Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Commissioner Makary Says He Will Leave Access To Mifepristone As Is
Bloomberg: FDA Leader Says He Has No Plan To Act On Abortion Pill Access
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said he has no plans to change government policy on the abortion pill mifepristone, a hot-button issue in the US since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 2022. Makary would reconsider the issue if new data emerged that signaled a safety issue with the drug that is now used in more than half of US abortions, he said during an appearance at the Semafor World Economy Summit on Thursday. (Cohrs Zhang and Nix, 4/24)
The Hill: Reproductive Health Group, ACLU Sue Trump Administration Over Title X Funding
One of the country’s largest reproductive health advocacy groups is suing the Trump administration for withholding millions of dollars in federal family planning grants earlier this year. The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday, claiming the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “unlawfully withheld” $65.8 million in Title X funds to 16 family planning groups. (O’Connell-Domenech, 4/24)
KFF Health News: What ‘Fertilization President’ Trump Can Learn From State Efforts To Expand IVF Access
For nearly three agonizing years, Mariah Freschi and her husband have been trying to have a second baby. The California mother recently underwent surgery to remove her blocked fallopian tubes, leaving in vitro fertilization as her only option to get pregnant. But the cost quoted by her Sacramento-area clinic was $25,000 — out of reach for Freschi, a preschool teacher, and her husband, a warehouse worker. (Kwon, 4/25)
Reproductive health news from Illinois and Colorado —
WIFR: Illinois Abortion Clinic To Shut Down After Ordinance Ruling
The owner of a Rockford abortion clinic embroiled in a years-long zoning dispute plans to shut down the location, rather than challenge a decision from Illinois’ Fourth District appellate court. Dr. Dennis Christiansen, a Wisconsin-based obstetrician and gynecologist who owns the clinic, says he expects services at the site to wrap up within the next couple weeks. He then plans to sell the building. Christiansen says his decision comes after an Illinois appellate court reversed a judgement by Rockford’s Zoning Board of Appeals earlier this month. The court upheld a challenge filed by the Rockford Family Initiative and neighbors, claiming the operation of the clinic under a special use permit violated several ordinances. (4/23)
The Colorado Sun: Colorado’s Medicaid Program Now Covers Doula Services
When Halle Payne became pregnant with her second child, she didn’t have much trust in the health care system. During her first pregnancy, when she was just 19 years old, doctors found what they believed to be a fibroid on her ovary. She was in her second trimester, and her providers recommended monitoring it during subsequent check-ups. (Singer, 4/25)
On LGBTQ+ health care —
Politico: Pentagon To Resume Medical Care For Transgender Troops
The Pentagon will resume gender-affirming care for transgender service members, according to a memo obtained by POLITICO, an embarrassing setback to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s efforts to restrict their participation. The memo says the Defense Department is returning to the Biden-era medical policy for transgender service members due to a court order that struck down Hegseth’s restrictions as unconstitutional. (Detsch, McLeary and Cheney, 4/24)
NBC News: DOJ Will Investigate Doctors Who Provide Trans Care To Minors, Attorney General Says
Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo this week seeking to further curtail access to transgender health care for minors. In the memo, Bondi said the Justice Department will use a variety of existing U.S. laws to investigate providers of such care, as well as drug manufacturers and distributors. She directed U.S. attorneys to use laws against female genital mutilation to investigate doctors who “mutilate” children “under the guise of care” and to prosecute these “offenses to the fullest extent possible.” (Yurcaba, 4/24)
