Roll Call: Biden Administration Announces Actions To Protect Abortion Rights
The Biden administration is launching a multipronged effort to respond to the Supreme Court decision overturning the 1973 ruling establishing a right to an abortion, with Health and Human Services, the Defense Department and the Office of Personnel Management among the agencies to weigh in. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, reacting Tuesday to the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, said the department will take steps to increase the availability of medication abortion, which involves a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol. (Raman, 6/28)

The New York Times: Biden’s Health Secretary: ‘No Magic Bullet’ For Preserving Abortion Access
As Democrats and reproductive rights advocates clamored for President Biden to forcefully counter the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, his health secretary, Xavier Becerra, stepped up to a lectern here on Tuesday to list the steps his department would take to preserve and expand access to abortion. The list, for now anyway, is short. “There is no magic bullet,” Mr. Becerra said at a morning news conference, “but if there is something we can do, we will find it and we will do it.” (Stolberg and Savage, 6/28)

Modern Healthcare: HHS Offers Scant Details On Post-Roe V. Wade Strategy
"We're not interested in going rogue and doing things just because," Becerra said. "We will do everything we can with what we find to make sure we're protecting our services. It takes a little time because we want to do it right. We want to do it according to law." The secretary outlined a handful of actions HHS will take to enforce largely preexisting protections, including directing the Office of Civil Rights to uphold privacy and nondiscrimination rules for providers offering reproductive healthcare and patients accessing care. (Goldman, 6/28)

The 19th: HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra Offers Little Insight On Abortion Pill Protections
At Tuesday briefing, Becerra would not say if or when the government plans to challenge those state laws banning medication abortion. “We will absolutely protect Americans’ rights to care under federal law and we will do everything we get to make sure Americans understand what their rights are,” Becerra said. “What exactly that translates into depends on what a state tries to do.” (Luthra, 6/28)

AP: Biden Team Strains To Flex Muscles In Abortion Fight 
Mini Timmaraju, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said she believes the administration is “off to a good start,” but she acknowledged that frustrations have been percolating. Some expected swifter policy announcements or executive orders from Biden.(Murphy and Megerian, 6/29)

The Texas Tribune: Abortions Up To Six Weeks Of Pregnancy Can Resume In Texas For Now
Abortions up to about six weeks in pregnancy can resume at some clinics in Texas for now after a Harris County District Court judge granted a temporary restraining order that blocks an abortion ban that was in place before Roe v. Wade. In the ruling issued Tuesday, Judge Christine Weems ruled that the pre-Roe abortion ban “is repealed and may not be enforced consistent with the due process guaranteed by the Texas constitution.” “It is a relief that this Texas state court acted so quickly to block this deeply harmful abortion ban,” Marc Hearron, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a press release. “This decision will allow abortion services to resume at many clinics across the state, connecting Texans to the essential health care they need. Every hour that abortion is accessible in Texas is a victory. (Perez-Castells, Klibanoff and Douglas, 6/28)

Houston Chronicle: Judge Blocks 1925 Texas Abortion Law, Allowing Providers To Offer The Procedure For Two Weeks
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told attorneys for the plaintiffs that he planned to appeal the decision to the Texas Supreme Court. "These laws are 100 percent in effect and constitutional," Paxton tweeted Tuesday. "The judge’s decision is wrong. I’m immediately appealing. I’ll ensure we have all the legal tools to keep TX pro-life!" (Goldenstein, 6/28)

In other abortion news from Texas —

The Guardian: Texas Sheriff Says He ‘Will Not Persecute’ Those Seeking An Abortion
A Texas sheriff, whose beat largely includes the city of San Antonio, has declared he would not be pursuing those in his jurisdiction who choose to get an abortion after the supreme court scrapping of federal abortion rights. In a Facebook post he shared on Tuesday, Bexar county sheriff Javier Salazar wrote of his “two beautiful and intelligent” daughters, whom he said have a right to choose what to do with their own bodies. (Salam, 6/29)

Dallas Morning News: Denton City Council Passes Resolution To Ask Police To De-Prioritize Texas Abortion Laws
The Denton City Council passed a resolution late Tuesday pledging to direct city resources away from investigating and enforcing reproductive health care laws after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. The vote was one of the most notable actions by a local government in the state since the nation’s high court made the momentous decision Friday. Several hundred abortion-rights advocates gathered outside Denton City Hall ahead of the vote, which came after more than two hours of public comment that was at times emotional and contentious. (Smith, 6/28)

NBC News: In Texas, State-Funded Crisis Pregnancy Centers Gave Medical Misinformation To NBC News Producers Seeking Counseling
Across the U.S., more than 2,500 crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) provide free services and counseling for women struggling with unplanned pregnancies. They outnumber abortion clinics three to one nationwide, and as some states shutter clinics after Roe’s reversal, that ratio will grow. But when two NBC News producers visited state-funded CPCs in Texas to ask for counseling, counselors told them that abortions caused mental illness and implied abortions could also cause cancer and infertility. The nation’s largest national obstetricians’ group, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AGOC), says that’s medical misinformation. (McFadden, 6/29)

AP: Court Lets Tennessee 6-Week Abortion Ban Take Effect
A federal court on Tuesday allowed Tennessee’s ban on abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy to take effect, citing the Supreme Court’s decision last week overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights case. The action by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes before Tennessee’s other abortion ban, the so-called trigger ban, is expected to restrict abortion almost entirely by mid-August, according to a newly detailed legal interpretation by the state attorney general. Both measures would make performing an abortion a felony and subject doctors to up to 15 years in prison if convicted. (Mattise and Kruesi, 6/28)

From Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin —

AP: Courts Asked To Reinstate Blocked Indiana Anti-Abortion Laws
Indiana’s attorney general is asking federal judges to lift orders blocking several state anti-abortion laws following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week to end constitutional protection for abortion. An appeal of one of those blocked Indiana laws aimed at prohibiting abortions based on gender, race or disability was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019. But that was before former President Donald Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett strengthened the court’s conservative majority. (Rodgers, 6/28)

Iowa Public Radio: Iowa Governor Asks Court To Reinstate Six-Week Abortion Ban
Gov. Kim Reynolds and top Republican legislative leaders are asking Iowa courts to reinstate a ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy in the wake of two major court decisions that struck down legal protections for abortion rights. Reynolds signed the so-called “fetal heartbeat” bill into law in 2018, but it was blocked by a court and never enforced. Abortion is still legal in Iowa up until 20 weeks of pregnancy. She is also asking the Iowa Supreme Court to make it even easier for abortion restrictions to survive court challenges. (Sostaric, 6/28)

AP: Wisconsin's Democratic AG Sues To Block State's Abortion Ban 
Wisconsin’s Democratic attorney general filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the state’s 173-year-old abortion ban, arguing that statutes passed in the 1980s supersede the ban and it’s so old that modern generations never consented to it. Wisconsin passed a law in 1849, the year after the territory became a state, banning abortions in every instance except to save the mother’s life. The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling, which essentially legalized abortion nationwide, nullified the ban. (Richmond, 6/28)

