Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hurdles Would Make It Difficult For Patients To Seek An Abortion In Canada
Detroit Free Press: Whitmer Urges Protection For Americans Seeking Abortions In Canada
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday asked the federal government to protect Americans seeking abortions in Canada, but experts say crossing the border for abortion access is out of reach for many Americans. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Whitmer requested protection for Americans seeking abortion and medications specific to abortion care in Canada. (Sampson, 7/8)
Legal updates from North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina —
Axios: North Dakota's Only Abortion Clinic Sues State Over Trigger Ban
Red River Women’s Clinic, the only remaining abortion provider in North Dakota, is suing state officials over the state's trigger ban, which is set to take effect later this summer. (Gonzalez, 7/7)
AP: Senate GOP Advances Constitutional Amendment On Abortion
Republican state senators outvoted impassioned Democratic opposition late Thursday to advance a proposal to add language to the Pennsylvania Constitution stating explicitly that the document does not guarantee any rights relating to abortion or public funding of abortions. (Scolforo, 7/7)
The New York Times: After Roe, South Carolina Considers More Restrictions On Abortion
With anti-abortion Republicans in firm control of South Carolina’s legislature and executive branch, a new proposal offering something closer to an outright ban seems quite likely, although the details have yet to be hammered out. On Thursday, the exploration of a new abortion law began with a meeting of a 14-member, Republican-dominated House committee. But a bill introduced in the House has been left intentionally vague, with just a few lines of text — including a statement that state law would be changed “so as to prohibit abortions in the state of South Carolina.” (Fausset and Sasani, 7/7)
On clinic care —
AP: Lone Mississippi Abortion Clinic Seeks Legal Path To Reopen
Attorneys for Mississippi’s only abortion clinic filed papers Thursday asking the state Supreme Court to block a new law that bans most abortions and to let the clinic reopen next week. The clinic, Jackson Women’s Health Organization, is at the center of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and took away women’s constitutional protection for abortion nationwide. (Pettus and Kolpack, 7/7)
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada Crisis Pregnancy Centers Don’t Discuss Abortion
Clark County School District Board Trustee Katie Williams donated her $2,000 quarterly board stipend to an anti-abortion pregnancy center Thursday as the organizations have come under increased scrutiny in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade last month. (Longhi, 7/7)
The 19th: Low-Income People Will Lose More Than Just Abortion Access When Clinics Close
Robin Marty has three months. That’s how long the money will last. The abortion clinic she runs in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, halted abortions following the reversal of Roe v. Wade last month, but it has enough cash reserves to provide other reproductive health services, including birth control, HIV treatment, prenatal care and gender-affirming care through about September. (Carrazana, 7/7)
NBC News: Google And Yelp Disable Reviews On Some Crisis Pregnancy Center Pages Amid Activist 'Spam' Campaign
Google and Yelp appear to have disabled the ability to post reviews for some crisis pregnancy centers listed on the platforms, which some activists say could prevent them from providing accurate information about the centers, which are known for trying to persuade women seeking abortions not to get them. Google appears to have also disabled the ability to post reviews of some abortion providers, like Planned Parenthood. (Rosenblatt, 7/8)
USA Today: 'DIY Abortion' On TikTok: Experts Urge Americans To Avoid These Herbs
The changing landscape of abortion access across the country has prompted many Americans to turn to the internet for answers, including how to self-manage an unwanted pregnancy at home. Google searches for “DIY abortion” have skyrocketed since the Supreme Court’s decision in June overturning Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50-year landmark ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. (Rodriguez, 7/7)
How accurate is polling on abortion? —
Columbus Dispatch: Abortion Polls Often Don't Measure How Americans Really Feel About It
"When most polls are used to justify support or opposition to abortion, they do not accurately reflect the true state of public opinion about abortion," said professor Andrew Smith, who formerly conducted the Ohio Poll and now is director of the University of New Hampshire's Survey Center. That's not to say that years of accumulated polls haven't established key points of consensus: • Most in the U.S. don't want to end all rights to have an abortion. (Rowland, 7/8)
Dallas Morning News: Most Texans Disapprove Of Trigger Law Banning Abortion, Say State Is On Wrong Track
A majority of Texans disapprove of the state’s trigger law, which will ban almost all abortions, new polling shows. The Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin shows 54% of respondents said they disapprove of the trigger law, and 37% approve. The law will go into effect in the coming weeks. (Wilson, 7/7)
Bangor Daily News: Mainers Care More About Economy Than Abortion In Tight Battle For State House Control
A new poll paid for by a national Republican group found a tight race for control of the Maine Legislature this fall, with cost of living the most important issue for voters, followed by abortion rights. The survey, paid for by the Republican State Leadership Committee, which provided detailed information on the poll to the Bangor Daily News, is the first released publicly this year to provide insight on how Maine voters are thinking about Maine House and Senate races. (Piper, 7/8)
