Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
California Attorney General Takes Lead On Challenging Trump Administration's Proposed Rules Denying Women Contraception
San Francisco Chronicle: California, 14 Other States Call Out Administration On Misleading Contraceptive Messages
The Trump administration is falsely suggesting to the public that employers with moral objections to contraception can deny birth control coverage to female employees, despite court orders requiring the coverage to continue, leaders from California and 14 other states said Wednesday. The government has “several misleading websites that fail to inform the public that there are injunctions in place” against its rules allowing employers to withhold contraceptive coverage, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and his counterparts in other states said in a letter to Trump administration officials. (Egelko, 9/18)
Columbus Dispatch: Abortion Pill 'Reversals' Debated In Ohio As Toledo Clinic Halts Surgeries To End Pregnancies
Despite critics’ claims of junk science, the Republican-led Ohio Senate held its first hearing Wednesday on a bill that would require doctors who provide medication for an abortion to tell their patients that the procedure could be reversed. The proposal, under consideration by the Health, Human Services and Medicaid Committee, is controversial because many medical experts say the claim is false and not supported by science. (Rowland, 9/18)
The Associated Press: Judge Denies Missouri Request To Allow 20-Week Abortion Ban
A federal judge has denied a request by Missouri to allow a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy to go into effect while the state waits for further court action. The Kansas Star reports that U.S. District Court Judge Howard Sachs had previously paused parts of Missouri’s new abortion law. It was set to go into effect Aug. 28 and criminalizes abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy. It also triggered bans at 14, 18 and 20 weeks if the initial eight-week ban was found unconstitutional. (9/18)
