Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Despite Amendment, Missouri Attorney General Will Enforce Abortion Limits
The Independent: Missouri’s GOP Attorney General Plans To Enforce Some Abortion Restrictions Despite New Amendment
Missouri's Republican attorney general has pledged to enforce some laws restricting abortion despite a new constitutional amendment widely expected to undo the state's near-total ban on the procedure. In an opinion requested by incoming GOP governor Mike Kehoe, Attorney General Andrew Bailey wrote that his office will continue enforcing a ban on abortion after fetal viability. There is an exception carved out in the amendment for cases in which a health care provider deems an abortion necessary to “protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.” (Ballentine, 11/30)
Missouri Independent: ‘Care Delayed And Care Denied’: Doctor Recalls 30 Months Under Missouri Abortion Ban
Dr. Betsy Wickstrom understands where some of the voices opposed to abortion are coming from. She used to be one of them. The Kansas City OB-GYN specializing in high-risk pregnancies is a Republican and a Christian, but her more than three decades in maternal-fetal medicine have moved her away from the “pro-life” movement and into abortion advocacy. The past two-and-a-half years practicing under an abortion ban in Missouri have strengthened her resolve. (Spoerre, 12/2)
More abortion updates —
Stateline: Arizona Voters Said Yes To Abortion Rights, But Old Restrictions Are Still On The Books
Arizonans overwhelmingly voted to make abortion a fundamental right, but overturning the state’s current 15-week gestational ban — and multiple other anti-abortion laws still on the books — isn’t automatic. Just an hour after she joined Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Republican Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ann Timmer on Monday to certify the results of the 2024 general election, Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes said that officially nullifying the 15-week ban will need to take place in the courts. (Gomez, 11/28)
The Hill: How The Morning-After Pill Has Been Pulled Into Abortion Battles
The morning-after pill is legal across the U.S., even in the states with the strictest abortion bans — but many Americans don’t know that, in part due to a mistaken belief that the pill is abortion medication. Nearly a third of American adults are unsure if emergency contraception like the morning-after pill is legal in their state and 5 percent think it is illegal there, according to a 2023 survey from health policy nonprofit KFF. (O'Connell-Domenech, 12/1)
USA Today: 'We Can Work With Him': Abortion Opponents Tentatively Embrace Trump, And Pro-Choice RFK Jr.
Anti-abortion activists are elated about Donald Trump’s return to power despite annoyances with the president-elect's lack of appetite for national restrictions. Now, they are cautiously optimistic, looking ahead to what his administration might do for their movement. “President Trump has said, loudly, that he doesn't believe abortion is a federal issue – something I deeply disagree with him on,” said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America. “However, we can work with him.” (Kuchar, 11/29)
In other reproductive health news —
CNN: Period Pain And Depression: Study Finds Genetic Connections
Up to 90% of people who menstruate experience pain during their periods. For some, that pain is severe and linked with symptoms of depression, which are often thought to be a result of the intense throbbing or cramps. But a new study published Wednesday in the journal Briefings in Bioinformatics suggests it may be depression causing period pain, due to specific genes the authors identified — while other researchers said the interplay of internal mechanisms is more complicated than that. (Rogers, 11/29)
