Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Indiana Supreme Court Ruling Means Strict Abortion Ban Will Take Effect
AP: Indiana's Near-Total Abortion Ban Set To Take Effect As State Supreme Court Denies Rehearing
Indiana’s near-total abortion ban is set to take effect within days after the Indiana Supreme Court on Monday denied a rehearing in the case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana. The denial of the rehearing means the ban will take effect once a June 30 ruling upholding the ban is certified, a procedural step expected to take just days, court spokesperson Kathryn Dolan said in an email to news media. (8/21)
More abortion news from Texas, Kansas, and Idaho —
NPR: Shh! Don't Say 'Abortion.' Texas Quietly Softens Its Ban On The Procedure
Texas's Republican Governor Greg Abbott addressed a rally earlier this year, celebrating the abortion bans that took effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. ... So it may be surprising that just a few weeks ago, Abbott signed a law giving doctors leeway to provide abortions in Texas when a patient's water breaks too early and for ectopic pregnancies. There was considerably less fanfare for that signing. (Simmons-Duffin, 8/22)
Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas Gets Four Bidders For $2 Million Alternatives To Abortion Fund
Kansas pregnancy centers are one step closer to getting their shares of a $2 million fund established to provide support for pregnant women and girls who might otherwise choose abortion. The Kansas Treasurer's Office now has four options to run the $2 million Alternatives to Abortion Program. It was created by the Legislature as a way to send taxpayer money to anti-abortion counseling centers, commonly referred to as pregnancy resource centers or crisis pregnancy centers. (Alatidd, 8/21)
The Guardian: No OB-GYNs Left In Town: What Came After Idaho’s Assault On Abortion
In Sandpoint, Idaho, the maternity ward closed down. Within months, medical care for women in the rural community was hollowed out. (McLaughlin, 8/22)
Also —
Time: New CDC Director Mandy Cohen On Abortion, COVID-19, And More
Dr. Mandy Cohen is the new director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The former health secretary for North Carolina, she led the state’s COVID-19 response and improved Medicaid access for eligible residents. Just one month into her new job, Cohen spoke with TIME about what we can expect next in the ongoing government response to COVID-19, the tumultuous legal battles currently surrounding women’s health, and her vision for the embattled public health agency. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. (Park, 8/21)
The Wall Street Journal: Some Americans Take On Side Hustles For Fertility Benefits
When Courtney Lorenz found out she needed fertility treatments to have a shot at motherhood, the 37-year old software program manager took a second job. Not for the money, but for the benefits. Lorenz worked 10 hours a week over six months as a cashier at home-improvement retailer Tractor Supply for $16 an hour, for which she received insurance that paid for four rounds of egg retrieval, a procedure that wasn’t covered by her primary health insurance. (Torry, 8/21)
In election news —
NPR: Planned Parenthood's First Ad Of The 2024 Campaign Targets Wisconsin
Planned Parenthood is launching its first campaign ad of the 2024 presidential election cycle in Wisconsin, just ahead of the first Republican primary debate Wednesday night in Milwaukee. The new ad, airing on social media and streaming platforms, includes a collage of past statements from several Republican presidential candidates expressing support for national legislation restricting abortion. (McCammon, 8/22)
Axios: Abortion's Next Big Litmus Test
Democrats are mobilizing for what they widely view as the next major referendum on abortion rights: this fall's Virginia state legislature elections. Virginia is the lone southern state that hasn't banned or restricted abortion since the Supreme Court struck down federal protection of the procedure and provides another off-year test of its potency as a campaign issue following Ohio's special election this month. (Owens, 8/22)
The 19th: Why Republicans Are Talking So Much About ‘Late-Term Abortions’
Republican presidential candidates championing abortion restrictions — and contending with voter discontent over the end of federal abortion rights — are rebuffing criticism of their positions by arguing Democrats support abortions “up until the moment of birth.” Within the Republican Party, the debate isn’t generally about the later stages of pregnancy but rather which restrictions in the first or second trimester they support and whether they would back national restrictions on the procedure. Honing in on abortions in the latter stages of pregnancy shifts the focus to procedures that are either extremely rare or that don’t happen at all — but that are generally less popular with the American public. (Barclay and Luthra, 8/21)
Stat: Eli Lilly CEO Gives To Mike Pence Presidential Super PAC
David Ricks, who leads Eli Lilly, made a major early donation to a super PAC in support of former vice president Mike Pence — one of the first big 2024 donations from a major player in the pharmaceutical industry. (Cohrs, 8/22)