From Missouri —

Kansas City Star: Missouri Hospital Stops Offering Plan B, Cites Abortion Ban
A leading health system in Kansas City is no longer providing emergency contraception in Missouri after the state banned abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest. Saint Luke’s Health System confirmed the decision to The Star on Tuesday night after word of the change began circulating among advocates for sexual assault victims. Saint Luke’s has a significant presence across Kansas City, operating 16 hospitals and campuses across the region, in both Kansas and Missouri. In a statement, Saint Luke’s spokesperson Laurel Gifford said the health system continues to evaluate the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade and Missouri’s abortion ban, which went into effect following the decision. (Shorman, 6/28)

Kansas City Star: Birth Control Is Not Illegal In Missouri Under Trigger Law
Missouri’s trigger ban on abortions does not explicitly ban birth control. After abortion was banned in Missouri following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, some readers have written to The Star with concerns about access to emergency contraceptives and other forms of birth control. “Birth control and emergency contraception remain legal and accessible in MO,” said Bonyen Lee-Gilmore, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, in an email to The Star. (Phillips, 6/29)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Aldermanic Panel OKs $1 Million Plan To Help St. Louis Women Get Out-Of-State Abortions
An aldermanic committee on Tuesday advanced a bill to spend $1 million to help St. Louis women get abortions in Illinois, four days after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling activated Missouri’s ban on the practice. “We are living in incredibly troubling times and the ability to fight back at the local level is more important now than ever,” Health and Human Services Committee chairwoman Christine Ingrassia, 6th Ward, said before the panel’s 6-0 vote. The measure, which now goes to the full Board of Aldermen, would allocate federal funds through the American Rescue Plan Act for transportation, child care and “other logistical support needs” to provide access to abortion. (Schlinkmann, 6/28)

From Ohio, Mississippi, Florida, and Alabama —

WLWT: Ohio Doctors, Lawmakers Talk Next Steps Following Overturning Of Roe V. Wade
The Supreme Court's decision to set back the clock on abortion laws has lawmakers and doctors around the country scrambling to figure out what is next. Ohio follows a Heartbeat Law, which means abortions are legal until there is a heartbeat about six weeks into a pregnancy. Dr. Catherine Romanos, a family and abortion physician, believes the current law does not give people enough time to decide. "This law bans abortion before most people even know that they're pregnant," Romanos said. Since Friday's overturn of Roe v. Wade, Romanos said the phones at abortion clinics have been ringing off the hook. When it comes to the number of procedures canceled, she thinks that number is well into the hundreds, if not thousands. (Cockrell, 6/28)

The Texas Tribune: Mississippi’s Last Abortion Clinic Is Moving To New Mexico
Shannon Brewer has lived in Mississippi her entire life, but when she realized the U.S. Supreme Court was about to upend her life’s work, she didn’t think twice about trading her state’s lush wetlands for a ragged mountain range. At 50, Brewer has worked nearly half her life at what became Mississippi’s last abortion clinic — whose lawsuit against a statewide ban at 15 weeks into a pregnancy prompted the U.S. Supreme Court’s monumental decision last week eradicating Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion in the United States. Now, her clinic is closing its doors for good, as will those in Texas and numerous other states. (McCullough, 6/29)

NBC News: Rabbi Fighting Florida's Anti-Abortion Law Is On A Mission To Help Religious Groups Challenge 'Theocratic Tyranny'
The rabbi whose progressive synagogue sued the state of Florida over a bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks, arguing that it infringes on religious liberty, has created an initiative to help other faith organizations — and atheists — push back against anti-abortion legislation across the U.S. Rabbi Barry Silver's initiative, Helping Emancipate Abortion Rights Today (HEART), seeks to "restore abortion rights in a post-Roe v. Wade world" and defy the "theocratic tyranny" of laws that clash with the Jewish belief that abortion is a basic right and life begins at birth, not conception, he said in a phone interview Tuesday. (Arkin, 6/28)

Axios: Alabama Cites Roe Decision In Urging Court To Let State Ban Trans Health Care
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) on Tuesday urged a federal court to drop its block on the state's ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth arguing such care is not protected by the Constitution. Marshall used the U.S Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade to suggest that since the court rejected the idea that abortion cannot be protected under the 14th Amendment because it's not "deeply rooted" in the nation's history, the same could be said about access to gender-affirming care. (Gonzalez, 6/28)

NBC News: Pentagon Says Supreme Court's Roe Ruling Won't Affect Abortions On Military Facilities
The Pentagon on Tuesday said that last week's Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade won't impact service members, spouses and dependents who use military treatment facilities. The memo, sent by Gil Cisneros, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, came in response to Friday's Supreme Court ruling that overturned the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that had guaranteed abortion rights under the Constitution. (Kube and Richards, 6/28)

From Nevada, Massachusetts, and North Carolina —

AP: New Nevada Abortion Order Helps Blunt Outside Prosecution
Gov. Steve Sisolak signed an executive order Tuesday he says will help guard against outside prosecution of anyone who receives an abortion or other reproductive care in Nevada, and better protect healthcare workers who provide the services. His executive order comes as fellow Democratic governors in several states have vowed to help protect abortion rights after the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade last week. (6/29)

The Boston Globe: State Lawmakers Poised To Shield Providers Of Abortion, Transgender Care From Bounty-Style Laws In Other States
Legislative leaders appear to have reached broad agreement to pass a measure aimed at shielding providers of abortion and transgender health care in Massachusetts from bounty-style laws being enacted by other states. House Speaker Ronald Mariano said Tuesday said his chamber is expecting to pass a wide-ranging reproductive rights bill that codifies part of an executive order Governor Charlie Baker signed on Friday and goes further to shield patients and providers from out-of-state legal action. ”We have Roe on the books. We codified it,” Mariano said. “Now we want to protect the people who have to use it.” (Ebbert, 6/28)

WRAL.Com: Sad, Disgusted But Resolute, North Carolina Abortion Clinics Expanding Hours, Hiring In Aftermath Of Roe Decision
A Woman’s Choice, an abortion care provider with locations in Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte, is planning to expand hours and hire additional staff in anticipation of an influx of patients from other states. “We are anticipating an increase of patients coming to North Carolina to get care from surrounding states,” said Amber Gavin, A Woman’s Choice vice president of advocacy and operations. On Monday, WRAL News spoke with Gavin following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week to end constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years. (6/27)

From California —

Los Angeles Times: California Will See Rush Of Out-Of-State Abortion Seekers, Study Says
California will play a key role in providing abortion services to people living in states where the medical procedure is banned or severely limited after the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, according to a recent report from UCLA. Between 8,000 and 16,100 more people will make the journey to California each year for abortion care, and many will come to Los Angeles County, the UCLA School of Law’s Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy said in a study released this month. (Solis, 6/28)

AP: California Budget Won't Cover Out-Of-State Abortion Travel 
While Gov. Gavin Newsom has pledged to make California a sanctuary for women seeking abortions, his administration won’t spend public money to help people from other states travel to California for the procedure. Newsom’s decision, included in a budget agreement reached over the weekend, surprised abortion advocates who have been working with the governor for nearly a year to prepare for a potential surge of patients from other states coming to California for abortions now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade. (Beam, 6/29)

