Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Feds Freeze Family Planning Funds From Planned Parenthood
The Washington Post: Trump Administration Moves To Withhold Title X Funding From Planned Parenthood
The Trump administration will begin to withhold some federal funding from Planned Parenthood starting Tuesday, a move that will curtail access to services including cancer screenings and affordable birth control, the organization said. Planned Parenthood said Monday that nine of its affiliates had received notice from the administration that it would withhold funding from Title X, the nationwide family-planning program. Since 1970, Title X has provided federal funding to health centers for family planning aid and reproductive health care, including birth control and other nonabortion services — including about $286 million in the 2024 fiscal year. (Somasundaram, 3/31)
Roll Call: Oz Opposes Abortion, Trans Care In Letter To GOP Senator
Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, affirmed his opposition to abortion and gender-affirming care for trans people, including for minors, in a letter to Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that Hawley posted online Monday. The letter, which Hawley posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, came after Hawley pressed Oz on past comments Oz made on his television show “The Dr. Oz Show” supporting gender-affirming care for trans people and children. (Hellmann, 3/31)
Abortion news from Alabama, Wisconsin, and Missouri —
The New York Times: Alabama Can’t Prosecute Those Who Help With Out-Of-State Abortions, Judge Rules
Alabama cannot prosecute doctors and reproductive health organizations for helping patients travel out of the state to obtain abortions, a federal judge ruled on Monday. Alabama has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, and in 2022 its attorney general, Steve Marshall, a Republican, raised the possibility of charging doctors with criminal conspiracy for recommending abortion care out of state. On Monday, the judge, Myron H. Thompson of the Middle District of Alabama, in Montgomery, ruled that Mr. Marshall would be violating both the First Amendment and the right to travel if he sought prosecution. (Cochrane, 3/31)
The Washington Post: What To Know About The Wisconsin Supreme Court Race — And Musk’s Involvement
The most expensive judicial battle in U.S. history is unfolding in Wisconsin, as Tuesday’s election for a seat on the swing state’s Supreme Court will determine whether the court retains its liberal majority. The Wisconsin Supreme Court will determine the future of abortion rights in the state and is considering a case on an 1849 law that has been broadly viewed as banning nearly all abortions, along with one that asks whether the state’s constitution guarantees a right to abortion. (Masih, 3/31)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Mo. Republicans Advance Ballot Question To Restrict Abortion
Republicans moved forward Monday with a plan to restrict abortions and do away with the right Missourians voted to enshrine in the state constitution in November. The GOP-led House Children and Families Committee advanced the proposed constitutional amendment Monday by an 11-5 vote along party lines. The measure would ban abortions with exceptions for medical emergencies and cases of rape, incest and fetal anomalies. (Suntrup, 3/31)
