Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Abortion Bans, By Pills Or Otherwise, Ruled Unconstitutional In Wyoming
The New York Times: Wyoming’s Abortion Bans Are Unconstitutional, Judge Rules
A Wyoming judge ruled on Monday that two state abortion bans — including the first state law specifically banning the use of pills for abortion — violated the Wyoming Constitution and could not be enforced. Judge Melissa Owens of Teton County District Court wrote in her ruling that both the ban on medication abortion and a broader ban against all methods of abortion “impede the fundamental right to make health care decisions for an entire class of people, pregnant women.” Enforcement of the two abortion bans, passed last year, had been temporarily halted by Judge Owens while the court case proceeded. Her decision on Monday blocks the laws permanently, although the state is expected to appeal. (Belluck, 11/18)
Newsweek: Judge Turns Tables On Wyoming Republicans To Block Abortion Ban
The judge who struck down Wyoming's near-total abortion ban did so using a constitutional amendment that Republicans made in 2012. (King, 11/19)
More abortion news —
Bloomberg: The Future Of Abortion Rights Could Be Decided By Accident
While a majority of Nebraskans seemed to support abortion rights, they failed to actually vote for them. The muddled run-up to Election Day, and voters’ difficulty distinguishing between dueling initiatives, help explain why that happened. (Suddath, 11/19)
Politico: The Abortion-Rights Movement Grapples With Trump’s Return: ‘Voters Just Didn't Care’
The abortion-rights movement did everything it could to convince voters that Donald Trump was too dangerous to allow back into the White House. It didn’t work. As the magnitude of Democrats’ defeat becomes clear, abortion-rights leaders and candidates who made the issue central to their campaigns are struggling to understand how millions of people could have voted for ballot initiatives restoring or expanding access to the procedure while also voting for Trump and other Republicans with a history of curtailing those rights. (Ollstein, 11/18)
OPB: How A Republican Trifecta Could Reshape Abortion Access In A Deep Blue State Like Oregon
On the issue of abortion, Oregon is — quite literally — as liberal as a state can get. The state has among the strongest protections for abortion rights and the fewest limits on the procedure of any in the nation. Current state law guarantees the right to abortion, without a waiting period or gestational limit, for anyone who’s pregnant and 15 years or older. For most Oregonians, including those on Medicaid — the public program that provides health care to low-income individuals and families — the cost of abortion is covered by health insurance. The state remains controlled by Democrats, but at the federal level, Republicans have won a trifecta, giving them control of the presidency and both chambers of the U.S. Congress. That has abortion providers in Oregon planning for changes they say could make it harder for them to operate, regardless of protective state laws. (Templeton, 11/18)
KFF Health News: Idaho Calls Abortion 'Barbaric And Gruesome' In Trial Challenging Strict Ban
Physicians are expected to take the stand in Idaho’s capital on Tuesday to argue that the state’s near-total prohibition of abortion care is jeopardizing women’s health, forcing them to carry fetuses with deadly anomalies, and preventing doctors from intervening in potentially fatal medical emergencies. Their testimony is scheduled to lead off the second week of a closely watched trial concerning one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans. (Varney, 11/18)