People in Mexico and Spain offer help to Americans —

AP: Mexican Networks Ramp Up Help For US Women Seeking Abortions 
Abortion pills smuggled into the United States from Mexico inside teddy bears. A New York home used as a pill distribution hub. A small apartment just south of the U.S.-Mexico border converted into a safe place for women to end their pregnancies. Networks of Mexican feminist collectives working with counterparts in the United States are ramping up their efforts to help women in the U.S. who are losing access to abortion services to end their pregnancies. (Verza, 6/28)

NBC News: How An American On Vacation Survived After Malta Denied Her A Life-Saving Abortion
An American woman vacationing in Malta who was denied a life-saving abortion while miscarrying was able to get care in Spain, the same day Roe v. Wade was overturned in the United States. ... The couple and the accompanying medical team safely landed in Majorca, Spain, where Prudente was immediately transported to a nearby hospital where she says she was welcomed with open arms. (Campoamor, 6/28)

AP: Instagram And Facebook Remove Posts Offering Abortion Pills 
Facebook and Instagram have begun promptly removing posts that offer abortion pills to women who may not be able to access them following a Supreme Court decision that stripped away constitutional protections for the procedure. Such social media posts ostensibly aimed to help women living in states where preexisting laws banning abortion suddenly snapped into effect on Friday. That’s when the high court overruled Roe v. Wade, its 1973 decision that declared access to abortion a constitutional right. (Seitz, 6/28)

Newsweek: Abortion Pill Provider Say Demand Soaring Since Roe V. Wade Overturn
An abortion pill delivery company has told Newsweek it has seen a sharp rise in interest following the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of the Roe V. Wade on June 24. ... "Following the Supreme Court's decision on Friday, June 24, Hey Jane's site traffic grew almost 10 times and patient demand more than doubled compared to the last month's average," company CEO Kiki Freedman told Newsweek. (Browne, 6/29)

USA Today: Demand For Telemedicine Abortions Increases But Could Face Legal Challenges Post-Roe
Interest in telemedicine abortion – whether measured by Google searches or calls to virtual clinics – has skyrocketed in the days following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which removed the constitutional protection for abortion and cleared the way for restrictions or bans to take effect in numerous states. Searches for the term “online abortion” went from a search volume of one on Google Trends at 8 a.m. Friday, to 100 at 11 a.m. Those numbers are ratios of the search term’s popularity, indicating it went from nearly zero interest to peak interest in a few hours surrounding the decision. (Wedell, 6/29)

Newsweek: Arizona Republican Eyes Ban On Abortion Pills Over Lack Of Supervision
Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake said she supports closing abortion clinics and banning abortion pills. Lake made the comments in response to questioning from Fox News' Bret Baier during an interview on Monday, three days after the U.S. Supreme Court released a ruling that overturns the nearly 50-year-old decision of Roe v. Wade that protected a pregnant woman's right to an abortion. (Mordowanec, 6/28)

The Cut: Where To Find The Abortion Pill And What To Expect
Multiple organizations now provide abortions pills via the mail and ship nationwide for arrival in anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. There are even options if you live in a state that bans abortion, though self-managing may carry legal risks. Here is the rundown on the most trusted providers. (Grant, 6/28)

Pill seekers in Brazil have turned to drug traffickers for help —

The New York Times: When Brazil Banned Abortion Pills, Women Turned To Drug Traffickers
Last November, Xaiana, a 23-year-old college student in northern Brazil, began exchanging text messages with a drug dealer in the south of the country. Following the dealer’s instructions, she transferred 1,500 reais ($285), her living expenses for several months. Then, she waited three agonizing weeks for the arrival in the mail of a blister pack of eight unmarked white pills. (Nolen, 6/28)

CVS loosens restrictions on Plan B contraceptive pills —

CNBC: CVS To Remove Purchase Limit On Plan B Pills, Says Sales Have 'Returned To Normal'
CVS is removing the purchase limit it had put on emergency contraceptive pills following last week’s Supreme Court ruling, the chain said Tuesday. The reversal comes as sales have dipped back to normal levels and will be made both in stores and online over the next 24 hours, CVS said. The limit on the emergency contraceptives, commonly known as morning after pills and sold under names including Plan B, had gone into effect on Saturday. (Krietzberg, 6/28)

Concerns grow about Internet surveillance —

Fortune: After Roe, Concerns Mount Over A.I.-Enabled Surveillance 
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week, digital privacy advocates advised women to delete popular menstrual cycle tracking apps, turn off location sharing across a host of apps, use encrypted messaging apps, and switch to web browsers that don’t store search histories, such as Duck Duck Go. The fear is that with as many as half of U.S. states poised to criminalize abortion, prosecutors will start turning to such data to bring cases against those who have sought to end a pregnancy. Such data could also be used by private citizens hoping to collect bounties for tipping off the government to those violating anti-abortion laws or hoping to bring private lawsuits against women seeking abortions and those who have aided them, as laws in Texas and Oklahoma allow. There is a growing concern about the role A.I. could play in this digital dragnet. (Kahn, 6/28)

AP: EXPLAINER: Abortion, Tech And Surveillance 
With abortion now or soon to be illegal in over a dozen states and severely restricted in many more, Big Tech companies that vacuum up personal details of their users are facing new calls to limit that tracking and surveillance. One fear is that law enforcement or vigilantes could use those data troves against people seeking ways to end unwanted pregnancies. History has repeatedly demonstrated that whenever people’s personal data is tracked and stored, there’s always a risk that it could be misused or abused. With the Supreme Court’s Friday overruling of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, collected location data, text messages, search histories, emails and seemingly innocuous period and ovulation-tracking apps could be used to prosecute people who seek an abortion — or medical care for a miscarriage — as well as those who assist them. (Ortutay, 6/28)

Politico: Abortion Doctors’ Post-Roe Dilemma: Move, Stay Or Straddle State Lines 
The Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade and clearing the way for roughly half the states to ban abortion is forcing the nation’s providers to upend their lives and could radically alter the reproductive health care landscape. One clinic in Alabama, for example, is offering its roughly dozen staff members buyouts to give them a couple months’ cushion if they need to search for jobs in other states. (Ollstein, 6/29)

Time: Abortion Providers In Anti-Abortion States Share Their Plans
On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, undoing the constitutional right to abortion that has been in place for nearly 50 years. The reversal paves the way for states to ban or limit abortions, and many are expected to do so soon. Four abortion providers who live in states that severely restrict or are likely to soon criminalize abortion spoke with TIME about what they plan to do now. Some say they’ll shift care across state borders, while others resolve to amp up their activism in a post-Roe America. Yet all four providers say they dread the way new laws will endanger pregnant people seeking abortions. Their interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity. (Law, 6/24)

The Washington Post: Physicians Face Confusion And Fear In Post-Roe World
It had been barely 80 minutes since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday when physician Nisha Verma’s phone pinged with an urgent group message from another obstetrician and gynecologist that made her catch her breath. There was a woman in Wisconsin carrying a fetus with anencephaly, a fatal birth defect in which parts of the brain and skull are missing. With abortion likely illegal in the state, the clinic had canceled her appointment for a termination later that day. But forcing her to continue the pregnancy was cruel and risked complications. What should I do? the doctor wrote. (Cha, 6/28)

