Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Florida Alerts Pharmacies That Dispensing Abortion Pills Is Illegal
Sun-Sentinel: Florida Agency Warns Pharmacists Not To Dispense Abortion Pills
With pharmacies in some states preparing to dispense abortion pills, Florida’s Agency for Healthcare Administration sent a letter Thursday to all state healthcare providers warning them that do so in Florida is illegal. (Goodman, 1/15)
Idaho Statesman: New Idaho Lawmaker Floats Bills On Abortion, Gender Identity
A new bill would change Idaho’s criminal abortion statute to define the procedure as “intentionally” killing a “living embryo or fetus.” The change seeks to clarify that Idaho’s near-total abortion ban does not apply to pregnancies in which the fetus has already died, said the bill sponsor, Sen. Scott Herndon, R-Sagle. Those parameters include ectopic pregnancies, when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, if the fetus has died. (Suppe, 1/16)
Politico: ‘The Most Important Election Nobody’s Ever Heard Of’
Control of the Wisconsin state Supreme Court is on the ballot this spring, and the contest could decide the fate of abortion rights, redistricting and more in the critical swing state. Should a more liberal-leaning jurist win the job in the April election, it would flip the balance of the state’s highest court for at least two years. There are significant policy outcomes hanging on the result. The court chose the state’s political maps for the decade after the Democratic governor and Republican Legislature deadlocked, and it’s likely to hear a case challenging Wisconsin’s 19th-century law banning almost all abortions in the near future. Wisconsin’s Supreme Court also decided major cases on election laws and voting rights before and after the 2020 presidential election. (Montellaro and Messerly, 1/16)
More on reproductive rights —
Houston Chronicle: Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher Named Whip Of The Pro-Choice Caucus
U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, who also represents part of Fort Bend County, has been named Whip of the Pro-Choice Caucus. The caucus is “a coalition of Members in the U.S. House of Representatives who are working to preserve, protect, and advance policies that ensure reproductive autonomy,” Fletcher said in a statement Friday. (Goodman, 1/13)
Anchorage Daily News: FDA Decision Could Increase Access To Abortion Pills Across Alaska
“It definitely has the potential to expand abortion access in Alaska,” said Rose O’Hara-Jolley, director with Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates of Alaska. “Given the complexity with the health care system, it’s not something that’s going to happen right away. But this is another very important piece of the puzzle in expanding abortion access across the state.” (Berman, 1/16)
AP: Bill Would Force Period Tracking Apps To Follow Privacy Laws
When the Supreme Court last June stripped away constitutional protections for abortion, concerns grew over the use of period tracking apps because they aren’t protected by federal privacy laws. Privacy experts have said they fear pregnancies could be surveilled and the data shared with police or sold to vigilantes. Some Washington state lawmakers want to change that and have introduced a bill related to how consumer data is shared, KUOW reported. (1/16)
San Francisco Chronicle: UC Health Doctors Want Stronger Protections In Contracts With Faith-Based Hospitals
As the University of California’s health system renews contracts with hundreds of outside hospitals and clinics — many with religious affiliations — some of its doctors and faculty want stronger language to ensure that physicians can perform the treatments they deem appropriate, including abortions for women or hysterectomies for transgender patients. University of California Health is in the middle of a two-year process to renew contracts with affiliate hospitals and clinics that help the university deliver care in underserved parts of the state. (Sciacca, 1/15)
