Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Cecile Richards Steps Down From Planned Parenthood With Message: Get Involved Now, Don't Wait For Instructions
The Associated Press: Cecile Richards' Message: Now Is The Time To Get Involved
Cecile Richards, who steps down from the helm of Planned Parenthood on Tuesday after 12 years as one of the nation's most visible activists, has a message for her fellow women: Now is the time to get involved. Not soon, not next year. Now. "Don't wait for instructions," she says. "Don't wait for the perfect opportunity. Most of all, don't wait for somebody to ASK you to do something." And, she wants women to know, being an activist really isn't as daunting as it might seem. "It isn't dreary, it isn't depressing," she promises. "It can actually be incredibly joyful, and you meet amazing people." (Noveck, 5/1)
The Hill: Anti-Abortion Groups Call On Trump To Cut Planned Parenthood Off From Family Planning Grants
A coalition of anti-abortion groups is calling on the Trump administration to cut Planned Parenthood off from family planning grants. More than 85 anti-abortion groups signed a letter Tuesday saying that the family planning money, known as Title X, should not go to Planned Parenthood and other groups that perform or refer women for abortions. This shift would reinstate a regulation put in place by President Reagan. (Sullivan, 5/1)
Politico Pro: Anti-Abortion Leaders Call For Title X Changes
The leaders of several anti-abortion groups are calling on the Trump administration to defund Planned Parenthood and cut abortion referrals from the Title X family planning program in a bid to motivate grass-roots conservative voters in the midterm elections. The leaders of the Susan B. Anthony List, Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council and American Values say grass-roots voters are “furious with the inability of the Republican-controlled Congress to get the job done." (Haberkorn, 4/30)
The Associated Press: Iowa Lawmakers Send 6-Week Abortion Ban To Governor
Iowa lawmakers have paved the way for the nation’s most restrictive abortion legislation in the country. The Republican-majority Iowa Senate fast-tracked a vote early Wednesday morning on a so-called “heartbeat” bill that seeks to ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected. The GOP-controlled Iowa House approved the bill hours earlier. (Rodriguez and Stewart, 5/2)
Dallas Morning News: Controversial Texas Abortion Booklet Should Be Given To Immigrant Minors Nationwide, Agency Says
Members of Congress are pushing back after shelters across the country were instructed to share a controversial Texas brochure about abortion with the immigrant children in their care. In an April 20 email, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, directed its shelters to provide minors in their custody with "A Woman's Right to Know." Texas' health department created the booklet, which abortion providers are required to give patients 24 hours before the procedure. It outlines gestational stages, abortion risks and alternative services such as adoption. The booklet was revised in December 2016 to include research linking abortions to breast cancer, which has been refuted. (Wang, 5/`1)
The Associated Press: Doctor In Badly Botched Abortion Is Tried For Manslaughter
A doctor who performed a badly botched abortion that caused a patient to bleed to death was characterized by prosecutors on Tuesday as careless, greedy and someone who operated far outside the medical norm. A jury in Queens heard closing arguments in the case against Dr. Robert Rho, who was charged with manslaughter in the 2016 death of Jamie Lee Morales. (5/1)