NBC News: Black Abortion Providers Wonder What’s Next For Them After Roe V. Wade
The end of Roe v. Wade has upended the lives of Black abortion providers across the country, with many medical and administrative professionals contemplating leaving the field for fear of prosecution. Black-women led clinics, grassroots organizations and advocacy groups have long filled gaps in health care coverage and the social safety net, especially in regions where abortion access is limited and Black and Latino people make up a majority of patients. But with trigger laws set to ban or restrict abortion, and legislation targeting doctors who perform the procedure, many Black abortion providers are unsure of their futures. Some are shifting their focus to other forms of reproductive care.  (Adams, 6/28)

WWMT: Michigan Doctors Prepare To Weigh Legal Risks For Life-Saving Abortion Procedures
“It certainly opens the door to a lot of subsequent questions and legal grey areas,” said Dr. Joelle Abramowitz, assistant research scientist at the Survey Reach Center at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. Under the 1931 law, health care providers could be charged with a felony punishable by up to two years in jail for helping to perform an abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. “All of these laws have sort of a chilling effect on people who provide this healthcare and create a lot of fear that leads people to be hesitant, you know whether it's treating an ectopic pregnancy..." said Owens. "Or, you know, dealing with somebody's pregnancy - potentially unwanted pregnancy - where someone breaks their water really early and then gets very sick with an infection that could be life-threatening. You know, it's not always totally clear, but I will tell you that people are going to hesitate because of that fear of criminalization.” (Louise Just, 6/28)

Politico: Roe Jolts The Midterms: 5 Takeaways From The 2022 Election Midpoint 
Donald Trump’s legacy was on trial in Washington on Tuesday. But it was his future as the leader of the Republican Party that was being tested elsewhere in the country in the first primaries of the post-Roe v. Wade world. More than half the states have now held primaries, and we’re beginning to see just how important Trump may be to the GOP — and how important Roe may be to the Democrats. They are desperate to stave off disaster in November, and from the Democrats’ messaging on Roe to their interventions in Republican primaries in Colorado and Illinois on Tuesday, the latest big round of multi-state primaries offered the first test of Democrats’ new outlook on the midterms. (Siders, 6/29)

NBC News: Illinois Governor's Race Shapes Up As Test Of Post-Roe Abortion Politics
Republicans nominated a Donald Trump-backed state senator to take on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, NBC News projects, setting up a November contest where abortion is expected to be a defining issue. (Seitz-Wald, 6/28)

The Hill: The Senate Races That Could Be Impacted By End Of Roe V. Wade
Democrats and Republicans are split over how much impact the Supreme Court decision to strike down Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case establishing a right to an abortion, will have on Senate races, but early polling shows it could make a difference in several key states. Here are six battleground states where the Supreme Court’s ruling could tip the scales in November. (Bolton, 6/29)

Politico: State Lawmakers Are Shaping The Future Of Abortion. Watch These Names. 
In states with split legislatures, the future of abortion policy could come down to just one or two key lawmakers, like in Virginia, where Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, a Democrat, is expected to play an instrumental role in ensuring no abortion legislation advances from the Republican-controlled House of Delegates to Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk. POLITICO explores how these lawmakers and others like them are expected to help shape the future of abortion policy in their states in 2022 and 2023. (Messerly, 6/29)

The Hill: Democrats Hope Roe V. Wade Ruling Is Game-Changer For Suburban Women 
Women who reside in American suburbs have been among the most closely watched demographics on both sides of the aisle since the 2016 election, moving away from the Republican Party during the height of Trumpism but inching back in some areas as voters become fatigued and disillusioned by the Biden era.   Ahead of November, liberals’ new hope is that the coveted bloc could flip to blue with the right actions and messaging. The highly personal nature of the Roe ruling, they say, could be a turning point in the otherwise dismal political climate for the party in power. (Trudo and Manchester, 6/29)

The Hill: GOP Walks Tightrope On Abortion 
John Thomas, a Republican strategist who has worked on House campaigns, expected Democrats to see a spike in small dollar donations and said the court decision provides a distraction from the economic woes that have sunk President Biden’s approval ratings and been a central focus of Republicans on the campaign trail. “In terms of the short term, this is a winning conversation for Democrats, particularly vulnerable Democrats where there are lots of college educated white women,” Thomas said. “This gives them a bit of a reprieve from what was otherwise considered just a brutal conversation on almost every front.” (Samuels, 6/29)

On Hispanic voters and Catholics —

The Hill: Roe V. Wade Decision Weighs On Hispanic Voters Before Midterms 
Hispanic voters’ views on abortion are set to play a key role in a number of contested House and Senate races across the country with analysis by both parties showing polar opposite attitudes. For the predominantly Catholic U.S. Hispanic community, abortion has historically played a smaller political role than that of other U.S. Catholics. But certain denominations of Protestantism with stricter political views on abortion are growing quickly among Latinos. And having a Catholic serving as president doesn’t necessarily make a difference on those viewpoints. (Gangitano and Bernal, 6/29)

WLRN 91.3 FM: The Abortion Ruling Resonates Especially With Catholics. Their Response Is Especially Complex
Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade resonated especially strongly among Roman Catholics — but the response to it among Catholics in Florida is an especially complicated one. The Catholic Church opposes abortion under any circumstance. So, many Catholics here are celebrating the Supreme Court decision. But abortion is still legal in Florida; although starting Friday, it’ll be limited to the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. And many Catholics say they’ll work hard now to push state legislators to pass a complete ban. “We’re extremely grateful for this decision, because we strive to protect human life from conception to natural death," said Angela Curatalo, who directs the Catholic Archdiocese of Miami's Respect Life Ministry. (Padgett, 6/27)

Also —

AP: After Roe: Dems Challenge GOP To Show They Care For Mothers 
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade’s constitutional protections for abortion rights set off a contest between Democrats and Republicans going into the midterm elections over whose policies would do more to help vulnerable mothers and children. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who heads the Republican campaign committee in the Senate, said GOP lawmakers now have the responsibility to “do everything in our power to meet the needs of struggling women and their families so they can choose life.” (Boak, 6/28)

CNBC: FDA Panel Recommends Changing Covid Shots To Fight Omicron This Fall
The Food and Drug Administration’s panel of independent vaccine experts on Tuesday voted 19 to 2 to recommend new Covid-19 shots that target the omicron variant this fall, when public health officials are expecting a new wave of infections. It is the first time the panel has proposed that vaccine makers modify the shots to target a different variant. The FDA will likely accept the committee’s recommendation and authorize a vaccine change. However, the panel did not make a recommendation on which omicron subvariant the shots should target. (Kimball, 6/28)

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Advisers Recommend Modifying Covid-19 Boosters To Target Omicron 
This would be the first change to the composition of the shots since they began rolling out in December 2020. ... The vote didn’t specify whether the modified boosters should only target Omicron, or target both Omicron and the ancestral strain of the coronavirus, though several committee members said they preferred a dual-target approach. The vote also didn’t specify whether the modified shots should target more recent subvariants of Omicron now dominant in the U.S. (Loftus and Hopkins, 6/28)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Vaccines Should Be Updated For Fall, FDA Advisers Say 
Companies need several months to manufacture a new vaccine, so the deadline to choose a vaccine formula to be ready to roll out in October has arrived. The FDA is expected to issue a final decision in the coming days. But no one knows what variants will be circulating this winter, and it is reasonable to expect that any omicron variant incorporated into the updated vaccine will be in the rearview mirror by the time shots are going into arms. Updated vaccines that include BA.1 have been in human tests for months, but that variant circulated this winter and has already been eclipsed by other versions of omicron; the subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 already make up half of the cases in the United States. (Johnson and Shepherd, 6/28)

