Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Covid Lawsuits Complicate Abortion Restrictions; Safe Harbor States Are Vital To Abortion Care
Dallas Morning News: Conservative Pandemic Activists Made It More Complicated To Enforce Texas Abortion Laws
The Supreme Court’s decision on Friday settled little about how abortion restrictions may be enacted and enforced. Thanks to legal precedent established by conservative activists, the issue is more complicated than it might have been before the COVID-19 pandemic. (David Coale, 6/28)
Chicago Tribune: Illinois Must Remain Oasis For Women’s Reproductive Health Care
Medicine is practiced and administered according to a national standard of evidence-based care, not by the dictum of politicians — and justices elected by those pols — with biased agendas. As ACOG included within its recent statement, “There is no room within the sanctuary of the patient-physician relationship for individual lawmakers who wish to impose their personal religious or ideological views on others.” That is why all physicians adhere to the Hippocratic oath to do no harm. (Edward Linn and Miles Zaremski, 6/27)
The CT Mirror: Let's Win The Messaging War On The Freedom Of Abortion
With the six Republican-appointed justices on U.S. Supreme Court now authorizing states to cancel freedom of abortion for mothers, Connecticut and other Democratic-led states will maintain protections once established by Roe v. Wade. Many Republican-led states, however, have moved in the opposite direction, banning freedom of abortion well before fetal viability and as early as conception. These states have made no exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape — and other states are preparing to target exceptions that would save the life of the mother. As extreme as it is to have no exceptions, other states are considering going further, seeking to curb abortion-related freedoms, including contraception, as recommended by Justice Clarence Thomas. (Riju Das, 6/28)
Los Angeles Times: How To Move Forward After The Destruction Of Roe Vs. Wade
There are virtually no precedents in American law in which a right — declared fundamental by the Supreme Court — was erased. While the court has overhauled constitutional protections before, the complete retraction of the right to abortion sets the nation on a course it has never seen. From 1910 to 1937, the court recognized a right to freedom of contract, but this rarely functioned as a liberty for workers — often, the court used this “right” to strike down laws protecting workers. And in the 1970s, four years after ruling that the death penalty as applied in the U.S. was unconstitutional, the court reinstated capital punishment after states revised their laws to meet the court’s requirements, leading to the executions of more than 1,500 people in the decades since. (Mary Ziegler, 6/26)
Los Angeles Times: Congress Must Protect Rights To Contraception And Same-Sex Relationships
It wasn’t so long ago that it was unthinkable for millions of American women to lose the fundamental right to control their bodies and their destiny. But the Supreme Court’s ruling Friday overturning Roe vs. Wade has made that reality. After decades of decisions gradually expanding Americans’ rights, the court now has a majority of justices willing to use their power to rip away personal freedoms. (6/28)
