Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Disputes Texas Lawsuit Aiming To Reverse Its Approval Of Mifepristone
The Hill: FDA Argues Public Harm If Court Reverses Abortion Pill Approval
A lawsuit challenging the decades-old Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of mifepristone has no merit, and a Texas judge should reject a request for a court order revoking that approval, the Biden administration argued in a Tuesday filing. The FDA said granting the request from anti-abortion groups would be “unprecedented.” (Weixel, 1/18)
Stat: ‘Hot Mess’: Abortion Pills At Pharmacies Could Face Legal Quagmires
Federal regulators’ green light for pharmacists to dispense abortion pills is crashing into legal questions and simmering court battles. The Food and Drug Administration earlier this month removed a longtime restriction that only doctors could dispense mifepristone, which is approved for abortions up to 10 weeks. The move opens the door for pharmacists to supply the drugs and shores up protections for mail orders, which have become an important channel for abortion access in the wake of Roe’s overturn last summer. But it also puts abortion pills in a legal gray area in 12 of the country’s most abortion-restrictive states, where the procedure is banned from conception to six weeks. (Owermohle, 1/19)
In abortion updates from Indiana, Maine, New York, and Illinois —
AP: Indiana's Top Court Hearing Challenge To State Abortion Ban
The fate of Indiana’s Republican-backed abortion ban on Thursday goes before the state Supreme Court as it hears arguments on whether it violates privacy protections under the state constitution. Abortions have been allowed to continue in the state since a county judge blocked the law from being enforced in September, a week after the law approved in August had taken effect. Indiana became the first state to enact tighter abortion restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated federal protections by overturning Roe v. Wade in June. (Davies, 1/19)
Bangor Daily News: After Roe, Maine Republicans Try To Make A Safety Case For Abortion Limits
Instead of arguing against abortion on moral grounds, the early conversation among conservative lawmakers in Augusta has been about making abortions safer. Rep. Tracy Quint, R-Hodgdon, insisted that her proposal to require insurers to pay for a second opinion if a doctor recommends an abortion for health reasons was not an “abortion issue.” (Marino Jr., 1/18)
The New Republic: In Major Rebuke, New York Committee Rejects Kathy Hochul’s Court Pick
New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s controversial nominee to lead the state’s highest court has been rejected. In a Wednesday hearing, the state’s Senate Judiciary Committee voted to prevent Judge Hector LaSalle from advancing to a Senate-wide vote, setting up a likely legal fight between Democrats in the state. ... New York Senate Democrats voted against LaSalle due to concerns over his judicial record on labor, abortion, and criminal justice. (Thakker, 1/18)
Gothamist: 3 NYC Sexual Health Clinics Still Shuttered As Adams Seeks To Expand Abortion Access
Of the city’s eight brick-and-mortar sexual health clinics, three are yet to resume services since being shut down and repurposed for COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, according to the city health department. The health department has attributed the closures to staffing shortages, a widespread problem across city agencies. (Kim, 1/18)
WCBU: Peoria's Planned Parenthood Will Close For Months After Arson Fire
The Planned Parenthood clinic in Peoria is expected to remain closed for months after a so-called incendiary device was thrown through a window late Sunday night. Peoria Fire Department battalion chief Jeff Hascall said fire and smoke was showing from one of the front windows of the Planned Parenthood clinic on Knoxville Avenue when crews responded to a call there. (Shelley and Deacon, 1/18)
Also —
Axios: Report: Mothers In States With Abortion Bans Nearly 3 Times More Likely To Die
Women in states with abortion bans are nearly three times more likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth or soon after giving birth, according to a report from the Gender Equity Policy Institute shared first with Axios. (Gonzalez, 1/19)
AP: US Divided Over Roe's Repeal As Abortion Foes Gird For March
Anti-abortion activists will have multiple reasons to celebrate — and some reasons for unease — when they gather Friday in Washington for the annual March for Life. The march, which includes a rally drawing abortion opponents from across the nation, has been held annually since January 1974 — a year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision established a nationwide right to abortion. (Crary, 1/18)
The Hill: Harris To Mark 50th Anniversary Of Roe Ruling With Speech In Florida
Vice President Harris will deliver remarks in Florida on Sunday to mark the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, aiming to put the spotlight back on abortion rights following last summer’s ruling that struck down the precedent set by Roe. Harris will travel to Florida where Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last year signed into law a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, to highlight the administration’s efforts to protect reproductive rights and abortion access. (Samuels and Gangitano, 1/18)
Stat: Post-Dobbs, Pathologists Who Study Pregnancy Loss Walk A Thin Line
When Mana Parast examines a placenta, she knows she may never find the answers she seeks. She’s hunting for clues — strips of dead tissue that signal autoimmune disease, white blood cells in the lining of the umbilical cord that point to an infection, thickening that could suggest blood wasn’t flowing freely to the fetus. She wants to be able to tell a parent what she thinks went wrong. (Cummins, 1/19)