Axios: COVID Vaccine Strategy Still Murky After FDA Experts Meet
The COVID-19 vaccine strategy for the fall remains beset with unanswered questions after an FDA expert panel on Tuesday spent hours debating how and whether to update the shots. Time is running short to develop a game plan with existing vaccines losing effectiveness against new variants and more than half of Americans still without a booster dose. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 19-2 to recommend an Omicron-specific update to COVID-19 booster vaccines expected to be rolled out within the next few months. (Bettelheim and Reed, 6/29)

In other news on the vaccine rollout —

ABC News: Millions Remain Unboosted, As Scientists Say 3rd COVID Shot Provides 'Significant' Protection 
As advisors to the FDA consider what type of COVID-19 shots should be offered in the fall, new federal data reveals a significant proportion of Americans have yet to receive their first and second boosters. ... Since the rollout, earlier this spring, fewer than a fifth of eligible people ages 50 to 64 have received their second boost -- only about 8% of the age group. Uptake is a bit higher among the elderly, with 35% of those eligible — representing just 20% of the age group. (Mitropoulos, 6/28)

Bloomberg: Sesame Street's Elmo Gets 'Vaccinated' In CDC Covid-19 Vaccine Advertisement
Elmo got his Covid-19 vaccine. Sesame Street’s iconic, perpetually three-year-old Muppet got his Covid-19 shot in a public service announcement released by the Centers for Disease Control and  Prevention on Tuesday. The video comes just days after the vaccinations became available for children five years and younger. The US Food and Drug Administration and CDC authorized the Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE shots for use in younger children on June 17 and 18, respectively. (York, 6/28)

And more on the spread of covid —

CIDRAP: Study: In Most Young Adults, COVID-19 Infectious Period Lasts Only 5 Days
A new study from researchers at Boston University (BU) shows that, for all but 17% of healthy, vaccinated young adults, the infectious period for COVID-19 from the Delta and Omicron variants was 5 days. The study was recently published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The study involved 92 SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR–positive participants who had all been fully vaccinated with an initial series of COVID-19 vaccine. Tests showed 17 (18.5%) were infected with Delta and 75 (81.5%) with Omicron. (6/28)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Easier To Get, Harder To Avoid In California
The number of coronavirus cases reported in California is on the brink of crossing 10 million, a milestone that probably undercounts the total significantly yet still carries an increasing sense of inevitability. Since the hyper-transmissible Omicron variant stormed onto the scene in early December, the virus has wormed its way into seemingly every family and social circle. Residents who for years escaped infection were swept up in the resulting tidal wave of cases, though for many, the severity of illness has been lessened by vaccines, the availability of therapeutics and other factors. (Money, 6/28)

Axios: White House Expands Monkeypox Vaccine Eligibility
Federal officials on Tuesday urged anyone potentially exposed to a confirmed case of monkeypox in the last two weeks to get vaccinated, in hopes of slowing an outbreak that's grown to more than 300 confirmed cases in the United States. Days after some local jurisdictions, like New York City, deployed their own vaccination strategies and ran out of shots, the federal government has committed to distributing 56,000 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine immediately to jurisdictions where outbreaks are the most severe. (Dreher, 6/28)

NPR: The U.S. To Offer Nearly 300,000 Doses Of Monkeypox Vaccine In Coming Weeks
The Biden administration announced an "enhanced nationwide vaccination strategy" to curb the spread of monkeypox in the U.S. In a call with reporters on Tuesday, top federal health officials — including director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator — laid out the administration's plan to expand the availability of a vaccine for monkeypox. The Department of Health and Human Services will make 296,000 doses available in the coming weeks — within that amount, 56,000 doses will be made available immediately — and expects a total of 1.6 million doses to be available in the U.S. by the end of the year. The vaccine being distributed is the JYNNEOS vaccine, which is administered in two doses given 28 days apart. (Stone, 6/28)

Also —

CIDRAP: CDC Opens Monkeypox Center As Europe Begins Vaccinations 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to better address the monkeypox outbreak. "CDC's activation of the EOC allows the agency to further increase operational support for the response to meet the outbreak’s evolving challenges. It is home to more than 300 CDC staff working in collaboration with local, national, and international response partners on public health challenges," the CDC said in a press release. (Soucheray, 6/28)

Fox News: WHO Says Monkeypox Risk Assessed As ‘Moderate'
The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday that the international monkeypox virus outbreak is assessed as "moderate" – even as the agency noted the actual number of cases "is likely to be underestimated." The United Nations (UN) health agency said in a release that, since June 22. 2022, there have been more than 3,400 laboratory-confirmed cases and one death reported to WHO from 50 countries and territories. The majority of those cases were reported from the WHO European Region, with the region of the Americas making up 11%. (Musto, 6/28)

KHN: What You Need To Know About Monkeypox
The World Health Organization said June 25 that monkeypox wasn’t yet a public health emergency of international concern. More than 4,500 cases have been reported worldwide, with more than 300 in the U.S. And with public health officials unable to follow all chains of transmission, they’re likely undercounting cases. Everyone should be aware of its symptoms, how it spreads, and the risks of it getting worse. (Gounder, 6/29)

USA Today: AAP Says Breastfeed Longer In New Guidance, Calls For Policy Change
The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated its guidance on breastfeeding – extending the recommended time for parents to breastfeed their children, while calling for policy change and "nonjudgmental support" for all families' feeding choices. In policy recommendations published on Monday, the AAP maintained its guidance to breastfeed infants exclusively in the first six months of their lives, before introducing other foods to complement nutrition. Now, the AAP is also urging pediatricians to support those who choose continued breastfeeding after solid foods are introduced for two years or longer. (Grantham-Philips, 6/28)

The New York Times: New Guidelines Encourage Breastfeeding Longer, But Call For More Parental Support 
Much of the policy — the group’s first updated guidance on breastfeeding in a decade — is identical to what the A.A.P. has said in the past. The organization continues to recommend that babies be exclusively breastfed for about six months, at which point complementary foods can be introduced. The statement cites research linking breastfeeding to a range of benefits in infants, including decreased rates of lower respiratory tract infections, severe diarrhea and ear infections. (Pearson, 6/27)

For the first time, CTE is found in a soccer player —

AP: CTE Diagnosed In Ex-MLS Player Vermillion, A 1st For League 
Researchers have diagnosed chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a Major League Soccer player for the first time, saying Tuesday that defender Scott Vermillion suffered from the degenerative brain disease. The Boston University CTE Center said Vermillion, who died of an accidental drug overdose in December 2020 at the age of 44, had the disease. Although it is not possible to connect any individual case to a cause, CTE has been linked to repeated blows to the head. (Golen, 6/29)

In other health and wellness news —

Fox News: Adventurous Childhood Play May Buffer Against Anxiety And Depression: Study
Children who engaged in more adventurous play that elicited excited or fearful emotions had decreased symptoms of anxiety and depression compared to those who participated in unadventurous activities, according to a recent paper published in Child Psychiatry & Human Development. "We’re more concerned than ever about children’s mental health, and our findings highlight that we might be able to help protect children’s mental health by ensuring they have plentiful opportunities for adventurous play," said lead author Helen Dodd, professor of child psychology at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. (Sudhakar, 6/28)

