Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Georgia Supreme Court Considers Case Against The State's Abortion Ban
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Supreme Court Hears Arguments Concerning State’s Abortion Law
The Georgia Supreme Court will soon decide whether the abortion law the Legislature passed in 2019 should remain in effect — or if, as attorneys for abortion providers argued Tuesday, it was illegal from the start. In 2019, Georgia passed a law that bans most abortions once a doctor can detect fetal cardiac activity, typically about six weeks into a pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant. (Prabhu, 3/28)
AP: Georgia High Court Considers Whether Abortion Law Is Void
During oral arguments Tuesday before the Georgia Supreme Court on the state of Georgia’s appeal challenging the lower court ruling, state solicitor-general Stephen Petrany noted that the U.S. Supreme Court last year ruled that Roe v. Wade was an incorrect interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Because the Georgia abortion law “would be valid if enacted today under the exact same federal Constitution, it was valid when it was enacted,” he argued. (Brumback, 3/28)
More abortion news from Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Kentucky —
Reuters: U.S. Arrests Man For Firebombing Wisconsin Anti-Abortion Group's Office
U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday charged a Wisconsin man with firebombing a conservative anti-abortion group's office last May, just days after a leaked draft of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling overturning the nationwide right to abortion became public. Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury, 29, was arrested at an airport in Boston after authorities said DNA from a thrown-away bag containing a partially eaten burrito had helped them identify who caused the May 8 fire at Wisconsin Family Action's office. (Raymond, 3/28)
AP: Wyoming Abortion Clinic Fire Suspect To Go Free Pending Case
She posted on social media about competing in a bike race, losing her pet hedgehog and visiting a butterfly garden with her grandmother but gave no sign of the anti-abortion views investigators say drove her to set fire to a Wyoming abortion clinic. On Tuesday, a judge ruled that Lorna Roxanne Green may be released from jail to carry on life as a college student pending further developments in her case, U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie Hambrick ruled. (Gruver, 3/28)
Reveal: Kentucky Lawmaker Pushes To Regulate Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers After Reveal Investigation
A state lawmaker is calling for Kentucky to regulate anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers after a Reveal investigation found that most centers aren’t subject to the same kind of oversight as other medical clinics, even though they perform procedures that can dramatically affect the lives of pregnant people. The Kentucky bill is among a wave of efforts by reproductive rights advocates in more than a dozen states to regulate crisis pregnancy centers through medical licensing requirements or consumer protection laws. (Morel, 3/27)
In other reproductive health care news —
NBC News: FDA Advisers To Meet On Over-The-Counter Birth Control Pills
Food and Drug Administration advisers will meet in May to discuss whether the agency should allow a birth control pill to be sold over the counter. The pill, called Opill from French drugmaker HRA Pharma, is currently approved by the FDA to prevent pregnancy, but it is only available with a prescription. (Lovelace Jr., 3/28)
Reuters: US Pharmacy Chain CVS To Bolster Customer Privacy Protection After Shareholder Push
CVS Health Corp will enhance its data privacy disclosures following a shareholder proposal that asked the pharmacy chain to address concerns around threats to customers' reproductive health data, Arjuna Capital said. (3/28)
