Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: What Brett Kavanaugh Could Mean To The Future Of The Health Law, Abortion Rights
Los Angeles Times: What Brett Kavanaugh Could Mean For The Future Of Abortion, Marriage Equality And Much More
After a buildup worthy of a master of reality TV, President Trump has nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s retirement. This continues a run of almost 50 consecutive years when the court has had a majority of Republican appointees. Many commentators will rush to cast this nomination solely in terms of what it means for the rights to abortion and to marriage equality for same-sex couples. Although those issues are important, Kavanaugh likely will have the deciding vote on many other issues that have a profound impact on people’s daily lives. He should be assessed on what he would bring to the court on all these issues. (David A. Super, 7/9)
Boston Globe: Our Abortion Story
Parents’ ability to make the best choice for themselves and their family now faces the greatest threat in almost 50 years. With Justice Kennedy’s retirement, the future of the Supreme Court — and women’s right to choose — hangs in the balance. (Karen and Robbie Silverman, 7/10)
Bloomberg: The Test For Judge Kavanaugh
So it’s Judge Brett Kavanaugh. There will be time enough to explore the nominee’s views and record. Let’s step back a bit and get some perspective on the national debate that we are about to have. Those on the left fear, and those on the right hope, that Judge Kavanaugh will prove pivotal to an assortment of new constitutional rulings: protecting gun rights, overruling Roe v. Wade, invalidating affirmative action, crippling the regulatory state, striking down the Affordable Care Act, and allowing people with religious objections to discriminate against gays and lesbians. (Cass R. Sunstein, 7/9)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why You Should Be Pro-Roe Even If You Are Anti-Choice
Prohibiting abortions does not mean they will stop; it just means women will seek perilous alternatives to get the care they need. The women who will continue to be disproportionately harmed by such prohibitions are women of low incomes and women of color who already struggle to access health care. (Madeline Ann Brezin, 7/9)
Sacramento Bee: Trump Abortion War Gags Doctors, Stacks Supreme Court
Not content to merely stack the judiciary according to social conservatives’ Mad Men-era playbook, President Donald Trump last month announced a new rule that would make it significantly harder to avoid unwanted pregnancies for poor Californians. It is, to be blunt, a gag rule that would yank federal subsidies for contraceptives and other care from providers who even discuss abortion with patients. (7/9)
The Washington Post: Brett Kavanaugh Could Take An Ax To Obamacare
Hours before President Trump revealed his Supreme Court nominee Monday night, the White House made a curious announcement. A Trump spokesman said that the “Sherpa” charged with leading Trump’s nominee to confirmation in the Senate would be former Republican senator Jon Kyl, a big-time lobbyist for the pharmaceuticals industry. Why would the White House put the nomination battle in the hands of a man who famously mocked the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that health insurance cover maternal health by saying “I don’t need maternity care” — and who as recently as last year was a lobbyist for those fighting to keep drug prices high? (Dana Milbank, 7/9)
