Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Government Website On Reproductive Rights Is No Longer Online
CBS News: Government Website Offering Reproductive Health Information Goes Offline
Government website reproductiverights.gov appeared to be offline on the evening of President Donald Trump's inauguration. The site, launched in 2022 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of a public awareness campaign, contained information on access to abortion and reproductive health care and a Know-Your-Rights patient fact sheet. (Fichten, 1/20)
The Hill: Trump Expected To Quickly Revive ‘Global Gag Rule’ On Abortion
President-elect Trump is expected to reinstate a controversial policy soon after taking office that would further bar foreign nongovernmental organizations that perform, counsel on or provide information on abortions abroad from receiving U.S. funding. The Mexico City Policy, referred to as the global gag rule by its opponents, was first introduced during the second Reagan administration and has been rescinded by every Democratic president and reinstated by every Republican president since then. (O’Connell-Domenech, 1/19)
The Hill: Trump's Abortion Stance Faces Challenges In Second Term
President-elect Trump campaigned on leaving abortion decisions to the states, but that could prove a tough promise to keep as he returns to the Oval Office. Anti-abortion groups want Trump to quickly take executive action to re-impose federal restrictions from his first term; Republicans in Congress are poised to send him new abortion legislation; and his Justice Department will need to decide whether to continue defending Biden-era abortion policies across several ongoing federal cases or drop them completely. (Weixel, 1/20)
Abortion updates from Maryland, Texas, and Missouri —
CBS News: Maryland Enshrines Access To Abortion In State Constitution After Voters Approve Amendment
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed a proclamation enshrining access to abortion into the state's constitution after voters approved ballot question 1 in the 2024 election. About 76% of voters were in favor of the constitutional amendment, according to the Associated Press. Despite a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, abortion has remained legal in Maryland. (Moodee Lockman, 1/20)
The Texas Tribune: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Says Legislature Should Clarify Texas Abortion Law To Protect Mothers At Risk
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Sunday said the Legislature should amend the language of the state’s near-total abortion ban to address confusion over when doctors may terminate pregnancies. “I do think we need to clarify any language so that doctors are not in fear of being penalized if they think the life of the mother is at risk,” Patrick said on the WFAA program “Inside Texas Politics.” Patrick is the first major state elected official to offer support for changing the state’s abortion law in this legislative session. (Despart, 1/20)
AP: Missouri Lawmakers Are Going After Voter-Approved Abortion Rights. Voters Will Likely Reelect Them
Voters in Missouri last election approved a constitutional amendment that promised to undo the state’s near-total abortion ban. The same day, they reelected a Republican supermajority to the state Legislature, including several of the same lawmakers who passed the abortion ban in 2019. Now, GOP lawmakers are working to roll back some, if not all, of the abortion rights protected under the new amendment. (Ballentine, 1/19)
In obituaries —
The Texas Tribune: Longtime Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards Dies
Cecile Richards, a lifelong advocate for women’s rights who led Planned Parenthood for 12 years, has died at the age of 67 after a battle with brain cancer, her family said in a statement Monday morning. Richards, the eldest daughter of former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, forged her own path as an activist and political force for women across Texas and the United States. (Klibanoff, 1/20)
The Washington Post: Carol Downer, A Founder Of The Women’s Health Movement, Dies At 91
Carol Downer, a self-described housewife turned feminist activist who helped lead the women’s health movement in the 1970s, mobilizing women to take charge of their bodies and popularizing a controversial method of at-home abortion known as menstrual extraction, died Jan. 13 at a hospital in Glendale, California. She was 91. She had suffered a heart attack two weeks before her death, said her daughter Angela Booth. (Langer, 1/17)
In pregnancy research —
Newsweek: Is Baby Brain Real? Pregnancy Changes Whopping 95% Of Gray Matter
Almost all of the gray matter in the brains of women changes during pregnancy, according to a recent study, and these changes are linked to hormone fluctuations and the psychological wellbeing of mothers after giving birth. Neuroscientists tested the effects of pregnancy and motherhood on the brains of nearly 180 women using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. (Willmoth, 1/20)
