Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Court Ruling Brings Wisconsin Closer To Banning Conversion Therapy
AP: Wisconsin Court Clears Way For Conversion Therapy Ban
The Wisconsin Supreme Court cleared the way Tuesday for the state to permanently enact a ban on conversion therapy in a ruling that gives the governor more power over how state laws are enacted. The court ruled that a Republican-controlled legislative committee’s rejection of a state agency rule that would effectively ban the practice of conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ people was unconstitutional. The decision, which has a broad impact far beyond the conversion therapy issue, takes power away from the Legislature to block the enactment of rules by the governor’s office that carry the force of law. (Bauer, 7/8)
AP: Protesters Rally Against Closure Of Largest Gender-Affirming Care Center For Kids In The US
Growing up, Sage Sol Pitchenik wanted to hide. “I hated my body,” the nonbinary 16-year-old said. “I hated looking at it.” When therapy didn’t help, Pitchenik, who uses the pronoun they, started going to the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the country’s biggest public provider of gender-affirming care for children and teens. It changed their life. But in response to the Trump administration’s threat to cut federal funds to places that offer gender-affirming care to minors, the center will be closing its doors July 22. (Furman, 7/9)
On abortion in Missouri and Illinois —
St. Louis Public Radio: St. Louis Planned Parenthood To Again Resume Abortion Appointments
Planned Parenthood’s Central West End clinic in St. Louis will again offer abortions to patients following an order from a judge in Jackson County released last week. Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang on Thursday again put a hold on many of Missouri’s abortion restrictions, including a 72-hour waiting period and certain abortion facility-specific licensing requirements. (Fentem, 7/8)
Chicago Tribune: Illinois Fines Abortion Doctor After Allegedly Botched Procedure
A Champaign abortion provider accused in a lawsuit of perforating a patient’s uterus and leaving half a fetus inside her body has been reprimanded and fined in connection with that case by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, according to records obtained by the Tribune. (Lourgos, 7/8)
More health news from across the U.S. —
Minnesota Public Radio: UCare Drops Medicaid Coverage For Thousands Of Minnesotans
Tens of thousands of Minnesotans will need to find new health insurance by September. UCare, one of the state’s largest health insurers, announced it is dropping state-funded coverage for 11 counties — affecting about 80,000 Minnesotans — amid its own financial woes. (Wurzer and Raschke, 7/8)
MedPage Today: New MAHA Laws Require Nutrition CME For Doctors
New "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) laws in Louisiana and Texas will require physicians to complete continuing medical education (CME) in nutrition. The new mandate in Louisiana was touted in a recent announcement from HHS, and the Texas action was signed into law last month. Starting in 2026, physicians and physician assistants in Louisiana will be required to complete a minimum of 1 hour of continuing education on nutrition and metabolic health every 4 years, according to the new law. The state's medical board will adopt rules to determine the specific content of the continuing education. (Henderson, 7/8)
WSHU: CT Sees Spike In Fatal Overdoses
Twenty-two people died in Connecticut from fatal overdoses during a 72-hour period last weekend. Advocates say a toxic supply of fentanyl is to blame. (Fabbo, 7/8)
MedPage Today: Plasticizer Spread Rapidly Through Illicit Drug Supply
The latest adulterant in illicit fentanyl was not a sedative or other psychoactive substance but a plasticizer, and it spread across the U.S. in a relatively short period of time, a review showed. BTMPS, which has a chemical name of bis (2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl) sebacate, was first detected in June 2024 by community drug checking programs in Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon, after fentanyl samples tested positive for an unknown adulterant, according to Alex Krotulski, PhD, of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and colleagues. (Fiore, 7/8)
The Colorado Sun: Why Has Colorado Seen So Many Breakthrough Measles Infections?
Two shots of the MMR vaccine are thought to give an individual a 97% chance of avoiding a measles infection when exposed. And that number has a near-echo in the most recent measles outbreaks nationwide — 92% of the people infected have been unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But, in Colorado, six out of 16 infections have been in people who are fully vaccinated — what are known as breakthrough cases. That’s more than a third. (Ingold, 7/8)