San Francisco Chronicle: Study: More Protein While Dieting Leads To Healthier Eating
Another day, another health study — but this one actually makes sense. According to a Rutgers study, a higher protein intake while you’re dieting leads to healthier eating. Of course, you don’t need to use this as a reason to diet, but a little extra protein intake never hurt anyone. Per the Rutgers study, “Eating a larger proportion of protein while dieting leads to better food choices and helps avoid the loss of lean body mass.” The study, which was published in the medical journal Obesity, found that participants who self-selected a “slightly higher” protein intake while dieting happened to also eat more green vegetables and reduced their intake of added sugar. The results, which correlate with many doctors’ suggestions for a healthy diet, are pretty much sounding like a win-win-win in our books. (Arneson, 6/28)

NerdWallet: Millennial Money: Getting Therapy When Cost Is A Barrier 
The race to find mental health treatment can feel like a marathon when you may not have the energy or ability to even make it to the starting line. You may be faced with limited affordable options and a lack of available therapists. “Prior to the pandemic, we had an inadequate workforce to meet the mental health demand of the country,” says Vaile Wright, who has a doctorate in counseling psychology and is the senior director of health care innovation at the American Psychological Association. “And that has only been exacerbated by the pandemic.” (Rathner, 6/28)

KHN: Overdose Deaths Behind Bars Rise As Drug Crisis Swells 
Annissa Holland should be excited her son is coming home from prison after four long years of incarceration. Instead, she’s researching rehab centers to send him to as soon as he walks out the gate. She doesn’t know the person who’s coming home — the person who she said has been doing every drug he can get his hands on inside the Alabama prison system. She can hear it in the 34-year-old’s voice when he calls her on the prison phone. (Dawson, 6/29)

Modern Healthcare: Providers, Insurers Poised For 'Bloody' Negotiations Amid Inflation
Surging inflation has set the table for heated negotiations between providers and insurers. In May, year-over-year price increases of consumer goods and services outpaced healthcare inflation, bucking the historical trend. The consumer price index rose 8.6%, the steepest gain since December 1981. Medical expenditures grew 3.7% in May, the biggest year-over-year jump since September 2020, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The inflation spike will ripple throughout the healthcare industry. It may push more providers to cut services or seek merger partners as supply costs rise, wages grow and access to capital drops. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.75 of a percentage point to curb consumer spending, increasing health systems' borrowing costs and likely slowing capital projects— and a similar increase could come in July. (Kacik and Tepper, 6/28)

KHN: Government Watchdogs Attack Medicare Advantage For Denying Care And Overcharging
Congress should crack down on Medicare Advantage health plans for seniors that sometimes deny patients vital medical care while overcharging the government billions of dollars every year, government watchdogs told a House panel Tuesday. Witnesses sharply criticized the fast-growing health plans at a hearing held by the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations. They cited a slew of critical audits and other reports that described plans denying access to health care, particularly those with high rates of patients who were disenrolled in their last year of life while likely in poor health and in need of more services. (Schulte, 6/29)

In other health care industry news —

AP: Officials Break Ground On New Western Louisville Hospital
Company officials have broken ground on a new campus in western Louisville that will house a hospital and a headquarters for Goodwill Industries. The new hospital will be the first in the predominantly African American area west of Ninth Street since a Marine hospital closed in the 1930s. (6/29)

Bay Area News Group: Kaiser May Convert Big San Jose Office Building Into Medical Complex
Kaiser Permanente is eyeing the conversion of a big office building in San Jose to medical uses, an effort that could greatly expand the health care titan’s Silicon Valley footprint. The building on Kaiser’s radar screen is at 1600 Technology Drive in North San Jose and totals about 198,000 square feet, according to San Jose city planning documents. “As one of the largest not-for-profit health care providers in the country, Kaiser Permanente is continuously looking for opportunities to better meet the needs of our members, and support the communities we serve,” Kaiser Permanente said in comments emailed to this news organization. (Avalos, 6/28)

Stat: Placebo Response Reveals Bias Against Female, Black Physicians
The doctor-patient relationship is an important part of helping and healing. But it can be hijacked by racial or other biases that either party holds. A novel study published Monday using the placebo response as a measure of bias shows how patients’ unconscious reactions to their doctor’s gender or race may have lingering physiological effects and even steer health outcomes. (Gilyard, 6/28)

AP: Court Kills Flint Water Charges Against Ex-Governor, Others 
The Michigan Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out charges against former Gov. Rick Snyder and others in the Flint water scandal, saying a judge sitting as a one-person grand jury had no power to issue indictments under rarely used state laws. It’s an astonishing defeat for Attorney General Dana Nessel, who took office in 2019, got rid of a special prosecutor and put together a new team to investigate whether crimes were committed when lead contaminated Flint’s water system in 2014-15. (White, 6/28)

In other environmental health news —

Stat: In Boston Homes, Potentially Harmful Compounds Leak From Stovetops
Natural gas — just by nature of being the most common residential energy source in the U.S. — has the sheen of being a relatively safe and clean kind of power. But increasingly, researchers are concerned we don’t have a firm enough handle on its potential health effects. Research suggests somewhere around 1% of natural gas — which is mostly methane — wafts out of stovetops unburned and untouched. Cooking or heating with natural gas also releases potentially toxic compounds into the air. A new study, published Tuesday in Environmental Science & Technology, underscores the scope of those concerns: In natural gas samples collected from 69 homes in the Boston area, researchers detected 21 federally-regulated hazardous air pollutants. (Chen, 6/28)

And more health news from across the U.S. —

The CT Mirror: Lamont Extends Public Health Emergency To Ensure Extra SNAP Funds
Gov. Ned Lamont announced Tuesday that he has signed a public health emergency declaration that will allow the state to continue to receive supplemental support from the federal government. The declaration means the state will continue to receive an extra $34 million through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program every month, said Deirdre Gifford, commissioner of the Department of Social Services. Gifford said the state has distributed about $748 million to SNAP recipients. The support will continue until Dec. 15, unless the federal government decides to end the program before that. (Bravo, 6/28)

Wyoming Public Radio: New Mexico To Join Other Mountain West States With Paid Sick Leave
On July 1, New Mexico will join a handful of other Mountain West states that require paid sick leave. Throughout the region, Colorado and Arizona already have paid sick leave; Nevada has a broader paid leave law. “Ultimately, what I would love to see is with enough state action that we would get something passed on a federal level, some federal protections, like we saw for the pandemic. It’s possible,” said Miles Tokunow, deputy director of OLÉ in New Mexico. The nonprofit advocates for issues impacting working families. The New Mexico law says employees of private businesses can accrue at least one hour of paid sick leave per 30 hours worked, or 64 hours of earned sick leave per year. (Gibson, 6/28)

North Carolina Health News: Yet Another Attempt To Expand Medicaid In NC 
For all those waiting with bated breath to find out whether Medicaid will be expanded to nearly 600,000 more North Carolinians, take a pause. Republicans in the state House of Representatives are not ready to embrace the policy whole hog. Instead, there will be one more study and more planning, while the lawmakers campaign for elections in November. The proposal to create a legislative committee with members from both chambers that will hear a Medicaid Modernization Plan to be developed by the state Department of Health and Human Services comes out of negotiations between state House and Senate leaders over a spending plan for the coming fiscal year. This committee comes on the heels of another, different, study committee that met six times from February to April of this year. (Blythe, 6/29)

