Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Challenges To Georgia, Tennessee Abortion Restrictions Go To Court
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: First Hearing Held For Georgia's New Anti-Abortion Law
A federal judge said Monday that he hoped to determine soon whether the court should block Georgia’s new anti-abortion law from going into effect, but he hinted at the potential long road ahead for the case. It’s unclear when U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones will rule on the request from the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia to halt the new law, which bans most abortions once a doctor can detect fetal cardiac activity. (Prabhu, 9/23)
The Associated Press: Judge Hears Arguments In Challenge To Georgia Abortion Law
Opponents of Georgia’s restrictive new abortion law told a judge on Monday that it violates Supreme Court precedent and should be blocked, while the state argued the law should be allowed to take effect as planned. The law signed in May by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can happen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women realize they’re expecting. It allows for limited exceptions. (Brumback, 9/23)
The Associated Press: Tennessee Abortion Clinics Hope To Defeat Waiting Period
The former medical director of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi testified on Monday that Tennessee’s 48-hour waiting period for abortions actually delays the procedure by up to a month. Dr. Sarah Wallett was testifying in the federal trial challenging Tennessee’s 2015 law. Tennessee is one of 14 states with laws requiring women to make two trips to an abortion clinic, first for mandatory counseling and then for the abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. (Loller, 9/23)
News outlets also report on how much the legal battles over abortion are costing states —
The Washington Post: Abortion Restrictions Are Costing States Millions Of Dollars — In Fees For The Other Side
In the past four years, taxpayers in states trying to restrict abortion access have paid almost $10 million in attorney fees for abortion providers. That price tag is likely to keep growing as more abortion restrictions are challenged, including three in federal courts today. In an effort to overturn Roe v. Wade, these states are passing laws that severely limit or prohibit abortion, hoping that the courts will uphold them. But when, instead, those new laws are thrown out, the state has to pay the legal expenses for the abortion advocates. That puts taxpayers in the position of having to pay for the attorneys on both sides of abortion battles that often last for years. (Keating, 9/23)
Houston Chronicle: Unconstitutional Anti-Abortion Law Costs Texas Another $2.5 Million
As Texas defends abortion laws in federal court that mandate fetal burials and seek to outlaw certain medical procedures, the state has been ordered to pay abortion-rights attorneys $2.5 million — fortifying women’s reproductive rights groups that have repeatedly sued over restrictions passed by the Legislature. The August order from a federal judge in Austin is seemingly the final decision in a high-profile battle over a 2013 Texas abortion law the U.S. Supreme Court eventually struck down as medically unnecessary and thus unconstitutional. The law, which was in effect for three years, required abortion providers to comply with all the regulations for ambulatory surgical centers, forcing many to undergo expensive renovations, and required their physicians to obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. (Zelinski, 9/23)
