Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Democrats Likely Won't Have Enough Votes To Codify Abortion, Biden Admits
Axios: Biden: Democrats Will Not Have Enough Votes To Codify Roe V. Wade
President Biden said Monday that he does not expect congressional Democrats will have enough votes to pass a bill codifying Roe v. Wade. If Republicans capture a narrow majority in the House, Biden's pledge to make an abortion rights bill the first piece of post-midterm legislation to send to Congress will go nowhere. (Gonzalez, 11/14)
More on abortion and reproductive rights —
AP: Lawsuit: Mississippi Abortion Ban Might Not Be Valid Yet
A group of anti-abortion doctors in Mississippi, where state leaders led the charge to overturn Roe v. Wade, say the validity of the state’s law banning most abortions remains uncertain and that further legal action is needed to clarify it and protect them from possible punishment by medical institutions. ... The lawsuit argues that when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the case that stripped away women’s constitutional protections for abortion, it did not resolve a gray area in state law surrounding abortion rights. Attorneys for the doctors cited a 1998 Mississippi Supreme Court opinion called Pro-Choice Mississippi v. Fordice that holds that abortion is a right protected by the Mississippi Constitution. (Goldberg, 11/14)
AP: Kentucky Supreme Court Set To Weigh Statewide Abortion Bans
The future of abortion rights in Kentucky reaches a defining moment Tuesday when the state’s highest court hears arguments over a sweeping abortion ban put in place by the Republican-led legislature. The case before Kentucky’s Supreme Court is the first legal test since voters in Kentucky and three other states signaled their support for abortion rights in last week’s midterm election. Kentuckians rejected a ballot measure that would have denied abortion rights in the state’s Constitution. (Schreiner and Lovan, 11/15)
Houston Chronicle: Court Rules AG Paxton Won't Have To Testify In Abortion Case
The abortion funds are suing the state for protection to resume their work amid the state's newly enforced abortion bans. They have said Paxton's testimony is necessary because he and his office have made conflicting statements about the legality of helping Texas residents legally obtain abortions in other states, and he is the only person who can clarify their meaning and intent. (Goldenstein, 11/14)
The 19th: Advocates Prepare To Fight Laws That Could Threaten Fertility, IVF, Abortion
Anti-abortion politicians and ballot initiatives lost big at the ballot box in the 2022 midterms. But fertility treatment advocates and patients are gearing up to fight against the next wave of anti-abortion legislation and restrictions on reproductive health. (Panetta, 11/14)
