Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fallout From Abortion Case Will Shake Elections, Health Care Access
The Intercept: Mississippi’s Only Abortion Clinic And The Fight For The Future Of Roe V. Wade
Shannon Brewer was not ready for the news that came out of the U.S. Supreme Court Monday morning. The justices had decided to accept an appeal from Mississippi that seeks to enforce a ban on abortion after 15 weeks gestation — the first outright ban that the high court has considered since Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion in 1973. “All morning I’ve been thinking about what this means for our patients and what this means for women,” Brewer said. “I can honestly say today that it really has, for a lack of better words, pissed me off.” Brewer lives in Jackson, Mississippi, and is the longtime director of the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the state’s only remaining abortion clinic, which is commonly referred to as the Pink House because of its bright exterior paint job. The clinic serves pregnant people from all over Mississippi as well as those who come from across state lines. The clinic is always busy. There are nearly 600,000 women of child-bearing age in Mississippi and about half of the residents who seek abortion care are forced to travel out of state for access. (Smith, 5/19)
The Hill: Abortion Rights Groups Warn Of Imminent Crackdown If Roe V. Wade Overturned
Abortion rights advocates are warning that dozens of states, particularly in the South and Midwest, are likely to enact severe restrictions and even outright bans on the procedure if the Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade. ... If the justices were to sharply undercut Roe next term, advocates say, it would have a cascading effect at the state level, where anti-abortion activists have been carefully preparing for just such a contingency amid the Supreme Court’s conservative shift over recent years. (Kruzel, 5/19)
Roll Call: Could Supreme Court Supercharge Midterms With Abortion Ruling?
If redistricting hadn’t complicated the midterm elections enough, a Supreme Court decision on one of the country’s most polarizing issues has the potential to supercharge the fight for the House and Senate. This week, the Supreme Court announced it would hear a challenge to a new Mississippi law — Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — that would ban abortion, with limited exceptions, after 15 weeks. The case is widely viewed as having the potential to reverse the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. (Gonzales, 5/19)
NBC News: The Supreme Court Is Eyeing Roe V. Wade's End With This Mississippi Abortion Ban Case
The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will hear oral arguments in a Mississippi abortion case — Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization — that would completely ban the procedure at 15 weeks after the start of a woman's last period before conception, with no exceptions for victims of sexual assault. Advocates and activists on both sides of the abortion divide have said this is a signal that the court is ready to overturn Roe v. Wade — but we've heard that so many times before. Unfortunately, this time they are right. (Robin Marty, 5/18)
The New York Times: How Abortion Views Are Different
Americans’ views on abortion are sufficiently complex that both sides in the debate are able to point to survey data that suggests majority opinion is on their side — and then to argue that the data friendly to their own side is the “right” data. These competing claims can be confusing. But when you dig into the data, you discover there are some clear patterns and objective truths. Here are five. (Leonhardt, 5/19)
