Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Conservatives Zero In On Federal Labor Law To Limit Abortion Coverage
The Washington Post: Conservatives Tied To Trump Want To Limit Insurance Coverage For Abortions
Conservative policymakers influential with former president Donald Trump are discussing how to use a little-known labor law to impose sweeping restrictions on private-employer-covered abortions, according to a public statement and two people with direct knowledge of labor policy discussions among Trump advisers. Although Trump has not formally committed to anything and talks are ongoing, the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has publicly called for using federal labor law to limit the ability of private employers to provide coverage that includes abortions in states with abortion restrictions. (Gurley and Stein, 6/6)
Abortion updates from Florida, North Carolina, and Texas —
Health News Florida, WUSF: Judge Orders A Revised Financial Impact Statement For The Florida Abortion Amendment
The statement provides estimated effects of ballot measures on government revenues and the budget. A Leon County judge rules the statement is “inaccurate, ambiguous, misleading, unclear and confusing.” A Leon County circuit judge on Wednesday ruled a “financial impact statement” that would accompany a proposed constitutional amendment about abortion rights needs to be revised, finding that the statement is “inaccurate, ambiguous, misleading, unclear and confusing.” (Kam, 6/6)
Good Morning America: Woman Says She Battles Trauma, Depression 1 Year After Not Receiving Abortion Care Under Florida Law
Deborah Dorbert knew it would be excruciating, both emotionally and physically, to carry to term and deliver a baby doctors told her would only live a few minutes, at most. And it was, she said. "It was the most excruciating pain to go through," Dorbert, 35, told "Good Morning America" of giving birth to her son Milo Evan Dorbert on March 3, 2023, after not being able to access abortion care in her home state of Florida. "Delivering him just to watch him die was just all extra added trauma." (Kindelan, 6/6)
North Carolina Health News: Legal Challenges Keep NC Abortion Law In Flux
More than a year after state lawmakers passed Senate Bill 20, adding new abortion restrictions in a late-night vote overriding Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto, the status of the law dictating access to the procedure in North Carolina remains in flux. That’s because the law has been entangled in two lawsuits that challenge some of the requirements lawmakers implemented. A federal judge’s ruling on June 3 in the first case loosens restrictions on how medication abortion pills can be provided in North Carolina. The same judge will soon determine the fate of two other contested provisions in a second case. (Crumpler, 6/7)
Slate: Surprise! The Worst Judge in the Country Just Landed Another Appalling Abortion Case
Two professors at the University of Texas at Austin are suing for the right to penalize students who miss class to obtain an abortion out of state. The professors, John Hatfield and Daniel Bonevac, are contesting the Biden administration’s efforts to shield students from retaliation when they obtain reproductive health care, a long-standing guarantee under Title IX. They also demand the freedom to discriminate against students and teaching assistants who identify as LGBTQ. (Lithwick and Stern, 6/7)
