Supreme Court Justices Differ On South Carolina’s Planned Parenthood Case
Planned Parenthood's attorney, along with liberal justices, stated that "preventing the medical provider from suing over South Carolina’s actions could allow states to exclude providers from Medicaid for any reason at all," Roll Call reported. Also, the CDC's IVF unit was cut Tuesday; doctors take a deeper look at the cases of three patients who died because of abortion bans; and more.
Roll Call:
Supreme Court Sounds Conflicted On Medicaid Cut For Planned Parenthood
Some Supreme Court justices appeared open Wednesday to allowing South Carolina to deny federal funding for Planned Parenthood, during oral arguments in a dispute over the state disqualifying the health care provider from Medicaid for providing abortions. But key justices also aired concerns that such a decision would leave no way for recipients to challenge state decisions about what providers qualify. The central question for the justices is whether Congress created a right for Planned Parenthood or other groups to file such a lawsuit, which involves how explicit Congress must be if it wants to allow such a right. (Macagnone, 4/2)
NBC News:
CDC's IVF Team Gutted Even As Trump Calls Himself The 'Fertilization President'
A team that tracked how well in vitro fertilization worked across the U.S. was abruptly cut Tuesday as part of the sweeping layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services. The elimination of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance team — a group of six epidemiologists, data analysts and researchers — shocked public health experts and IVF advocates who said they had felt encouraged by President Donald Trump’s comments supporting access to the infertility treatment. (Lovelace Jr. and Brooks, 4/2)
The Hill:
Trump Restoring Millions In Family Planning Funds To Oklahoma And Tennessee
The Trump administration is restoring millions of dollars in Title X funds to Oklahoma and Tennessee after the Biden administration chose to withhold those funds because both states failed to comply with program rules. The news was first reported by Politico, but the Oklahoma State Department of Health confirmed to The Hill that the Trump administration has awarded it $1.96 million under the Title X family planning program. The total award amount could be more, though, according to a department spokesperson. (O’Connell-Domenech, 4/2)
Also —
The Guardian:
Three Critically Ill Patients In US Could Have Survived With Abortions, Study Shows
Doctors who practice medicine in states with abortion bans have described in a new study how three of their pregnant patients died, but likely could have been saved, if they had been able to receive abortion care. The doctors, who treat lung, respiratory and other critical illnesses, never raised abortion, including the option of traveling out of state for the procedure, out of fear of legal repercussions, according to interviews with the doctors in the study, which was published in Chest Pulmonary, a medical journal. No other information about the patients who died was published. (Kirchgaessner, 4/3)
