Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Florida Republican Lawmaker Proposes Abortion Ban After 6 Weeks
Politico: Florida Republicans Seek Ban On Abortions After 6 Weeks Of Pregnancy
Florida’s Republican-led legislature on Tuesday filed bills that would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy but offer exemptions for victims of rape and incest if they can provide official proof of the crime. Lawmakers in the House and Senate filed similar legislation to make abortions illegal two weeks after a pregnant person’s first missed period, tightening the 15-week ban they approved last year. The measure also seeks to prevent government entities and educational institutions from using public money to financially help people to travel outside the state for an abortion. (Sarkissian, 3/7)
The 19th: Abortion In Florida: Lawmaker Introduces Bill Proposing Six-Week Ban
A Republican lawmaker in Florida has introduced a bill that would ban abortion past six weeks of pregnancy — legislation that, if passed, would effectively eliminate most abortion access in the South. (Luthra, 3/7)
In news about Texas' abortion law —
Houston Chronicle: Biden’s White House Slams Gov. Abbott Over Abortion Ban Impacts
The White House on Tuesday said a lawsuit by five women who were denied abortions despite having dangerous or unviable pregnancies shows "the reality of Governor Abbott’s abortion ban." (Wermund, 3/7)
Axios: Texas Abortion Lawsuit Puts Medical Exceptions Under Spotlight
A lawsuit brought by abortion patients in Texas is focusing attention on how some strict state abortion bans could imperil lives by leaving it to providers to prove if a person qualifies for an emergency exception. (Gonzalez, 3/7)
In abortion updates from Utah —
Salt Lake Tribune: ‘Regulated By Somebody Else’s Faith.’ Why Some Utah Religious Groups Oppose Abortion Restrictions
As the courts consider whether Utah’s trigger ban is constitutional under the state constitution, several local religious communities wrote to the courts to explain how the law would violate their religious beliefs. A few leaders and members of those groups sat down with The Salt Lake Tribune to explain why. (Anderson Stern, 3/7)
On the availability of abortion pills and birth control pills —
Stat: Becerra: Judge Set To Rule On Abortion Pill Is 'Beginning To Read The Law'
Health secretary Xavier Becerra on Tuesday warned of dramatic consequences if a federal judge revokes the federal approval of mifepristone, a form of medication abortion. The judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, is set to rule on a case brought in Texas by anti-abortion advocates seeking to overturn the drug’s initial approval more than two decades ago. Mifepristone, taken in combination with misoprostol, accounts for over half of U.S. abortions. It is also used to treat miscarriage. “Everyone thought by now we would have a ruling from that judge,” Becerra said, speaking at a STAT event. “My suspicion is he’s beginning to read the law.” (Facher, 3/7)
The New York Times: Walgreens Faces Blowback For Not Offering Abortion Pill In 21 States
In an emailed statement, Rite Aid said it was continuing to monitor and evaluate the situation. CVS, Walmart, Costco, Kroger and Albertsons did not respond to emails seeking comment. “All of the pharmacies are facing the same problem,” said Andrew Gilman, the chief executive of CommCore Consulting Group, a crisis communications firm. “But Walgreens, as the first one to be publicly identified with going along with the state attorneys general request, will face the biggest hit to its reputation.” (Belluck and Creswell, 3/7)
The Washington Post: Walgreens' History Of Refusing Abortion Pills, Birth Control To Customers
Walgreens spokesman Jim Cohn told The Washington Post in a statement Tuesday that the policy of allowing pharmacists and other employees “to step away from completing a transaction to which they have a moral objection” is still in place. Walgreens’s policy is similar to that of other drugstore chains and pharmacies in the U.S. Among them is CVS, which also allows employees to deny prescriptions for birth control or purchases of condoms based on their religious or moral beliefs, according to USA Today. (Bella, 3/7)
KHN: Girls In Texas Could Get Birth Control At Federal Clinics, Until A Christian Father Objected
On the vast Texas Panhandle, raked by wind and relentless sun, women might drive for hours to reach Haven Health, a clinic in Amarillo. One of more than 3,200 federal family-planning clinics nationwide, Haven serves both English and Spanish speakers, providing contraception, testing for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, and cervical cancer screening, all at low cost or without charge to patients who are anxious, impoverished, or both. Those patients include teenage girls — under 18 — seeking birth control pills or long-acting contraception. (Varney, 3/8)
On women's rights —
The Washington Post: It's International Women's Day. How Did Women's Rights Fare This Year?
As the world marks International Women’s Day on Wednesday, the United Nations has warned that the world is 300 years away from gender equality, with hard-won progress toward the goal “vanishing before our eyes.” Speaking Monday, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres warned that “women’s rights are being abused, threatened and violated around the world.” (Bisset and Schanen, 3/8)
