Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Conservatives Divided On Exceptions To Abortion Bans
The New York Times: With Roe Gone, Republicans Quarrel Over How Far To Push Abortion Bans
Though Republican legislators support the broad idea of restricting abortion, they have clashing views on how far to go. Should there be an outright ban? If so, should there be exceptions for rape and incest? And what if a woman’s health is threatened by a pregnancy but doctors do not believe she will die? (Smith and Bosman, 7/27)
NBC News: Senate Dems Push VA To Expand Access To Abortion Care For Female Veterans
Senate Democrats are urging the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide abortion services at their hospitals, ramping up pressure on federal agencies to increase access to abortion care after the Supreme Court struck down the protection. The Supreme Court's recent ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the senators write in a letter first obtained by NBC News and signed by 23 Democratic lawmakers, “makes it even more critical that veterans receive access to the reproductive care to which they are entitled.” (Thorp, Vitali and Tsirkin, 7/28)
PBS NewsHour: How Abortion Bans Will Likely Lead To More Deadly Infections
Each year, Puterbaugh sees one or two cases of pregnancy-related sepsis. It’s been rare in the United States for decades, and deaths from these infections have been nearly unheard of. According to maternal mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention covering the last three years, no more than 45 people died of complications linked in any way to this form of sepsis. But after more than 17 years of practicing in Texas, where abortion essentially has been banned since last year, Dr. Rakhi Dimino said more patients come to her now with sepsis or hemorrhaging “than I’ve ever seen before.” (Santhanam, 7/27)
On state moves to ban or protect abortion access —
AP: Judges Block Abortion Bans In Wyoming, North Dakota
Abortion bans set to take effect this week in Wyoming and North Dakota have been temporarily blocked by judges in those states amid lawsuits arguing that the bans violate their state constitutions. A judge in Wyoming on Wednesday sided with a firebombed women’s health clinic and others who argued the ban would harm health care workers and their patients, while a North Dakota judge sided with the state’s only abortion clinic, Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo. (Gruver and Willingham, 7/28)
AP: W.Va. House Passes Sweeping Ban Criminalizing Abortion
West Virginia’s Republican-dominated House of Delegates passed a sweeping abortion ban Wednesday that makes providing the procedure a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The measure, which now heads to the Senate for consideration, includes exceptions for victims of rape and incest, as well as for medical emergencies. (Willingham, 7/27)
NBC News: Kansas Voters To Decide Fate Of State Abortion Rights In Country’s First Ballot Test Since Roe Reversal
When Kansas voters head to the polls on Tuesday, they will be asked to decide whether the state’s Constitution should continue to protect abortion rights. It will be the first time since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade that U.S. voters cast ballots on abortion. (Edelman, 7/27)
AP: Mills Looking Into Amendment To Protect Abortion Rights
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said Tuesday that her administration is reviewing whether the right to an abortion is already enshrined in the Maine Constitution, or if an amendment is warranted. Mills said it’s possible that the Maine Constitution already has protections that the U.S. Constitution does not under a Supreme Court ruling in June. But she said all options are “on the table.” Maine already has a law adopted in 1993 that codified the right to an abortion. (7/27)
The Boston Globe: Over Three-Quarters Of Massachusetts Residents Say Abortion Should Be Legal In All Or Most Cases, Poll Finds
When the Supreme Court overturned nearly five decades of federal protection for abortion, Maria Bartini was, in a word, furious. Across the state, others echoed her anger in visceral terms, from “nauseated” to “horrified” and “depressed.” Outrage over the rollback of abortion rights nationally is particularly pronounced in Massachusetts, where abortion rights enjoy sweeping public support, according to a new poll. (Ebbert, 7/27)
