removed]) Oct. 1. While efforts to establish some federal rules around voting access stall in the Senate, Moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is courting Republican colleagues to join him on a bipartisan measure for reforming the electoral process. Why it matters: Manchin’s efforts underscore how far apart the two parties are on election reform -- Republicans prioritize ballot security, while Democrats want to see expanded access to the polls -- making the path to a top priority for both Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democratic base hard to see. -- Politico

What the Stalemate on Capitol Hill Means for Your Drug Prices ([link removed]) - Oct. 1. If passed, President Joe Biden’s massive social spending bill that currently hangs in the balance in Congress would enable Medicare to negotiate or limit drug prices, put caps on what people would pay out-of-pocket for drugs under Medicare’s drug coverage and force pharmaceutical companies to pay rebates. Why it matters: Drug prices continue to be a pain point for a large portion of America-- an estimated 18 million Americans surveyed in a recent Gallup poll said that within the previous three months they had been unable to pay for at least one doctor-prescribed medication. - Kaiser Health News

5 Midwestern governors agree to create a network to charge electric vehicles ([link removed]) - Oct. 1. Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin are developing the Regional Electric Vehicle Midwest Coalition, a bipartisan plan that would make charging stations more easily accessible in the region. Why it matters: The plan could boost the purchase of electric vehicles and help with environmental goals that climate activists as well as the Biden administration are focused on, like reducing vehicle emissions. -- NPR

Conservatives, Often Wary of Foreign Law, Look Abroad in Abortion Case ([link removed]) - Oct. 4. Both the drafters and the opponents of a Mississippi state law that bans abortions after 15 weeks looked to laws in other countries to help make their case. Why it matters: Citing foreign law would irk previous key conservative jurors on the high court, including Justice Antonin Scalia. It’s not clear how those arguments will play before a very different and more conservative bench, but decisions in the Mississippi law case could reshape precedent around reproductive laws in the country. -- The New York Times

#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Matt Loffman, @ ([link removed]) mattloff ([link removed])
Politics producer

October 5 is a monumental day in history: the first official broadcast of PBS in 1970, the birthday of the 21st president Chester Arthur in 1829 (hello, Lisa Desjardins!). It is also the anniversary of the first live televised presidential speech from the White House.

Our question: Which president made TV history?

Send your answers to or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: Can you name the president who presided over the most debt ceiling increases (18) ?

The answer: Ronald Reagan

Congratulations to our winners: Herb Shukiar and Tracy Will

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.

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