Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Anti-Abortion Activist's Group Gets $1.6M As Part Of Texas' Healthy Woman Program
The New York Times: Texas Women's Health Program Adds Abortion Opponent's Group
A revamped women's health program in Texas that ousted Planned Parenthood is giving a $1.6 million state contract to the nonprofit of an anti-abortion activist, who state officials said Wednesday submitted a "robust" proposal for helping low-income women in rural areas. The Heidi Group's Carol Everett has been a visible abortion opponent at the Texas Legislature. She supported two major anti-abortion restrictions the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in June, and last year, Republican lawmakers incensed by undercover video taken of Planned Parenthood operations and staffers invited her to discuss abortion clinics. (8/10)
The Texas Tribune: Anti-Abortion Advocate's Group Receives Large Women'S Health Grant
A group led by an anti-abortion advocate appears to be one of the largest recipients of state funding from the “Healthy Texas Women” program, which lawmakers recently created to help women find health care services paid for by the state. The Heidi Group, a Round Rock-based center that has promoted alternatives to abortion to low-income women, is set to receive $1.6 million from the women’s health program, according to the comptroller’s office. That makes it the second-highest grant recipient on the current list, behind the Harris County public health department, which will receive $1.7 million. (Walters, 8/10)
In other news, a new documentary highlights the stories of women who are living under Missouri's strict abortion laws —
St. Louis Public Radio: Documentary Highlights Voices Left Out Of Abortion Debate: The Women Who Have Them
After the Missouri Legislature passed a law in 2014 requiring women to wait 72 hours before terminating a pregnancy, a team of filmmakers started collecting their stories. They interviewed dozens of women over several months, many of whom had crossed the Mississippi River to go to a clinic in Illinois, where the rules governing abortions are more relaxed. (Bouscaren, 8/11)