The CT Mirror: Report: Insuring CT Undocumented Residents Could Cost, And Save, Millions
For Patricia Rosas and other undocumented residents without health insurance, going to a doctor is an expensive last resort. So, in the fall of 2019, after Rosas had been feeling an unfamiliar pain in her side for over a year, friends helped to raise $5,000 simply to get a diagnosis. “My concern is, what if I didn’t know all those people?” Rosas said. “My story is thousands of people’s stories.” A new study from the RAND corporation, though, suggests that extending HUSKY health coverage to all undocumented residents in Connecticut would cost 3% of the state’s annual Medicaid budget, putting quality health care within reach for more than 21,000 additional people. (Golvala and Kim, 6/29)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Puts $100 Million Into School Safety, Mental Health After Uvalde Massacre
Texas leaders directed more than $100 million to school safety initiatives and mental health services on Tuesday, about a month after a teenage gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at a Uvalde elementary school. The funds include $50 million for bulletproof shields for school police officers and $17 million for school districts to purchase silent panic alarms. The allocation marks legislators’ most direct response to the Uvalde shooting yet, as Gov. Greg Abbott has so far declined to call a special legislative session that would immediately bring lawmakers back to Austin to discuss appropriations and other legislative responses. (Harris, 6/28)

The Washington Post: D.C. Council Allows Adults Over 21 Easier Access To Medical Marijuana 
D.C. residents who are 21 and older will soon be able to self-certify their eligibility for medical marijuana under a proposal passed by the D.C. Council on Tuesday, which also approved measures allowing some minors to get certain vaccines without their parents’ consent and another bill to give residents at risk of foreclosure more time to access new funds. (Brice-Saddler, 6/28)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Supervisor Calls For Overdose Prevention Plan As City Prepares To Close Controversial Tenderloin Center
A San Francisco supervisor is pushing for the city to develop an overdose prevention plan in the wake of Mayor London Breed’s decision to close at year’s end the controversial Tenderloin Center — a city-run site meant to link people on the street to drug treatment, among other services. Officials allow visitors to use drugs at the site, and city and nonprofit workers have reversed more than 100 overdoses at the facility at U.N. Plaza. Supervisor Dean Preston aims to keep the center’s programs running, or find a suitable replacement. The hearing he requested would go before the Government Audit and Oversight Committee, which Preston chairs. (Swan, 6/28)

Also —

Kansas City Star: Missouri State Lawmaker Convicted In Medical Fraud Scheme
A federal trial jury on Tuesday convicted Missouri state Rep. Tricia Derges of multiple fraud charges, including making false claims about fake stem cell treatments at her medical clinics in southwest Missouri. Bookending a two-week trial in Springfield, Derges, a Nixa Republican, was convicted of 22 counts of wire fraud, illegal distribution of Oxycodone and Adderall and making false statements to investigators, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Derges held the unusual license of assistant physician at several medical clinics across southern Missouri. She was elected to the Missouri General Assembly in November 2020 and represents Christian County. (Bayless, 6/28)

Stat: 100 Lawmakers Ask HHS To Use Controversial Federal Laws To Combat High Drug Prices 
A group of 100 federal lawmakers is urging the Biden administration to use controversial provisions of federal law to lower prescription drug prices, and also asked the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra for a meeting to discuss the issue. In a letter to Becerra, the lawmakers reiterated calls for the administration to invoke either march-in rights or another federal law known as Section 1498. Both approaches allow the federal government to sidestep patents and have been championed by academics and advocacy groups, but the administration has not pursued either tactic amid pushback from the pharmaceutical industry. (Silverman, 6/28)

Also —

Modern Healthcare: Supreme Court Denies ERISA Suit Against Anthem, Express Scripts
The Supreme Court will not hear an appeal from two self-insured employers and their workers, which sought to hold Anthem and Express Scripts accountable for prescription drug costs, the high court announced Monday. The court's decision not to take the case leaves unanswered the question of whether federal law obligates health insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers to reduce group health plans' drug spending. The move does not mean the end of scrutiny for the PBM industry, or a narrower scope of health plans' fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, said Dan Kuperstein, a senior vice president of compliance at Corporate Synergies consultancy and an attorney who specializes in employee benefits. (Tepper, 6/28)

In other prescription drug news —

CIDRAP: Study Documents Rise Of Antibiotic-Resistant Typhoid
A new study by an international team of scientists reveals a new understanding of how antibiotic-resistant strains of typhoid fever have quickly emerged and spread from South Asia to other parts of the world. (6/23)

CIDRAP: FDA To Review Emergent's Adjuvanted Anthrax Vaccine For Adults
Emergent BioSolutions said in a news release late last week that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review an adjuvanted version of its anthrax vaccine for post-exposure prophylaxis (prevention) of anthrax. The product, called AV7909—or Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed, Adjuvanted—is designed to prevent disease caused by exposure to Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, in adults 18 to 65 years old. An adjuvant is a substance in a vaccine that boosts the body's immune response, and the US government stockpiles anthrax vaccine in the event of a bioterrorism event. The FDA will review Emergent's Biologics License Application (BLA) in the coming months. (6/27)

JAMA: Temporal Trends In Antimicrobial Prescribing During Hospitalization For Potential Infection And Sepsis
These findings suggest that shortening the time to antibiotics administration for sepsis is feasible without leading to indiscriminate antimicrobial use, which can inform guidelines designed to accelerate early treatment for sepsis without having spillover effects onto other patients at risk for sepsis. (Hallie C. Prescott, MD, MSc, Sarah Seelyem PhD, Xiao Qing Wang, MPH, et al, 6/27)

ScienceDaily: Doctors Prescribe Fewer Painkillers During Nightshifts Than During The Day, Study Finds
Physicians were 20 to 30 percent less likely to prescribe an analgesic during nightshifts (compared to daytime shifts) and prescribed fewer painkillers than were generally recommended by the World Health Organization, according to a new study. (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 6/27)

East Bay Times:  Alzheimer's Drug Approval Illustrates Science's Need For Change
America’s science policies are changing. America’s scientists need to change with them. The recent controversies over the Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval of an Alzheimer’s treatment are a lesson in the costs of failing to do so. (Jason Karlawish, 6/24)

Times Of San Diego: Medicare Decision To Deny New Drug Harms Californians With Alzheimer's 
Medicare officials recently finalized a plan to deny almost every patient with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease access to a new, FDA-approved drug that could slow the progress of their disease. This decision is devastating for California, which is home to more Alzheimer’s patients than any other state. Additionally, the Medicare decision will increase the racial inequities already surrounding Alzheimer’s. Worse still, this rationale could be used to deny access to patients with equally debilitating diseases such as Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and others. (Scott Suckow, 6/26)

Syracuse.com: Congress Must Lower Prescription Drug Prices For Our Seniors
We are paying more for nearly everything today – from groceries to gas to housing. As inflation reaches its highest rate in 40 years – rising 7% last year alone – Americans are asking what Congress can do to help them pay for the essentials they need. (James O'Neal, 6/22)

