Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Appeals Court Rules That Texas Can Ban Life-Saving Emergency Abortions
The Texas Tribune: Emergency Rooms Not Required To Perform Life-Saving Abortions, Federal Appeals Court Rules
Federal regulations do not require emergency rooms to perform life-saving abortions if it would run afoul of state law, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. After the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent hospitals guidance, reminding them of their obligation to offer stabilizing care, including medically necessary abortions, under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). (Klibanoff, 1/2)
The New York Times: Texas Can Ban Emergency Abortions Despite Federal Guidance, Court Rules
The appeal was heard by Judge Leslie H. Southwick, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, and judges Kurt Engelhardt and Cory Wilson, who were appointed by President Donald Trump. Judge Engelhardt wrote that the federal guidance does not mandate physicians to provide emergency abortions, adding that the guidance “does not mandate any specific type of medical treatment, let alone abortion.” (Jimenez, 1/2)
Demand for abortion pills has soared —
USA Today: More Abortions Pills Ordered Ahead Of Possible Pregnancy And Bans
The number of Americans who weren't pregnant and wanted abortion pills increased nearly 10 times in the days after the Supreme Court's 2022 decision leaked, according to new research published this week in a medical journal. A research letter published Tuesday in the JAMA internal medicine reported more than 48,000 requests for abortion pills were made between September 2021 and April 2023, based on data provided through a telemedicine provider. (Robledo, 1/2)
The New York Times: More Women Who Are Not Pregnant Are Ordering Abortion Pills Just In Case
Advance provision requesters were more likely than those already pregnant to be 30 or older, white and childless, and to live in urban neighborhoods with lower poverty rates than the national average. That might be partly because Aid Access offers free or reduced-price services to pregnant patients who need financial assistance, while advance provision requesters were expected to pay the full $110 cost, said Dr. Abigail Aiken, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin and a co-author of the study. (Belluck, 1/2)
Also —
Louisville Public Media: New Research Analyzes How Abortion Bans In Kentucky And Midwestern States Affected Birth Rates
A recent report estimates how abortion bans in states like Kentucky and Missouri affected birth rates during the first half of 2023. It’s an early indicator that the bans aren’t equal in terms of impact. (Watkins, 1/2)
Slate: Arkansas Abortion Ballot Proposal: It's A Worse Law Than Roe V. Wade, No Matter The Intentions.
In November, a political group in Arkansas announced it was pursuing a 2024 ballot measure to put a right to abortion in the state constitution. If successful, it would be a huge deal in a state with a total abortion ban. But there’s one big catch: The proposal would offer less protection than Americans had before Roe v. Wade was overturned, because it would codify abortion only through 18 weeks of pregnancy, with limited exceptions. The previous standard had been about 24 weeks. (Rinkunas, 1/3)
KMUW: Abortion Remains Hotly Contested In Kansas Heading Into The 2024 Legislative Session
Abortion rights groups continued to work in 2023 to keep abortion as accessible and affordable as possible in a rapidly evolving policy landscape. Abortion opponents in the Kansas Legislature worked to restrict reproductive care in new ways, with mixed results. And as lawmakers prepare to head back to Topeka next week for a new legislative session, Republicans have a veto-proof supermajority — but remain constrained by the Kansas Constitution’s firm protections for abortion rights. (Conlon, 1/2)
Politico: Abortion Wins At The Ballot Box. But It Doesn’t Provide An Automatic Win For Democrats
Democrats are scrambling to put state abortion-rights initiatives on the ballot this year in the hope that the measures will drive turnout and boost their candidates in national and local elections. But those initiatives may not give Democrats the lift they are aiming for, according to a POLITICO analysis of five abortion-related measures that have appeared on the ballot since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. (Ollstein, Piper and Fernandez, 1/3)
Daily Beast: The GOP Hopes Contraception Can Solve Its Abortion Problem
The Supreme Court’s abortion rollback last year was a long-awaited, much-celebrated victory for the Republican Party. But that win in the courts has not translated to wins at the polls, and Republicans are starting to recognize that abortion isn’t an issue that voters are just going to get over. Cue former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway. The GOP pollster and strategist-turned-Trump adviser has a plan for Republicans to address the problem: embracing contraception. (Rogerson, 1/2)
News Service of Florida: Florida Abortion Measure Tops 863,000 Signatures And Needs Less Than 30,000
With a deadline a little more than a month away, supporters of a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at ensuring abortion rights continue getting closer to meeting a petition-signature requirement. The Florida Division of Elections website Friday showed 863,876 valid petition signatures for the proposal, up from 833,743 a week earlier and 753,306 two weeks earlier. (1/2)
