Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day.

TEXAS JUDGES USE EXTRAORDINARY MEASURE TO RESTRICT ABORTION: Yesterday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals used an extraordinary measure to allow Gov. Greg Abbott to drastically restrict essential, time-sensitive abortion procedures using his COVID-19 executive order. The court issued its stay before the abortion providers — represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Lawyering Project, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America — could even respond to arguments made to the court late yesterday by Gov. Abbott. This move by the 5th Circuit puts people across Texas in a perilous position, yet again, as they scramble to access care during a public health crisis.

The abortion provider plaintiffs will ask the 5th Circuit not to stay the temporary restraining order and to keep the temporary restraining order in place until the district court can hold a hearing — scheduled for April 13 — on their request for a preliminary injunction. As Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said:

“How heartless do you have to be to, in a time of crisis, take extraordinary measures to take away people’s health care? Abortion is essential health care, and it is urgent and time-sensitive. While people everywhere are trying to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, politicians like Gov. Abbott continue this perverse obsession with banning abortion. Those who are caring for their families, forced to work essential jobs, and doing what they can to stay healthy need access to health care right now. Instead, these politicians are forcing patients to travel hundreds of miles putting themselves and their families at risk … We will not cower before politicians who insist on exploiting a global pandemic to score political points.”

Additional reading on how politicians are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to restrict abortion access in states like Idaho and Kentucky: Rolling Stone: States Are Using the Cover of COVID-19 to Restrict Abortion and Health Care for Women

GOVERNORS LEAVING ABORTION PATIENTS WITH NO OPTIONS: In the aftermath of governors like Gov. Abbott in Texas restricting access to abortion, many patients have been left with nowhere to go. Erica Sackin, director of communications for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, spoke with Newsy to talk about what is at stake and why abortion is an essential procedure:

“It’s been chaos. We’ve had health centers flooded with calls from patients who are worried about their ability to get the care that they need … Abortion is a central health care and time sensitive health care that people often can’t go without.”

END THE ATTACKS ON REPRODUCTIVE CARE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: During these uncertain and trying times, we need our leaders and elected officials to be fighting for better access to health care — not restricting it. Dr. Herminia Palacio, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, raised the alarm in Rewire about the ways politicians have exploited the COVID-19 outbreak to launch attacks on reproductive health care. From inserting abortion restrictions into the coronavirus response bill, to states restricting access to abortion in the middle of a pandemic, it’s unconscionable that some politicians are exploiting the fear and urgency of this moment to push their political agenda to ban abortion. Read the op-ed HERE.

NO ACA SPECIAL ENROLLMENT: As millions across the U.S. struggle to access health care during this global pandemic, President Trump announced yesterday that he would refuse to open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act. A special enrollment session would allow more people to sign up for health coverage, which is critically important as many people both continue needing care and are at increasing risk of losing their job and the health insurance that comes with it. In addition, many states are using Medicaid expansion coverage — part of the ACA — to include free testing for COVID-19. Trump’s latest refusal to expand health care access is just the latest in his continued attacks on our public health infrastructure that have hamstrung an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FOR TRUMP, DELIVERING MEDICAL SUPPLIES IS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED: Across the country, some states have had trouble getting the medical supplies and the tests they need from the Trump administration and the federal government while others have had shipments approved right away — and politics may be coming into play. Unlike states like Illinois and Massachusetts, Florida has “promptly received 100 percent of its first two requests,” as the Washington Post reports:

“One White House official said Trump is attuned to the electoral importance of Florida in November, giving added weight to the arguments DeSantis has made to the administration that his state’s economy should reopen as soon as possible. ‘The president knows Florida is so important for his reelection, so when DeSantis says that, it means a lot,’ said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be frank. ‘He pays close attention to what Florida wants.’”

We deserve elected officials to set politics aside and put people first — especially in the midst of a national health care crisis.