Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Abortions Legal Again In Louisiana As Judge Grants Temporary Order
The New York Times: Louisiana Judge Allows Abortions To Become Legal Again
Abortions became legal again in Louisiana on Tuesday after a Baton Rouge judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking the state’s abortion bans from being enforced. The judge’s decision was the latest in a series of legal maneuvers that have jolted the legal status of abortions in the state, leaving women and providers scrambling to adapt. One of the few remaining abortion clinics in the state said it would resume providing the procedure. (Zernike, 7/12)
In abortion updates from Pennsylvania and Indiana —
AP: Pennsylvania Governor Says He'll Protect Abortion Seekers
Gov. Tom Wolf is following in the footsteps of other Democratic governors following the U.S. Supreme Court’s abortion ruling and looking to protect patients who travel to Pennsylvania for the procedure from being prosecuted by their home states. Wolf on Tuesday said in a statement that he would refuse a request from any other state to arrest or detain any out-of-state resident who had traveled to Pennsylvania to seek an abortion, as well as anyone providing or assisting with it. (7/12)
AP: Indiana Governor Won't Specify Anti-Abortion Steps He Backs
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb sidestepped taking a stance Tuesday on how far the Republican-dominated Legislature should go in restricting abortions when state lawmakers begin a special session in less than two weeks. Republican legislative leaders have provided no details on whether they will push for a full abortion ban or allow exceptions, such as in cases of rape, incest or to protect the woman’s life. (Davies, 7/12)
From Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia —
The Texas Tribune: Texas IVF Treatments Can Continue After Supreme Court Ruling
Abortion bans across the country have thrown into question the fate of in vitro fertilization, an expensive medical process that helps people become pregnant. But experts and anti-abortion groups say Texas’ laws shouldn’t apply to IVF treatment, and clinics across the state are proceeding with the procedures for now. (Mendez, 7/13)
AP: Memphis Council Resolution Addresses Abortion Prosecutions
The Memphis City Council approved a resolution Tuesday urging that law enforcement and the district attorney in Tennessee’s most populous county refrain from investigating and prosecuting doctors who perform abortions. (Sainz and Kruesi, 7/12)
The Washington Post: Antiabortion Activists Sentenced For Trespassing At Alexandria Clinic
Two antiabortion activists who claimed earlier this year to have obtained dozens of fetuses from a D.C. facility that provides abortions were sent to jail Tuesday for trespassing at an Alexandria women’s clinic last year. Lauren Handy, who faces similar charges in multiple cases around the country, was sentenced in Alexandria District Court to 30 days in jail, starting immediately. Terrisa Bukovinac was sentenced to four days. (Boorstein, 7/12)
Clinics cope in Illinois, Arizona, and New Mexico —
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: In Senate Testimony, Illinois Abortion Provider Describes ‘Mass Chaos’ Since Roe Overturned
The number of out-of-state patients traveling to Illinois for an abortion has doubled in the more than two weeks that states have been allowed to ban abortion, and doctors in states like Missouri where abortion is restricted except in cases of medical emergencies are unsure how to care for pregnant patients when their health is threatened. (Munz, 7/12)
AP: Big Arizona Provider Won't Resume Abortions Despite Ruling
The leader of Arizona’s largest abortion provider said Tuesday her organization will not resume the procedures in one county even though a federal judge has blocked a fetal “personhood” law they feared could lead to criminal charges against doctors and others. Brittany Fonteno, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Arizona, blamed “vague and confusing” statements from Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich about a near-total pre-statehood ban on abortions for the decision. (Christie, 7/12)
NPR: New Mexico Clinic Performing Later Abortions Braces For Surge
On a Friday afternoon outside Southwestern Women's Options in Albuquerque, N.M., a protester grips a cardboard box overflowing with small, plastic baby figurines. A man reclines in the driver's seat of a truck, a baseball cap over his eyes. Inside, there is not a single empty chair in the pale pink waiting room of the clinic. One woman covers her face, quietly sobbing. Another wearing a shirt that barely buttons over her belly calmly fills out paperwork. (Benninghoff, 7/13)
In related news on motherhood in Wyoming, Ohio, and California —
Wyoming Public Radio: Wyoming Prenatal And Postpartum Care Down In New Mothers
The most recent Wyoming Kids Count Data Book shows that one out of every five women in the state received less than adequate prenatal care in 2020. Plus, the number of women dying during pregnancy, delivery or up to one year after giving birth is increasing as well. This is part of a nationwide trend. (Kudelska, 7/12)
Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Abortion Law: Child Care, Paid Leave Limited For Pregnant People
Politicians, religious organizations and groups that oppose abortion called for financial resources to support people navigating unplanned pregnancies. They touted controversial pregnancy resource centers. They said they want to ensure pregnant people aren't backed into a corner, feeling forced to get an abortion. In Ohio, abortion-rights advocates say that's all talk. (BeMiller, 7/12)
Los Angeles Times: Pregnant And Homeless In Los Angeles: Meet McKenzie
Mckenzie was 22, and 6½ months pregnant. Her boyfriend, Eddie, 26, was HIV-positive, although his viral load was undetectable and he could not transmit the virus through sex. ... She made an appointment for an abortion but couldn’t go through with it. Still, she remained “terrified” of having the baby. The odds were heavily stacked against her raising her child to adulthood. Mckenzie’s family came out of poverty in Louisiana‘s Cajun Country, and for three generations had been buffeted by domestic violence, mental illness and homelessness, and caught up in child welfare cases. Her mother, Cynthia “Mama Cat” Trahan, was taken from her mom at age 5 and placed in foster care. Mckenzie and Cat were homeless on and off during her childhood, and Mckenzie was also put in foster care. (Holland, 7/13)
