Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Adults Who Help A Tennessee Minor Get An Abortion Will Face Prosecution
WZTV Nashville: Tennessee Governor Signs Bill Criminalizing Adults Who Help Minors Get Abortions
Governor Bill Lee signed the so-called "abortion trafficking" act into law on Tuesday. The new law makes it a crime for any adult to recruit, harbor or transport a minor to abort a child or to obtain abortion chemicals for an underage individual without the consent of their parents. Violation of this law is a Class A misdemeanor with mandatory jail time of 11 months and 29 days. (5/28)
AP: Planned Parenthood Asks Judge To Expand Health Exception To Indiana Abortion Ban
Abortion providers are asking an Indiana trial judge this week to broaden access to abortions under the state’s near-total ban. Indiana law allows for abortion in rare circumstances, including when the health or life of the woman is at risk, but only at a hospital. Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers are asking a Monroe County judge for a preliminary injunction expanding the medical exemptions and blocking the hospital-only requirement. The bench trial before special Judge Kelsey Blake Hanlon is scheduled for Wednesday through Friday. (Volmert, 5/29)
The Texas Tribune: Amarillo Pauses Abortion Travel Ban Proposal
The Amarillo City Council on Tuesday declined to immediately approve a voter-approved petition that demands the Texas Panhandle city adopt a so-called abortion travel ban, once again slowing a movement that has swept through similar conservative cities and counties. The council now has less than a month to decide whether to accept, amend, or reject the petition supported by anti-abortion activists. If the council ultimately rejects the petition or heavily amends it, supporters are expected to ask voters to have the final say in November. (Carver, 5/28)
The Hechinger Report: Day Care, Baby Supplies, Counseling: Inside A School For Pregnant And Parenting Teens
Before giving birth to her daughter, Kaleeya Baldwin, 19, had given up on education. She’d dropped out of school as a seventh grader, after behavior problems had banished her to alternative schools. Growing up in foster homes and later landing in juvenile court had convinced her to disappear from every system that claimed responsibility for her. “I was just really angry with everything,” said Kaleeya. (Morton, 5/28)
Also —
The Wall Street Journal: Exclusive: Democrats Plan $100 Million Push On Abortion Rights To Win House
The super PAC supporting Democrats’ effort to win back the House majority is launching a $100 million fund focused on abortion rights, the latest sign that the party is leaning heavily on the issue this fall to help counter concerns about the economy and immigration policy. In a memo to donors, the House Majority PAC outlined the Reproductive Freedom Accountability Fund, which it said will be spent in swing districts across the country for advertising and voter mobilization. The fund will also focus on voter outreach in House districts where there aren’t competitive presidential or Senate races, such as in New York, California, Oregon, Washington and Virginia. (Andrews, 5/29)
AP: Melinda French Gates To Donate $1B Over Next 2 Years In Support Of Women's Rights
Melinda French Gates says she will be donating $1 billion over the next two years to individuals and organizations working on behalf of women and families globally, including on reproductive rights in the United States. French Gates earlier this month announced she would step down from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and vowed to focus on women and families. (Chapman, 5/28)
In related news about IVF access —
Side Effects Public Media: Push For Embryo Rights Worries Midwest IVF Patients, Doctors
For seven years, Jacqueline Brock endured grueling fertility treatments – and all of the emotion that came with it. “I had to stop going to outings with our friends because they’d bring their kids or talk about their kids, and I would just cry,” she said. “I didn't go to a lot of baby showers and things because I couldn't physically handle it.” Last year, Brock, who lives in West Des Moines, Iowa, with her husband, James, underwent a third round of in vitro fertilization, or IVF. (Krebs, 5/28)
