Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Abortion Landscape In Texas Offers Look At What Future Holds For States As They Add More Restrictions
The Associated Press: Texas Shows Possible Future If Abortion Bans Take Effect
After seven states passed sweeping abortion bans this year, speculation soon arose about the potentially onerous travel burdens the laws could someday impose on women seeking to end unwanted pregnancies. Across a huge swath of West Texas and the Panhandle, there's no need for speculation. The nearest abortion clinics are more than 250 miles away, despite the region having several midsize cities and a population of more than 1 million people. (Crary, 9/9)
The Hill: Two Planned Parenthood Clinics To Close In Ohio After Funding Cuts
Planned Parenthood on Monday announced that two of its clinics in Ohio will close later this month after losing state and federal funding. The organization blamed the closures on politicians who moved to "defund" Planned Parenthood for performing abortions. Neither of the two clinics performed the procedure, Planned Parenthood said. (Hellmann, 9/9)
Cincinnati Enquirer: Planned Parenthood To Close Two Greater Cincinnati Clinics
In a news release, the organization blamed federal and state policy changes for the centers' demise. The Trump administration in August began enforcing a "gag rule" preventing entities receiving Title X dollars from recommending or advocating abortion. Instead of complying, Planned Parenthood decided it would stop accepting funding through Title X, which was created in 1970 to provide family planning help to primarily low-income women and families. The organization receives about $60 million a year. (Borchardt and Knight, 9/9)
Columbus Dispatch: Planned Parenthood To Close Two Cincinnati-Area Clinics
Kersha Deibel, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio region, blamed the closures on regulations imposed by state and federal officials. A funding cutoff by the state took effect earlier this year. “This is the world they want to see: one where women lose access to birth control, where information about how to access abortion is held hostage, and where, if you don’t have money, it’s almost impossible to access an STI (sexually transmitted infection) test or a cancer screening,” Deibel said. (Candisky, 9/9)
In other news —
Bloomberg: States Target Trump Rule Allowing Health-Care Religious Refusals
President Donald Trump’s plan to let doctors and hospitals refuse services based on their religious beliefs or moral convictions should be scrapped without a trial or put on hold until litigation over the policy is resolved, a federal judge was told by states and cities that sued. Evidence produced since the lawsuit was filed in May shows that the administration, in seeking to justify the rule, vastly inflated the number of complaints filed by religious health-care providers who claimed they were discriminated against or forced to provide services that violate their personal beliefs, the almost two dozen states and cities said Thursday in a court filing. (Larson, 9/6)
