Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Florida Moves Ahead With 15-Week Abortion Bill
Miami Herald: FL House Approves 15-Week Abortion Ban. Senate Action To Come
The Florida House on Wednesday passed a historic and controversial bill banning most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. In a nearly party-line, 78 to 39 vote, lawmakers dealt a stinging blow to abortion rights in Florida, which has some of the strongest protections in the South for those seeking the procedure. At the same time, Republicans delivered a long-sought victory for opponents of abortion. (Wilson, 2/17)
AP: Arkansas Senate Tables Efforts For Texas-Style Abortion Ban
The Republican-dominated Arkansas Senate tabled efforts Thursday to enact an abortion ban modeled on Texas’ restrictive law, thus dimming prospects for it to come back up during this year’s session. The Senate voted 20-11 to table resolutions that would have allowed lawmakers to consider banning abortion except to save a mother’s life. Like the Texas law, the ban would be enforced by private citizens filing lawsuits. (2/16)
KHN: State Constitutions Vex Conservatives’ Strategies For A Post-Roe World
Republican lawmakers in a handful of conservative states have stumbled on a roadblock to what they thought would be a clear path to setting new restrictions on abortion if the Supreme Court upends the landmark Roe v. Wade decision: right-to-privacy protections enshrined in their own state constitutions. In states where courts have ruled that their constitutions’ explicit privacy rights extend to the right of a woman to have an abortion, the procedure would continue to be legal even if the Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling is overturned, legal scholars and abortion-rights advocates said. (Ehli, 2/17)
In other news from across the U.S. —
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Nursing Home Owner Bob Dean Claims Dementia, Memory Loss Amid Legal Battles
Notorious nursing home operator Bob Dean has “significant dementia and cognitive impairment” and should not be forced to sit for depositions in the various lawsuits targeting him, according to letters recently penned by two Georgia doctors. The letters from a neurologist and hematologist were filed last month under seal in federal court, where Dean faces a slew of lawsuits over his decision to evacuate seven nursing homes for Hurricane Ida and warehouse their 843 residents in squalid conditions in Tangipahoa Parish. (Simerman and Gallo, 2/17)
Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Mayor Ginther Declares Gun Violence Public Health Crisis
After 2021 became the second-consecutive record year for homicides in the city, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther and other city leaders announced Tuesday that they are taking the significant step of declaring gun violence a public health crisis within the city. For the first time in the city's history, Columbus Health Commissioner Myshieka Roberts will coordinate with other city departments to address the problem of gun violence from a public health perspective, Ginther said. (Lagatta, 2/15)
AP: Jury Seated To Try Ohio Doctor Charged In Hospital Deaths
A jury was seated Wednesday in the case of an Ohio doctor accused in multiple hospital deaths, with the long-awaited trial scheduled to begin next week. William Husel is accused of ordering excessive painkillers for patients in the Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System. He was indicted in cases involving at least 500 micrograms of the powerful painkiller fentanyl. (2/16)
NBC News: Cuts To California Cannabis Taxes Would Harm Low-Income Youths, Advocates Say
Amid concerns that California’s cannabis industry is overtaxed and on the brink of collapse, children’s and youth advocates say cutting marijuana taxes could put badly needed social service programs in jeopardy. Small cannabis farmers and business owners have repeatedly asked the state to overhaul the industry's tax system as they struggle to stay afloat with rising operating and regulatory costs. (Lozano, 2/16)
