Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Abortion Access Shrinks With New Restrictions In Effect In 4 More States
Politico: Abortion Access Crumbles: 4 More States Enact New Restrictions This Week
The erosion of abortion access in the United States accelerated this week with four more state trigger laws taking effect — in Idaho, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. While three of those states had significant restrictions on the procedure already in place, the new laws carry narrower exemptions and harsher criminal penalties, all but eliminating abortion in broad swaths of the U.S. (Messerly and Ollstein, 8/25)
AP: Three More GOP-Led States Enact Abortion 'Trigger Laws'
The change will not be dramatic. All of these states except North Dakota already had anti-abortion laws in place that largely blocked patients from accessing the procedure. And the majority of the clinics that provided abortions in those areas have either stopped offering those services or moved to other states where abortion remains legal. (Kruesi, 8/25)
The Washington Post: North Dakota Judge Blocks Abortion Ban From Going Into Effect Friday
The day before a near-total abortion ban would have taken effect in North Dakota, a judge put that law on hold Thursday afternoon, pending the conclusion of a legal challenge being mounted by the state’s former sole abortion clinic. Burleigh County District Judge Bruce Romanick granted a preliminary injunction in a legal challenge brought by Red River Women’s Clinic, which was North Dakota’s only abortion clinic until it moved just across state lines earlier this month. Although the trigger ban has been blocked, the state will have no abortion clinic for the foreseeable future. (Shepherd, 8/25)
Health News Florida: An Appeals Court Rejects A Injunction Request That Would Have Blocked Florida's Abortion Law
An appeals court Wednesday tossed out a temporary injunction that would have blocked a new Florida law preventing abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. (Saunders, 8/25)
The Biden administration vows to take more action —
The Hill: White House Says More Abortion Actions Coming
“Americans across the country and of all backgrounds agree that women should have the right to make their own personal health care decisions and to receive life-saving medical care, without interference from politicians, and the President will continue to take action to protect women’s access to lifesaving health care,” Jean-Pierre said Thursday. Jean-Pierre did not specify what further actions President Biden could take. (Sullivan, Weixel and Choi, 8/25)
More on abortion and reproductive rights —
CBS News: Google To Label Clinics That Provide Abortions In Effort To Increase Transparency
Google has updated its features to better assist those using its tools to seek abortion-specific care, according to a letter released by Sen. Mark Warner that the company sent to him and Rep. Elissa Slotkin on Thursday. (Mandler, 8/25)
The Washington Post: New Restrictions From Major Abortion Funder Could Further Limit Access
New restrictions from one of the country’s largest abortion funding organizations could add new obstacles for many patients in antiabortion states seeking the procedure elsewhere. The National Abortion Federation and its NAF Hotline Fund will now require patients who receive their funding to take both abortion pills in a state where abortion is legal, according to emails sent on Aug. 22 and obtained by The Washington Post. The nonprofit, which is backed largely by billionaire Warren Buffett, helped fund at least 10 percent of all abortions in the U.S. in 2020. The new rules could impact thousands of patients a year, providers say. (Kitchener, 8/25)
AP: Oregon: Surge In Out-Of-State Abortion Patients
Planned Parenthood leaders in Oregon on Thursday said there has been a surge in the number of people traveling from out of state for abortions, including from neighboring Idaho, where most of a near-total abortion ban has taken effect. “We are definitely seeing an uptick as more and more trigger bans are being put into effect and laws are being enacted,” said Anne Udall, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette. “We’re seeing people from all over,” Udall said. “Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Idaho, Florida.” (Rush, 8/26)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Abortion Clinics Stay Open, But Visits Shift To NC, Florida
Local abortion clinics remain open and their phones are ringing off the hook. But a bit more than a month after Georgia’s strict new abortion law went into effect, the clinics are turning more patients away. (Malik and Prabhu, 8/26)
Axios: Report: Pregnant People Face "Systemic" Barriers In States With Abortion Restrictions
States that have enacted abortion restrictions or bans also have "systemic" barriers in place that impede "the health and economic security of pregnant and birthing people and their families," according to a new report from the nonpartisan and nonprofit National Partnership for Women & Families first shared with Axios. (Chen, 8/25)
In related election news —
The Washington Post: Viral Video Reinforces Growing GOP Political Dilemma On Abortion
At a hearing, state Rep. Neal Collins (R) recounted the arduous journey faced by a 19-year-old thanks to an abortion ban he himself supported. Collins said the woman’s fetus was not viable, but that attorneys told her doctor they couldn’t extract it because it still had a heartbeat — the standard set in the bill supported by Collins that had gone into effect just the week before. “They discharged that 19-year-old,” Collins said. “The doctor told me at that point there is a 50 percent chance — well, first she’s going to pass this fetus in the toilet. She’s going to have to deal with that on her own. There’s a 50 percent chance — greater than 50 percent chance that she’s going to lose her uterus. There’s a 10 percent chance that she will develop sepsis and herself, die.” Collins added: “That weighs on me. I voted for that bill. These are affecting people.” (Blake, 8/25)
The Boston Globe: After Dobbs, Most New Voters In Kansas Are Women
In the week after the court’s decision, more than 70 percent of newly registered voters in Kansas were women, according to an analysis of the state’s registered voter list. An unusually high level of new female registrants persisted all the way until the Kansas primary this month, when a strong Democratic turnout helped defeat a referendum that would have effectively ended abortion rights in the state. (8/25)
