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New Delaware laws make abortion access easier, more affordable

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New Delaware laws make abortion access easier, more affordable


From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Delaware has expanded access to abortion after two pieces of legislation recently became law.

One of the bills signed last month by Gov. John Carney requires Medicaid, private health insurance and state employee insurance plans cover services related to termination of pregnancy. Coverage is capped at $750.

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The measure, sponsored by House Majority Leader Melissa Minor-Brown, also bans most insurance plans, including ones covering state workers, from charging copays, applying deductibles or adding cost-sharing requirements for abortion-related services. Religious employers can get exempted from having to offer the coverage.

Speakers at Friday’s press conference celebrating the bills noted that women’s ability to access abortion care depended on the state where they live. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit that advocates for reproductive rights, 13 states have total abortion bans with limited exceptions. Another six states ban the procedure after six or 12 weeks.

Minor-Brown said Delaware’s protections are important because women in other parts of the country are dying. She pointed to reporting by ProPublica about a Georgia mother who died after a hospital delayed care under the state’s abortion ban.

“For years, medical professionals have warned us that access to abortion is literally a matter of life and death. There are states right now that have abortion laws in effect that date back to the 1800s,” she said. “These outdated, dangerous laws were written at a time when women had no voice, no rights and no agency.”

Stacey Haddock Hassel, board chairperson of Planned Parenthood of Delaware, said the bill is a huge step for abortion access because it will help more patients, including those eligible for Medicaid, afford the procedure.

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“When we talk about the impact of this legislation, the size, the limit, we don’t know the number of women who would have been able to access abortion care had they been able to use their Medicaid coverage,” she said. “And we don’t know how many women didn’t have the $500 to come to Planned Parenthood and gave up not knowing their options.”

For Planned Parenthood Delaware’s last fiscal year, 24% of its total patient population were Medicaid recipients and 35% had commercial insurance, a news release said. More than 40% of patients used Planned Parenthood’s self-pay system due to being underinsured or uninsured. Of those, half reported incomes below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level — meaning many of them would have likely qualified for Medicaid.



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Delaware

Controversial meme resurfaces as Delaware mourns loss of murdered state trooper

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Controversial meme resurfaces as Delaware mourns loss of murdered state trooper


Darby said she started receiving harassing messages and threats after Shupe’s viral post. She said she reposted the meme again this year on Law Enforcement Appreciation Day in an act of defiance to show the mostly white people calling her racist and misogynistic slurs that she would not be cowed.

“They’re trying to intimidate me, they’re trying to bully me and I’m not scared of no white folks,” Darby said. “It’s not the 1800s anymore. I’m reposting it because what y’all going to do? It’s facts, there is nothing you can do to me.”

Darby is currently running for the House District 1 seat, currently held by Democratic Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha. She says she’s not concerned that the controversy will affect her campaign.

Members of the state House and Senate thanked law enforcement officers for their service during Tuesday’s vote on the resolution, with some highlighting the positive strides police departments have made in shedding old ideas and moving with the times.

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“Understanding that a change was needed,” House Majority Leader Kerri Evelyn Harris said. “Focusing more on the person, understanding trauma, community policing. All of these things have made a difference.”

Delaware State Police Col. William Crotty said they’ve accomplished those goals by having conversations and demonstrating their values.

“Over the last several years together, we have chosen professionalism, we’ve chosen unified standards and we’ve elevated best practices to better serve our community,” he said. “We’ve accomplished these things by listening, learning, building trust and transparency with all the members of our community.”

State lawmakers also honored Snook’s service and life during Tuesday’s vote. Senate Secretary Ryan Dunphy, a member of Snook’s family, offered a stirring remembrance of the fallen officer.

“Going through fatherhood at the same time as him was so much fun and that’s just one of the things I’m going to really miss,” he said. “But my son will always know love and be connected to his uncle Ty, who is watching over him as his guardian angel. And we will always, always be there for his little girl.”

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The state Senate passed the concurrent resolution unanimously. The House approved the measure through a voice vote.



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Time has come to stop writing

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To all my great readers, the past eight years have just flown by. It’s time to retire again. It was enjoyable writing stories about my life history, stories about Delaware history. I hope everyone learned something new about Delaware. It’s a great city to live in and raise your family.



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Delaware senator to lead visit to Denmark as Trump presses to annex Greenland

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Delaware senator to lead visit to Denmark as Trump presses to annex Greenland


What are journalists missing from the state of Delaware? What would you most like WHYY News to cover? Let us know.

Delaware Sen. Chris Coons is leading a Congressional bipartisan delegation to Denmark later this week. Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride will join Coons alongside Democratic Reps. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, Gregory Meeks of New York and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis from North Carolina.

The visit comes as President Donald Trump has threatened the country’s capital Copenhagen over his desire to annex Greenland into the United States. In recent statements, Trump has not ruled out purchasing or using military action against Greenland, which is a self-governing territory of Denmark.

“I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” Trump said last week.

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In a news release, Coons said the trip is meant to highlight more than 200 years of friendship between the two countries. The delegation will meet with Danish and Greenlandic government and business leaders to discuss issues including Arctic security and strengthening trade relations.

“Denmark has always been a strong diplomatic, economic, and security partner who sacrificed more lives than any other country relative to its population when the United States invoked Article 5 following the September 11 attacks,” Coons said in a statement. “At a time of increasing international instability, we need to draw closer to our allies, not drive them away, and this delegation will send a clear message that Congress is committed to NATO and our network of alliances.”



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