Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Advocates Swarm Mass. Statehouse Over Bill That Would Allow For Later Abortions In Cases Of Fatal Fetal Anomalies
The Associated Press: Abortion Foes, Supporters Pack Hearing In Massachusetts
Activists on both sides of the abortion divide clashed Monday on a bill in Massachusetts that would let women obtain an abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy in cases of "fatal fetal anomalies." The bill, called the "Roe Act" by supporters, would amend current state law, which allows abortions after 24 weeks only to preserve the life or health of the mother. (6/17)
State House News Service: Abortion Rights Supporters, Opponents Turn Out For State House Debate Over ROE Act
Crowds on both sides of the issue, wearing pink in support or red in opposition, swarmed the State House, filling the auditorium where the Judiciary Committee was taking testimony and spilling into two overflow areas. Attorney General Maura Healey and U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan were among the supporters who showed up to testify in support of the bill, which backers said would stop women from having to travel out of state for an abortion if they learn late in pregnancy that the fetus won't survive. (Murphy, 6/17)
The Associated Press: Ex-Judge With Anti-Abortion Ties Named To Panel
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson appointed a former judge who has supported an anti-abortion pregnancy center — and been disciplined for publicly doing so — to an administrative panel that could handle a licensing dispute with the state's only abortion clinic. The Missouri Supreme Court in 2015 reprimanded former Macon County Associate Circuit Judge Philip Prewitt for encouraging people to donate to local charities on Facebook, including Ray of Hope Pregnancy Care Ministeries, an anti-abortion nonprofit. (6/17)
KCUR: Judge Says Missouri Legislators Unlawfully Cut Off Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid Funding
A state court judge in St. Louis on Friday ordered Missouri to restore Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood’s affiliates in that city. Judge David L. Dowd ruled that the legislature’s fiscal 2019 appropriations bill for the Medicaid program violated the state constitution by barring payments to abortion providers and their affiliates. He found the bill ran afoul of the constitution’s requirement that appropriations bills can’t refer to other laws when fixing their amount. (Margolies, 6/17)
