HHS Props Up Privacy Protections For Abortion Patients And Providers
The new rule, in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, lets providers rebuff efforts from those who seek to use health care info in criminal cases. Meanwhile, doctors are keeping a close eye on a case before the Supreme Court that looks at EMTALA.
Stat:
Biden Administration Strengthens HIPAA To Protect Abortion Privacy
Biden officials are still pressing to shore up abortion protections amid an onslaught of legal challenges, one of which is slated for Supreme Court arguments this week. The Department of Health and Human Services on Monday released a final rule that would put abortion services under the same federal privacy protections as other health care data covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. The rule effectively allows providers to deny access to health care data that could be used to prosecute people in abortion-restrictive states. (Owermohle, 4/22)
The Guardian:
‘Pitting Patients Against Physicians’: Doctors Brace For US Supreme Court Verdict On Emergency Abortions
Dr. Lauren Miller used to cry every day on her way to work. A fetal maternal medicine specialist in Idaho, Miller despaired over the possibility she might be forced to tell patients she could not help them. Idaho has one of the strictest abortion bans in the nation, which means Miller could only perform abortions to save a woman’s life – and many patients, even those facing medical emergencies with potentially deadly consequences, were not yet sick enough to qualify. (Sherman, 4/23)
Politico:
What Counts As A Medical Exception For Abortion? Depends Who You Ask.
Every state abortion ban has an exception to save a mother’s life. But what qualifies as a life-threatening medical emergency in Texas may not be enough for a doctor in Idaho, and even hospitals within the same state can look at an identical case and reach different conclusions. The legal and medical murkiness has physicians around the country begging state officials to clarify when they can terminate pregnancies without risking legal peril. And as they await guidance from states, stories of pregnant patients turned away from hospitals in medical emergencies or forced to wait until their vitals crash have become emblematic of the confusion unleashed when the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision ended the federal right to an abortion in 2022. (Ollstein and Messerly, 4/23)
On 'zombie' abortion laws —
Tucson.com:
Group Launches Campaign To Oust 2 Arizona Justices Over Abortion Ruling
A political action group is launching a campaign to deny new terms to two of the state Supreme Court justices who voted to allow the 1864 law on abortion to once again be enforced in Arizona. The organization, called Progress Arizona, is also gearing up to kill a Republican legislator’s proposal to strip voters of the right to decide whether to retain judges in office or oust them. Supreme Court Justices Clint Bolick and Kathryn King, both appointees of former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, are on the statewide November ballot for retention. (Fischer, 4/22)
The Hill:
How Century-Old Zombie Abortion Bills Are Influencing 2024 Fight
Archaic pieces of legislation are coming back to life as the fight over abortion access rages across the country ahead of the 2024 election. When the Arizona Supreme Court ruled to ban nearly all abortions in the state, it did so by upholding an 1864 law — passed before Arizona was made a state — that made performing abortions a felony. There are at least five other states that have similar so-called “zombie laws” on the books, which could be used to restrict or ban abortions entirely. (Choi, 4/23)
How a second Trump administration could change abortion access —
Stat:
Trump Surrogates Hint At How He Could Reshape U.S. Health Care Policy
Seven months before the presidential election, Donald Trump’s health care priorities remain fuzzy at best. But one thing is certain: A second Trump administration would put its own stamp on a host of critical issues that are top of mind for voters. (Owermohle, 4/23)
NBC News:
As Trump Mulls His VP Pick, An Abortion-Rights Group Warns About 'Extremist' Candidates
As former President Donald Trump moves closer to selecting his running mate, a major Democratic abortion-rights advocacy group is taking his pool of vice presidential contenders to task over their records on reproductive rights. EMILY’s List, a group dedicated to electing Democratic candidates who back abortion rights, is focusing its annual “On Notice” list on Trump’s ever-evolving list of running mate contenders to highlight what it calls their “extreme anti-abortion agenda.” (Hernandez, 4/23)
On birth control —
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Missouri House OKs Bill Expanding Access To Birth Control
A year’s supply of contraception would have to be covered by the state’s private health insurers under a proposal that passed the Missouri House on Monday. Rep. Tara Peters, R-Rolla, who is sponsoring the bipartisan measure, has said that because Missouri is a non-abortion state, women should have the tools they need to prevent unintended pregnancy. (Pfeil, 4/22)
CBS News:
Michigan Legislature Considers Bills To Allow Pharmacists To Prescribe Birth Control
The Michigan Legislature is considering two bills that could make getting access to hormonal birth control a little easier. "We find ourselves in an OB-GYN kind of desert," said state Rep. Stephanie Young, one of the bill sponsors. "They're becoming harder and harder to locate, and when we know that we have pharmacists just up the street." (Meyers, 4/22)
NPR:
Arizona Startup Is Working On Making Birth Control For Men A Reality
A research lab in Flagstaff, Ariz., is trying to leverage a 1970s discovery into a safe and desirable alternative for men who want to prevent pregnancy. (Sevigny, 4/23)
