Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Will Discuss OTC Birth Control Pill Sales In November
The Hill: FDA Schedules Meeting On OTC Birth Control Pill Application
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has scheduled a joint meeting to discuss pharmaceutical company Perrigo’s application for what could be the first over-the-counter (OTC) daily birth control pill available in the U.S., the company announced Monday. The joint meeting will be held on Nov. 18 with the FDA’s Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee and the Obstetrics, Reproductive, and Urologic Drugs Advisory Committee, according to Perrigo. (Choi, 9/12)
Axios: Affordability Questions Linger Around Over-The-Counter Birth Control
The FDA's decision to consider the first birth control pill that could be sold without a prescription may solve some contraception access problems. But gaps in insurance coverage rules could make it unaffordable for some. (Gonzalez and Owens, 9/13)
In updates on abortion —
Bloomberg: GOP’s Graham To Again Propose National Abortion Restrictions
US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham plans to introduce legislation to restrict abortion nationally, as the politically explosive debate is emerging as one of the central issues in the midterm election campaign. (Litvan, 9/13)
AP: Indiana Court Hearing Set After Abortion Ban Takes Effect
An Indiana judge won’t hear arguments until next week on a lawsuit seeking to block the state’s abortion ban, leaving that new law set to take effect on Thursday. The special judge overseeing the case issued an order Monday setting a court hearing for Sept. 19, which is four days after the ban’s effective date. (Davies, 9/12)
AP: S.Carolina House To Meet After Divergent Senate Abortion Ban
South Carolina Republican lawmakers will keep trying to enact new abortion restrictions later this month. Speaker Murrell Smith announced Monday that the House will meet on Sept. 27, more than two weeks after the Senate sent back a markedly different proposal from the one passed earlier by the lower chamber. Contentious debates among Republicans over exceptions have emerged in a special session on abortion that convened after the U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. (Pollard, 9/12)
The Hill: Harris: ‘Probably By Design’ That Attacks On Abortion, Voting And LGBTQ Rights Come From Same ‘Sources’
Vice President Harris on Monday said it was “not by accident, but probably by design” that the same “sources” who threaten abortion rights also work against voting rights and LGBTQ rights. Harris made the remarks at a meeting she convened with civil rights and abortion rights activists. Attendees included Rev. Al Sharpton, Planned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill Johnson and Center for Reproductive Rights CEO Nancy Northup. (Choi, 9/12)
USA Today: Democratic Women Strive To Channel Abortion Outrage Into Senate Wins
“I was just home for the last couple of weeks and everywhere I went Nevadans approached me about their concerns about the repeal of Roe vs. Wade and that was both women and men, so it is an issue that people who are in Nevada are rightfully concerned about,” Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto told USA TODAY. (Chambers, Wells and Tran, 9/12)
On abortion clinics and pregnancy centers —
Reuters: Abortion Clinic Moves Up The Street To Escape Tennessee's Ban
The women's health clinic in Bristol, Tennessee, had a seemingly simple solution to continue providing abortions after its home state banned the procedure this summer: It moved a mile up the road to Bristol, Virginia, where abortion remained legal. But relocating between the twin cities brought a host of challenges. (Borter, 9/12)
News Service of Florida: An Orlando Clinic Challenges A $193,000 Fine Over The State's 24-Hour Abortion Waiting Period
An Orlando women's clinic is challenging a potential $193,000 state fine, the third case to emerge in recent weeks about whether clinics properly complied with a law requiring 24-hour waiting periods before abortions can be performed. (Saunders, 9/12)
The Boston Globe: Crisis Pregnancy Centers Are On The Defensive But They’re Pushing Back
They have been vandalized in Worcester and Easthampton, vilified by Senator Elizabeth Warren, and put on notice by Attorney General Maura Healey, who warned consumers that most crisis pregnancy centers are not licensed medical clinics and may mislead patients about abortion. Now, they’re pushing back. (Ebbert, 9/12)
