Republicans Tempered Talk About Abortion
After Republican nominee Donald Trump pared back the party's platform to take attention off his celebrated achievement of overturning Roe v. Wade, Republican National Convention speakers pivot to other topics this week. More news about abortion and women's health comes from Florida, Kansas, Mississippi, and Alabama.
Politico:
Trump Brags About Ending Roe V. Wade. But Not At The RNC
Overturning Roe is one of the crowning achievementsof Donald Trump’s presidency. No one at the Republican National Convention is talking about it. Heading into the final day of the Republican Party’s first national gathering since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision, which has allowed more than a third of states to ban nearly all abortions, the issue has barely received a passing mention. Main-stage speakers have instead leaned into economic populism, isolationism and — frustratingly, for evangelicals and other social conservatives — social libertarianism. (Messerly, 7/18)
Also —
News Service of Florida:
Florida Attorney General's Office Argues Abortion Statement Case Is Not Moot
Though a state panel this week revamped a financial impact statement that will appear on the November ballot with a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion rights, Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office argued Thursday that a legal battle about an earlier version of the statement should continue. (Saunders, 7/18)
AP:
Kansas Won't Force Providers To Ask Patients Why They Want Abortions While A Lawsuit Proceeds
Kansas isn’t enforcing a new law requiring abortion providers to ask patients why they want to terminate their pregnancies, as a legal challenge against that rule and other older requirements makes its way through the courts. Attorneys for the state and for providers challenging the new law along with other requirements announced a deal Thursday. (Hanna, 7/18)
The Hill:
Mississippi Ranks Last In Women's Health And Reproductive Care: Report
Women’s health in the United States is in a “perilous place” as preventable deaths keep rising, and nowhere is it worse than in Mississippi, according to a new state scorecard on women’s health and reproductive care from The Commonwealth Fund. The scorecard ranks all 50 states and Washington, D.C., on how well they provide reproductive care and overall health care to women. The highest-ranking states include Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island. (O’Connell-Domenech, 7/18)
AP:
Alabama Birthing Units Are Closing To Save Money And Get Funding. Some Say Babies Are At Risk
One of the last remaining birthing units in southern Alabama will close next month to qualify for federal funding that will save the hospital’s emergency services, but doctors warn the move may cost newborns and pregnant women essential access to obstetric care. ... The board said closure was necessary for the hospital to qualify for much needed federal funding that is designated for rural emergency hospitals, defined as facilities with fewer than 50 beds that provide 24/7 emergency care and no inpatient services, including obstetrics. (Riddle, 7/18)
Also —
Los Angeles Times:
‘We’ve Created Medical Refugees.’ LGBTQ+ Health Care Workers Fight For Gender-Affirming Care Amid Rise In Anti-Trans Laws
Nico Olalia had just finished her initial nurse training in the Philippines when she realized her aspirations were growing bigger than her home archipelago. “There are a lot of trans Filipinos, but they’re always known in the beauty industry, and they’re very seldom found in the professional side,” Olalia said. So she moved back to the United States, where she was born, for better career prospects. (Deng, 7/18)
