Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Federal Court Blocks South Carolina 'Heartbeat' Abortion Law
NPR: Court Temporarily Blocks South Carolina Heartbeat Abortion Ban
Just a day after a bill banning most abortions in South Carolina was signed into law by Gov. Henry McMaster, a federal court blocked the measure. U.S. District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis granted a two-week temporary restraining order on Friday while the case, brought by Planned Parenthood, works its way through the legal system. The "South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act" would prohibit abortion as soon as cardiac activity can be detected with an ultrasound. The only exceptions would occur in cases of rape, incest or when a mother's life is in danger. (Romo, 2/19)
Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio's 'Heartbeat Bill' Never Took Effect; 1 In 10 Ohio Women Thought Abortion Was Illegal Anyway
Ohio's "heartbeat bill," one of the nation's most restrictive abortion bans, never took effect. But 1 in 10 Ohio women thought abortion was illegal in the state anyway, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. While most Ohio women, about 64%, understood abortions are legal in Ohio, another 26.2% weren't sure and 9.8% incorrectly believed all abortions were illegal in the state, according to an eight-month review of the Ohio Survey of Women led by Ohio State University professor of epidemiology Maria Gallo. (Balmert, 2/18)
In other news from Maryland, Maine, Georgia, Nevada and California —
The Washington Post: Coronavirus Outbreak Inside Maryland Detention Facility Sparks Class Action Lawsuit
Advocates for detainees inside Maryland’s Chesapeake Detention Facility filed a federal lawsuit Saturday alleging that a host of unsanitary conditions fostered a coronavirus outbreak that affected 234 inmates and employees. The class-action lawsuit, filed in Baltimore’s U.S. District Court, alleges among other things that guards in the pretrial facility of 400 detainees rarely wore masks and that healthy detainees were forced into contaminated cells that had not been sanitized. (Olivo, 2/21)
Bangor Daily News: Health Advocates Decry Cuts To Anti-Smoking Programs In Maine's Proposed Budget
In Maine, smoking costs more than $800 million a year in health care costs and contributes to nearly 30 percent of cancer deaths. Health advocates called it a serious problem, and they said Gov. Janet Mills is making a mistake by cutting $5 million a year from state smoking cessation programs. This year Maine is spending nearly $14 million on smoking cessation programs, but Mills is proposing to cut $5 million a year over the two-year budget as part of her proposal to keep state revenues in line with expenditures. Hilary Schneider of the American Lung Association’s Maine chapter told the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee that this is not the time to curtail efforts to get people to quit. (Leary, 2/22)
KHN: New Single-Payer Bill Intensifies Newsom’s Political Peril
A group of Democratic state lawmakers introduced legislation Friday to create a single-payer health care system to cover all Californians, immediately defining the biggest health policy debate of the year and putting enormous political pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom. The Democratic governor faces the increasingly likely prospect of a Republican-driven recall election later this year. The single-payer bill adds to his political peril from the left if he doesn’t express support, and from the right if he does. (Hart and Bluth, 2/19)
Valdosta Daily Times: Duncan Talks State Of Rural Health Care
Lately, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan has caught eyes as a Republican speaking out against claims of election fraud on national news outlets. But as a freshman lawmaker and throughout his years in the General Assembly, he was known for his efforts to bolster Georgia’s strained rural health care system. (Bunch, 2/21)
AP: Pandemic Makes Prostitution Taboo In Nevada's Legal Brothels
Before the coronavirus pandemic, tourist-dependent Nevada had a notorious attraction: It was the only place in America where someone could legally pay for sex. These days, even in the state known for sin, the business is taboo. Legal brothels have been shuttered for nearly a year, leaving sex workers to offer less-lucrative alternatives like online dates or nonsexual escort services. Those in the industry say many of the licensed prostitutes, who work as independent contractors, have struggled to qualify for unemployment benefits since closures began last March and some have opted to take their work into the shadows, offering sex illegally. (Price, 2/20)