New England Journal of Medicine: Vaccinating Young Children Against Covid-19
The continuing spread of SARS-CoV-2 remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. What physicians need to know about transmission, diagnosis, and treatment of Covid-19 is the subject of ongoing updates from infectious disease experts at the Journal. (Eric J Rubin, M.D., Ph.D., et al, 6/23)

The Tennessean: Tennessee Legislators Could Harm More Kids By Blocking COVID Vaccine
Once again, Republican legislators are attempting to insert themselves between public health and the well-being of Tennessee’s children. First it was forbidding mask mandates in schools. Then it was prohibiting teens from making a choice to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Now, as reported by The Tennessean on June 22, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, Majority Leader Rep. William Lamberth, Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison, and Rep. Jason Zachary have asked Governor Bill Lee to block the Tennessee Department of Health from providing COVID-19 vaccinations to children under the age of 5 — falsely stating children are not at risk of death or hospitalization from COVID-19. (Michelle Fiscus, MD FAAP, 6/27)

The Washington Post: Pelosi Has The Right Idea On Abortion. The Senate Must Follow. 
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) did not get to where she is by misreading the public mood. She understands well how unpopular Republicans’ support for upending Roe v. Wade is. And she will make Republicans face the consequences of their radicalism. In a Dear Colleague letter released on Monday, Pelosi writes that she intends to bring several abortion measures to the floor. First, she will bring legislation that “protects women’s most intimate and personal data stored in reproductive health apps” to address fears that such information “could be used against women by a sinister prosecutor in a state that criminalizes abortion.” Pelosi is certainly right that Americans are worried about the government or big business accumulating data on them. Will Republicans allow the government to seize such personal information? (Jennifer Rubin, 6/28)

The New York Times: This Is What A Post-Roe Abortion Looks Like 
This is the true story of a 27-year-old Texas woman and her abortion. She recently overcame a challenge that millions of other girls and women in the United States now face: getting an abortion in a state where lawmakers are closing off access to the procedure. Texas enacted a law outlawing most abortions in September 2021, so women there have navigated obstacles that many more women across the country are now starting to encounter. (Ora DeKornfeld, Emily Holzknecht and Jonah M. Kessel, 6/29)

Kansas City Star: Missouri Conservatives Scared Of Voters On Abortion Ban
In May, weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court discarded the law to return abortion policy to the states, Missouri lawmakers talked about putting an abortion ban in the state constitution. “Let the voters decide whether they want to make it clear that there is no right to abortion in the Missouri Constitution,” said state Sen. Bob Onder, a Republican. Abortion opponents in Missouri were obviously worried about the Kansas Supreme Court’s ruling that the right to an abortion is “fundamental” in the state. The judges said abortion could be regulated, but only after meeting a “strict scrutiny” standard to protect patients. (6/29)

Miami Herald: Miami Nurse: Roe Decision Will Hit Poor Women, Women Of Color. It's A Call To Action
As a hospital nurse who has been caring for patients for over 40 years, it’s my job to help and support patients during some of their most challenging moments, when they have to make critical decisions about their health. I never imagined we would live in a country where women would not be guaranteed the right to make their own personal healthcare decisions and could be forced to give birth to a child against their will, depending on the state they reside in. (Martha Baker, 6/28)

Dallas Morning News: Mark Cuban And Medicare: A Drug Hookup America Needs Now
Mark Cuban has been absolutely clear about his intentions in starting a direct-to-consumer, low-cost online pharmacy. “The goal is to [expletive] up the pharmacy industry,” he told The Wall Street Journal earlier this year. (6/29)

Bloomberg: As Crispr Turns 10, Its Medical Promise Comes Into Focus 
Ten years ago this week, a report of new research quietly appeared on an academic journal’s website — and caused a seismic shift in science. Biochemists Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier adapted a tool called Crispr-Cas9 to snip genes from bacteria. When Feng Zhang, another biochemist, and others later showed that the same tool could be used to edit human cells, the magnitude of Crisper’s potential became clear: It could one day be used to create treatments — perhaps even cures — for a range of genetic diseases. (Lisa Jarvis, 6/28)

Miami Herald: It’s Up To The States To Implement 988 Mental-Health Hotline 
The 911 system is taken for granted. Anyone, virtually anywhere in the United States, should be able to dial three digits during a physical health emergency and expect a fast, local response — sometimes making the difference between life and death. On July 16, “988” will become the equivalent hotline for mental-health emergencies. The launch will come two years after Congress passed the National Suicide Designation Act of 2020, leaving the particulars of implementation to individual states. But the change will be a missed opportunity if states can’t clear significant hurdles: funding the expanded crisis response system, and making sure people know it’s available. (Ryan K, McBain and Stephanie Brooks Holliday, 6/28)

Scientific American: Gunshot Survivors And Trauma Surgeons Welcome The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
Recently, I was standing inside the Dirksen Senate Office Building, waiting to be ushered into the Senate gallery to witness the voting on and passage of the first piece of commonsense gun legislation in nearly 30 years. The committee room buzzed with energy, and as I looked around, I came to realize that it was full of gunshot survivors who are fierce advocates of responsible gun ownership. Some of them had been trying to end gun violence for decades. Those survivors include myself, a trauma surgeon. I was nearly killed after being shot in the throat at age 17 after a high-school football game. A stray bullet fired during a fight that had nothing to do with me ruptured my trachea and injured my carotid artery. Over the past decade, I have seen another vantage point of this uniquely American problem by treating hundreds of gunshot wound victims. (Joseph V. Sakran, 6/28)

Stat: Medicare Policies Should Cover Wheelchair Safety Outside The Home
My daughter, Katherine, is 21 years old. She has cerebral palsy and has relied on a power wheelchair to move around the world since she was 5 years old. With summer in full swing, she likes to roll down the sidewalks in our neighborhood and look at the flowers in bloom. She enjoys popping into her neighborhood therapy clinic to visit friends. And she loves to be the center of attention. Earlier this summer, she participated in a two-night stage performance of “Shrek,” starring adults with disabilities. She played the Fairy Godmother, and she nailed it. These activities all take place outside our home so, according to the outdated policies used by Medicare to determine which mobility devices to cover, none of them are considered essential to Katherine’s life. I know that just the opposite is true: These activities mean more to Katherine than anything else. (Barry Dean, 6/29)

The Washington Post: Virginia’s Top Health Official Needs An Education On Racism 
Racism is a public health crisis. Virginia State Health Commissioner Colin Greene said recently that he associates the word “racism” with “fire hoses, police dogs and Alabama sheriffs.” Greene misunderstands the issue. Those are overt symptoms of racism. Such overt symptoms are only the tip of the iceberg of symptoms of racism — and other forms of oppression, including sexism, classism, ableism and oppressions based on sexual orientation and gender/gender identity. (Stephen A. Haering and Charles Konigsberg, 6/27)

Los Angeles Times: Drastically Reducing Nicotine Levels Will Save A Lot Of Lives 
Nicotine kills. Oh, not directly, for the most part. It’s just so addictive that cigarette smokers find it nearly impossible to quit a product that subtracts years off their lives, causes cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, strokes and heart disease, along with worsening Type 2 diabetes. In 2018, more than half of the smokers in this country tried to stop; only 8% did. (6/29)