Alaska
Mike Dunleavy vetoes Alaska birth control measure
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has vetoed a bill expanding access to birth control.
The bill, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the state legislature, would have required insurance companies to cover up to a year’s supply of birth control at once.
It had been designed to improve access in rural communities where medical resources are scarce.
Dunleavy’s veto stunned policymakers, especially given the legislative backing the bill had received by his fellow Republicans.
HB 17 passed with overwhelming support in a 29-11 vote in the Republican-controlled House and a 16-3 vote in the Senate, led by a bipartisan coalition.
This news arrives on the same day as separate legal development with contrasting consequences, where a Superior Court judge struck down a decades-old law restricting who can perform abortions.
AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File
Women in Alaska often have to travel long distances for reproductive care.
Proponents argue that the bill would help ensure access to contraception in Alaska’s more dispersed locales, which are often only accessible by plane or boat.
There are only four Planned Parenthood clinics in the country’s largest state by land area.
The Governor’s office defended the veto, stating that birth control is already “widely available” and that compelling insurance companies to offer a full year’s supply is “bad policy.”
His spokesperson, Jeff Turner, emphasized that the governor believed current access to contraceptives in the state is adequate.
Democratic State Rep. Ashley Carrick, who sponsored the bill, expressed disappointment, calling the veto “deeply disappointing” and saying it continues to leave significant barriers for rural residents.
“There is simply no justifiable reason to veto a bill that would ensure every person in Alaska, no matter where they live, has access to essential medication, like birth control,” she added.
Newsweek has contacted Gov. Dunleavy’s office for comment.
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
On the same day, Alaska Superior Court Judge Josie Garton struck down a long-standing law that required only doctors licensed by the state medical board to perform abortions.
Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky sued over the law in 2019, saying advanced practice clinicians—which include advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants—should also be allowed to perform medication or aspiration abortions.
Judge Garton found the law unconstitutional, ruling that it violated patients’ rights to privacy and equal protection under Alaska’s state constitution.
Garton noted that the restrictions placed undue burdens on low-income residents and those in isolated areas, who often face significant challenges in accessing abortion services.
In her ruling, Garton emphasized that there was “no medical reason” for abortion to be regulated more strictly than other forms of reproductive health care.
This will serve to expand the pool of health care providers who can perform abortion services in Alaska.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – Two men were arrested in separate drug investigations led by the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) task force in Southeast Alaska after authorities intercepted packages containing methamphetamine, according to the Juneau Police Department.
In one case, investigators in Ketchikan identified a suspicious package on Oct. 28, that was determined to contain around 2,056 grams – roughly 4.5 pounds – of methamphetamine. The package was delivered on Nov. 1 and picked up by 33-year-old Louisiana resident Adidas Nike Zion Brown, who took it to his residence on the 1000 block of Dunton Street, according to the Juneau Police Department.
After Brown opened the package, officers seized the drugs, which have an estimated street value of $315,960. Officers also seized a firearm at the scene. Brown was arrested and taken to the Ketchikan Correctional Center.
Brown is facing three counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree, two counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the fourth degree and two counts of misconduct involving a weapon in the third degree.
In a separate investigation, SEACAD identified two suspicious packages shipped to Haines between Oct. 27 and Nov. 4. The packages were found to contain about 235 – about half a pound – of methamphetamine combined.
On Nov. 5, the packages were delivered in Haines and picked up by 30-year-old resident Austin Elmer Benedict Hotch, who took it to a residence on the 200 block of 2nd Avenue, according to the Juneau Police Department. Investigators later seized the drugs, valued at about $50,000. Officers also seized roughly $24,000 in cash.
Hotch was arrested and taken to the Haines Borough Community Jail on a charge of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree.
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The Egan Civic and Convention Center in downtown Anchorage closed Tuesday night as a shelter for hundreds of Alaskans displaced by ex-Typhoon Halong last month.
The announcement came as over 300 people who were evacuated from Western Alaska communities were being moved from both the Egan Center and Alaska Airlines Center on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus into private, non-congregate shelters.
Shelter operations from the Egan moved to the Spenard Community Recreation Center at 2020 West 48th Avenue. That location will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
The strong storm made landfall over Oct. 11-12 on Alaska’s western coast, leaving a path of destruction in dozens of villages in the Kuskokwim delta area. One person was confirmed dead and two others were still missing.
The Spenard rec center shelter will be temporary, according to Bryan Fisher, director of the homeland security division.
“Closing the Egan Center doesn’t signal the end of our shelter support mission or diminish the urgent need to transition more people into non-congregate housing,” Fisher said in a prepared release.
While shelter operations ended at the Egan Center, the building will still be used as a United States Postal Service center for incoming mail for those displaced by Halong. That service will stop at the end of November, authorities said.
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A new center opened Monday to provide disaster recovery services to Western Alaska residents displaced by ex-Typhoon Halong who evacuated to the Anchorage area, state officials said.
Available services at the hub include help with state and federal disaster recovery aid applications, business and homeowner loan application support, social services, and tribal identification replacement, the State Emergency Operations Center said in a statement Monday. State officials said the effort is in cooperation with Calista Corp.
The Disaster Assistance Center, located in the Calista building at 1400 W. Benson Blvd, Suite 110, will be open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Nov. 14, according to emergency officials. Evacuees needing a ride to the center can contact Alaska 211 by dialing 211 or 1-800-478-2221, emailing alaska211@ak.org or visiting alaska211.org.
Similar services have been offered in Bethel, where some displaced by last month’s disastrous Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta storm have also sought shelter.
State emergency officials in an update Sunday said that there have been 1,280 applications for state individual assistance and 491 applications for Federal Emergency Management Agency aid. The federal aid became available after President Donald Trump’s Oct. 22 federal disaster declaration.
The deadline for those seeking state aid is Dec. 9. It is Dec. 22 for anyone applying for federal assistance.
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