Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
California Ponies Up $140 Million To Preserve Planned Parenthood Clinics
CalMatters: CA Gives Planned Parenthood $140 Million To Keep Clinics Open
After months of financial strain, Planned Parenthood will get a $140 million lifeline to offset losses it sustained after Congress in July cut funding for the health system, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday. The money will help Planned Parenthood keep 109 California clinics open. In a statement, Newsom said the move reflects the state’s continued commitment to abortion and reproductive health care. “Trump’s efforts to defund Planned Parenthood put all our communities at risk as people seek basic health care from these community providers,” Newsom said. (Hwang, 10/24)
ABC News: Wyoming Bill Preventing Regulation Of Crisis Pregnancy Centers Advances
A bill in Wyoming that would essentially prevent regulation of crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), which sometimes counsel patients against receiving abortion care, is slowly making its way through the state legislature. HB0273, also known as the Wyoming Pregnancy Center Autonomy and Rights of Expression (CARE) Act, would prohibit "the state and specified governmental entities from adopting any law, rule or policy that targets pregnancy centers for oversight or regulation based on the centers' stance against abortion." (Kekatos, 10/25)
AP: More Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers Offer Medical Services As Clinics Close
Pregnancy centers in the U.S. that discourage women from getting abortions have been adding more medical services — and could be poised to expand further. The expansion — ranging from testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections to even providing primary medical care — has been unfolding for years. It gained steam after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade three years ago, clearing the way for states to ban abortion. (Mulvihill and Kruesi, 10/25)
New Jersey Monitor: People Seeking Abortions Later In Pregnancy Could Soon Get Them In NJ
Abortion foes often criticize New Jersey for allowing abortion “up until the moment of birth,” because the state is one of just nine nationally that sets no limit on when someone can end their pregnancy. But clinics here don’t provide abortions past the second trimester, which means people who seek abortions after then must head to other states. That’s expected to change next year, when a nonprofit aims to open an all-trimester clinic in Hudson County that will provide abortion up to 34 weeks, as well as gender-affirming care for all ages, HIV care, and other services. (DiFilippo, 10/24)
On IVF and menopause —
Politico: ‘The Pro-Life Movement Still Has Some Real Juice’: How Trump’s Promise Of Free IVF Fizzled
Social and religious conservatives spent more than a year lobbying first the Trump campaign and then the administration against mandating or subsidizing insurance coverage of in vitro fertilization, which they consider akin to abortion. Last week, their work paid off. (Ollstein and Messerly, 10/25)
CNN: New Menopause Drug To Target Hot Flashes Without Hormones Gets FDA Approval
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved another once-a-day pill that works without hormones to treat moderate to severe hot flashes in menopausal women, drugmaker Bayer said Friday. The drug, elinzanetant, is expected to be available in the United States beginning in November under the brand name Lynkuet, Bayer said. (Howard, 10/24)
MedPage Today: Tirzepatide-Hormone Therapy Combo Tied To Weight Loss In Postmenopausal Women
Postmenopausal women using hormone therapy (HT) saw significantly greater weight loss while taking the dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist tirzepatide than their counterparts not using HT, according to a retrospective study. (Henderson, 10/26)
