Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In Move Designed To Challenge Roe V. Wade, Alabama Legislature Passes Ban On Abortion, Criminalizes Procedure
The New York Times: Alabama Lawmakers Vote To Effectively Ban Abortion In The State
The Alabama Senate approved a measure on Tuesday that would outlaw almost all abortions in the state, setting up a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, the case that recognized a woman’s constitutional right to end a pregnancy. The legislation bans abortions at every stage of pregnancy and criminalizes the procedure for doctors, who could be charged with felonies and face up to 99 years in prison. It includes an exception for cases when the mother’s life is at serious risk, but not for cases of rape or incest — a subject of fierce debate among lawmakers in recent days. (Williams and Blinder, 5/14)
Los Angeles Times: Alabama Lawmakers Vote To Ban All Abortions In The State And To Punish Doctors
“You just aborted and you raped the state of Alabama,” Sen. Minority Leader Bobby Singleton railed at his Republican colleagues after the vote against the amendment. “All of you should be put in jail for this abortion that you just laid on the state of Alabama. This is just a shame. This is a disgrace. It is a travesty.” In an extraordinary protest against the vote on the amendment, Singleton vowed that Democrats would stay up through the night to filibuster the bill. (Jarvie, 5/14)
The Associated Press: Alabama Ban On Nearly All Abortions In GOP Governor's Hands
Ivey has not said whether she'll sign the bill. Sponsor Rep. Terri Collins says she expects the governor to support the ban. And the lopsided vote suggests a veto could be easily overcome. But an Ivey spokeswoman said before Tuesday's vote that "the governor intends to withhold comment until she has had a chance to thoroughly review the final version of the bill that passed." In Alabama and other conservative states, anti-abortion politicians and activists emboldened by the addition of conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court hope to ignite legal fights and eventually overturn the landmark 1973 decision Roe v. Wade, putting an end to the constitutional right to abortion. (Chandler, 5/15)
The Washington Post: Alabama Senate Passes Nation’s Most Restrictive Abortion Ban, Which Makes No Exceptions For Victims Of Rape And Incest
“This bill is about challenging Roe v. Wade and protecting the lives of the unborn because an unborn baby is a person who deserves love and protection,” Alabama state Rep. Terri Collins (R), the sponsor of the bill, said after the vote Tuesday night. “I have prayed my way through this bill. This is the way we get where we want to get eventually.” (Wax-Thibodeaux and Brownlee, 5/14)
Politico: Alabama Senate Approves Nation’s Strictest Abortion Ban
Abortion rights groups said they will immediately mount a legal challenge to the measure, contending it violates the landmark 1973 Roe ruling guaranteeing a woman’s right to an abortion until a fetus is viable. “Politicians in Alabama just passed the most extreme and dangerous policy since Roe v. Wade,“ said Leana Wen, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “Doctors and public health leaders agree: the cost will be women’s lives. … Politicians who say they value life should advocate for policies to solve the public health crises that are killing women, not dismantle what little access to health care Alabamians have left.“ (Goldberg, 5/14)
The Wall Street Journal: Alabama Senate Approves Abortion Ban
It highlights growing efforts by abortion opponents to try to challenge the legality of abortion more directly instead of pursuing incremental measures that erect regulatory and other hurdles. The new approach has gained steam in the wake of President Trump’s appointment of conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. (Campo-Flores, 5/15)
Los Angeles Times: Georgia Governor Postpones L.A. Visit Amid Hollywood Clash Over Abortion Law
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has postponed a trip to Los Angeles next week amid mounting criticism over the state’s controversial abortion bill that he signed into law last week. But Kemp has plans for a later visit. “We have confirmed a date to go out to L.A. this fall,” Kemp’s spokesman, Cody Hall, said in a statement to The Times on Tuesday. At next week’s visit in L.A., Kemp had planned to tout his state’s ties to Hollywood productions. (Saad, 5/14)
The Associated Press: Pennsylvania House Tries Anew To Ban Down Syndrome Abortions
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is launching another effort to outlaw abortions because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, passing legislation Tuesday that faces a veto by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, if it even reaches his desk. The vote comes amid a wave of abortion restrictions advancing in more conservative states, setting them on a course to virtually eliminate abortion access in parts of the Midwest and Deep South, in hopes that a more conservative U.S. Supreme Court will approve. (Levy, 5/14)
The Associated Press: Michigan Lawmakers OK Ban On Abortion Procedure; Veto Vowed
Michigan's Republican-led Legislature voted Tuesday to ban a common second-trimester abortion procedure, pushing ahead with legislation Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she would veto. The bills would prohibit physicians from performing abortion by dilation and evacuation except to save a woman's life. Anti-abortion advocates refer to the procedure by the non-medical term "dismemberment abortion." (5/14)
Detroit Free Press: Legislature Passes, Whitmer Says She'll Veto Abortion Procedure Ban
The GOP-led Legislature's straight party line votes on Tuesday to ban an abortion procedure performed in the second trimester, sets up a promised veto from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — and an expected ballot proposal to get around the governor's move from Michigan Right to Life. Republicans in the state Senate and House of Representatives passed the bills seeking to criminalize the dilation and evacuation procedure amid a national trend of GOP-led legislatures trying to restrict access to abortion as the U.S. Supreme Court grows more conservative. (Egan, 5/14)
The Washington Post: ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Ban To Be Debated In Missouri Senate
Missouri’s Republican-led Senate is set to take up a bill to ban abortions after eight weeks, a move that comes as GOP legislatures across the U.S. are emboldened by the possibility that a more conservative Supreme Court could overturn its landmark ruling legalizing the procedure. The Missouri bill would be one of the nation’s most restrictive if enacted. It’s similar to “heartbeat” bills signed into law in Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio and Georgia that ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. That can occur in about the sixth week of pregnancy. (Ballentine, 5/15)
The Associated Press: Judge Rescinds Ruling Against ‘Physicians-Only’ Abortion Law
A federal judge has rescinded his own ruling that struck down a Virginia law that said only physicians may perform first-trimester abortions. U.S. District Court Henry Hudson last week found that the law was “unduly burdensome” to women seeking abortions. Hudson’s ruling came ahead of a trial scheduled to begin next week in a lawsuit challenging Virginia abortion laws. (5/14)
The Washington Post: Which States Are Blocking Abortion — And Which Are Enacting Protections?
The Alabama Senate tonight approved a bill that would create the nation’s strictest abortion ban, the latest attempt to prompt the Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade. The bill, which would make performing virtually all abortions a crime, has passed the state House and Senate and now goes to the governor for signature to become a law. (Keating, Tierney, Meko and Rindler, 5/14)
