Biden: Block On Military Nominations Over Abortion Issue Is ‘Dangerous’

The Hill: Biden: Tuberville Military Holds, GOP Silence Causing ‘Growing Cascade Of Damage And Disruption’ 
President Biden on Thursday said Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) hold on military nominations — as well the Senate Republicans who have refused to stop it — is causing “a growing cascade of damage and disruption.” ... “A growing cascade of damage and disruption all because one senator from Alabama—and 48 Republicans who refuse to stand up to him — to lift a blockade over a Pentagon policy offering servicemen and women, their families access to reproductive health care rights they deserve if they’re stationed in states that deny it,” the president said. (Gangitano, 7/27)

The Washington Post: Senate Passes Pentagon Policy Bill, Teeing Up Partisan Clash With House
In the weeks to come, the Democratic-led Senate and the Republican-controlled House must reconcile their sharpest differences — deciding, for example, whether the final bill will include hard-right provisions to roll back Pentagon policies on abortion access and gender-affirming care — or risk failing to pass a National Defense Authorization Act for the first time in more than six decades. (Hauslohner, 7/27)

Politico: Abortion Fight Clouds AIDS-Fighting Program’s Future
Democrats’ efforts to reauthorize the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief are floundering in the face of GOP opposition. A bid by Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) to amend the defense policy bill that’s on the Senate floor this week to reauthorize PEPFAR for five years failed when Republican members objected. (Ollstein, 7/27)

In abortion updates from Colorado, Missouri, and Illinois —

The Colorado Sun: Abortions Surge In Colorado Amid 500% Increase In Texas Patients
Colorado provided more abortions last year than any year in almost four decades, nearing the peak set in the mid-1980s before more effective forms of birth control became widely available. The 22% increase in the number of abortions that occurred in Colorado from 2021 to 2022 was due to the surge in patients from other states where terminating a pregnancy was severely restricted. Colorado saw a 500% increase in patients from Texas, which in 2021 banned abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Abortions sought by people from Colorado increased slightly less than 2%. (Ingold and Brown, 7/27)

AP: Misleading Clients On Abortion Could Cost Illinois Pregnancy Centers
Illinois crisis pregnancy centers, which often pop up near abortion facilities to offer information about alternatives, could face penalties if they disseminate misleading or untruthful information. The move is another Democratic effort to insulate the state’s virtually unfettered access to abortion, even as neighboring states restrict it. (O'Connor, 7/27)

St. Louis Public Radio: How Missouri's Abortion Law Has Affected OB-GYN Care
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, doctors providing obstetrics and gynecological care felt the decision’s effects immediately — especially in Missouri, the nation’s first state to implement a near-total ban on abortion. “When abortion restrictions are present, it compromises maternal health, and it results in higher rates of maternal mortality — and we see significantly higher rates for people of color,” said Dr. David Eisenberg, an obstetrics and gynecology physician at Washington University. “I feel lucky that we are right here across the river from Illinois … where abortion care is protected as a part of routine health care.” Another consequence of Missouri’s abortion ban is that fewer doctors are coming to Missouri to complete their OB-GYN residencies, Eisenberg and his colleague, Dr. Jeannie Kelly, told St. Louis on the Air. (Woodbury, 7/27)

In related news —

WSHU: As Birthing Units At CT Hospitals Close, Free-Standing Centers Open
Connecticut mothers will soon have more choices as to where they have their baby delivered in the state. Gov. Ned Lamont has signed legislation allowing free-standing birth centers to operate in Connecticut, starting in 2024. These will serve as an alternative to traditional hospital maternity wards, which in some rural areas of the state are being closed down. (Scott-Smith, 7/27)

Stat: OTC Birth Control: A Brief History Of Over The Counter Pill Design
It’s not every day that a marketing team is tasked with designing the branding and packaging of the first over-the-counter birth control pill to be sold in the U.S. This was the challenge, and the opportunity, faced by the team behind Opill, the landmark pill from drugmaker Perrigo that received approval from the Food and Drug Administration earlier this month. Their brief: Create a design that would stand out in America’s notoriously sprawling pharmacy aisles; inspire trust and confidence; be easy to remember and recognize; appeal to women — including teenagers — as well as trans men and nonbinary people; clearly communicate its purpose; be simple to carry and use; contain straightforward but accurate user information; and clear FDA requirements. (Merelli, 7/27)

KFF Health News: In Wisconsin, Women’s Health Care Is Constricted By An 1849 Law. These Doctors Are Aghast
The three women sitting around a table at a busy lunch spot share a grim camaraderie. It’s been more than a year since an 1849 law came back into force to criminalize abortion in Wisconsin. Now these two OB-GYNs and a certified midwife find their medical training, skill, and acumen constrained by state politics. “We didn’t even know germs caused disease back then,” said Kristin Lyerly, an obstetrician-gynecologist who lives in Green Bay. (Varney, 7/28)

Stateline: Fertility Health Coverage Is Still Hard To Come By In Many States
As fertility rates drop and more women postpone childbirth into their 30s and 40s, more states are considering mandating that private insurers cover fertility treatments to help people start a family without the crushing out-of-pocket expenses. Such laws would help people such as Miraya and Andy Gran of Bloomington, Minnesota, who ended up spending $102,000 to have their now 2-year-old daughter, Isla, through in vitro fertilization after trying other expensive options. Miraya Gran has since become an advocate for state laws requiring insurance coverage for fertility treatments. (Henderson, 7/28)

Axios: Embryo "Adoption": What It Is And How It Works
A lesser-known fertility option is gaining traction: using donor embryos. As the use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) has gone up, there's been an increase in the amount of unused embryos, and in embryo donor rates. "Embryo adoption" is the term a number of embryo donor services primarily in Christian circles use to describe transferring the extra frozen embryo cells of an IVF patient to an individual or couple. (Mallenbaum, 7/27)