Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Abortion Wait Times Balloon As Interstate Patients Stress Clinics
The New York Times: Interstate Abortion Travel Is Already Straining Parts Of The System
Of all the states, New Mexico has been most affected by interstate abortion travel in making appointments, according to a nationwide survey of clinics by a research team led by Caitlin Myers, a professor of economics at Middlebury College who studies the effects of reproductive policy. But the data suggests that as more bans go into effect, women who need to travel to another state for an abortion may have more difficulty getting appointments. It may even become hard for those living in some states where it remains legal. (Sanger-Katz, Cain Miller and Katz, 7/23)
On broader impacts and worries after the fall of Roe —
AP: Catholic Hospitals' Growth Impacts Reproductive Health Care
Even as numerous Republican-governed states push for sweeping bans on abortion, there is a coinciding surge of concern in some Democratic-led states that options for reproductive health care are dwindling due to expansion of Catholic hospital networks. These are states such as Oregon, Washington, California, New York and Connecticut, where abortion will remain legal despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. (Haigh and Crary, 7/24)
The New York Times: After Roe, Pregnant Women With Cancer Diagnoses May Face Wrenching Choices
Before the Supreme Court decision, a pregnant woman with cancer was already “entering a world with tremendous unknowns,” said Dr. Clifford Hudis, the chief executive officer at the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Now, patients as well as the doctors and hospitals that treat them, are caught up in the added complications of abortion bans. “If a doctor can’t give a drug without fear of damaging a fetus, is that going to compromise outcomes?” Dr. Hudis asked. “It’s a whole new world.” (Kolata, 7/23)
KHN: Post-‘Roe,’ People Are Seeking Permanent Sterilizations, And Some Are Being Turned Away
A handful of people recently gathered in the shade of a large pine tree for a going-away party of sorts. Their friend, Dani Marietti, was going to have her fallopian tubes removed, a decision she made after a leaked draft of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion was published in May. The small group kicked off the “sterilization shower” for the 25-year-old by laying out chalk-written signs that said “See Ya Later Ovulater” and “I got 99 problems but tubes ain’t one.” And they munched on cookies that had abortion-rights slogans, such as “My Body, My Choice,” written on them in frosting. (Bolton and Juhlin, 7/25)
In news on how a vote on abortion in Kansas is being watched —
The Wall Street Journal: Kansas Abortion Amendment Is Closely Watched Ahead Of Other State Referendums
On Aug. 2, Kansas voters will decide whether to amend the state’s constitution to explicitly say that it doesn’t protect abortion. The referendum, planned for months, comes after the high court’s June 24 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ended the federal constitutional right to the procedure. (Kusisto, Barrett and Calfas, 7/23)
