Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Discipline Hearing Looms For Indiana Doctor Of Child Rape Victim
AP: Indiana Doctor Faces Discipline Hearing Over 10-Year-Old Ohio Girl's Abortion
An Indiana board is set to hear allegations Thursday that an Indianapolis doctor should face disciplinary action after she spoke publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim from neighboring Ohio. The Medical Licensing Board’s hearing comes after Indiana’s Republican attorney general accused Dr. Caitlin Bernard of violating state law by not reporting the girl’s child abuse to Indiana authorities. She’s also accused of breaking federal patient privacy laws by telling a newspaper reporter about the girl’s treatment. (Davies, 5/25)
Reuters: Abortion Pill Case Spurs US Democrats' ‘Judge Shopping’ Bill
Democrats in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday said they would introduce a bill designed to rein in the practice known as "judge shopping," where lawsuits are filed in small courts to increase their chances of being assigned to sympathetic judges. The lawmakers sponsoring the bill said it was spurred by a recent ruling from a federal judge in Amarillo, Texas that could, if upheld on appeal, limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone nationwide. (Wiessner, 5/24)
AP: Pending Abortion Restrictions Strain Providers In US Southeast
A wave of newly approved abortion restrictions in the Southeastern United States has sent providers scrambling to reconfigure their services for a region with already severely limited access. Pending bans at varying stages of pregnancy in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida — states that had been holdouts providing wider access to the procedure — are threatening to further delay abortions as appointments pile up and doctors work to understand the new limitations. (Pollard, 5/25)
In news about birth control —
The CT Mirror: CT House Passes Bill That Expands Access To Contraception, Narcan
A wide-ranging bill that permits the sale of non-prescription drugs in vending machines, including emergency contraception, and allows pharmacists to prescribe hormonal birth control passed the House Wednesday with broad support. (Carlesso, 5/24)
In related election news —
The Hill: DeSantis Says Roles To Play For Federal And State Governments On Abortion
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said the federal and state governments both have a role to play in deciding abortion policy in the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. DeSantis said during an interview on Fox News on Wednesday, his first since announcing his campaign for president on Twitter earlier that evening, that he is concerned about a Democratic administration and Congress “trying to nationalize” abortion throughout the country. ... “Dobbs returned the issue to the elected representatives of the people, and so I think that there’s a role for both the federal [government] and states,” he said. (Gans, 5/24)
AP: Haley Commits To Federal Abortion Ban But Says It's Unlikely Without More Republicans In Congress
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Wednesday pledged to sign a federal ban on abortion but noted that passing one would be highly unlikely without more Republicans in Congress. Although Haley didn’t say how many weeks a federal ban should encompass, her commitment to signing one is the most specific she has been on the issue during her presidential campaign. The former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said “no one has been honest” about how difficult a ban could be to achieve, in a closely divided federal government. (Kinnard and Ramer, 5/24)
