Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Iowa's 6-Week Abortion Ban Now In Effect
The Hill: Iowa 6-Week Abortion Ban Signed Into Law
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) on Friday signed Iowa’s new abortion ban into law, effectively outlawing most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. The ban will take effect immediately, further eroding abortion access across the Midwest, where it is already extremely limited. (Weixel, 7/14)
The 19th: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds Signs Abortion Ban At Conservative Conference
When Kim Reynolds stepped on a stage Friday at a downtown events center in Iowa’s capital city, hundreds in the crowd delivered a standing ovation for their governor. The rock star welcome came from some of Reynolds’ most ardent supporters, evangelical Christians, who had gathered here for an annual summit billed as the largest in the Midwest. Minutes later on stage, the Republican governor signed into law a ban on most abortions in the state after six weeks of pregnancy. (Rodriguez, 7/14)
Also —
The Hill: Democrats Ask DOJ To Protect Ability Of Patients To Travel Out Of State For Abortion
A group of Senate Democrats urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) Wednesday to protect the ability of Americans to travel outside their home states to obtain abortions, as some Republican-led states look to crack down on out-of-state abortion access. (Shapero, 7/13)
WFSU: Women Are Fighting To Change Florida's Constitution To Protect Abortion
It’s been a little longer than a year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade— turning decisions about abortion access over to individual states. In that time, Florida has enacted a law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks, passed a six-week ban that remains pending and prepared to challenge a privacy clause in the state constitution that has, in the past, been found to protect abortion rights. Now, abortion advocates are working to put language in the state constitution that explicitly protects abortion access. (McCarthy, 7/13)
News Service of Florida: State Reaches Settlements With Miami-Dade Clinics Over 24-Hour Abortion Waiting Period
In one of a series of similar cases, a Miami-Dade abortion clinic will pay $20,000 to the state to settle allegations that the clinic did not properly comply with a law that requires providing information to women at least 24 hours before abortions. The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration filed an order Wednesday at the state Division of Administrative Hearings ending the case against A Woman’s Choice LLC, a clinic in Hialeah. (7/14)
From the 2024 campaign trail —
The Hill: Pence Says Abortion Should Be Banned For Nonviable Pregnancies
Former Vice President Mike Pence said abortions in the case of nonviable pregnancies should be banned, taking a hard stance on abortion policy, which has served as an emphasis of his campaign. "I'm pro-life. I don't apologize for it," Pence said in a recent interview. "I just have heard so many stories over the years of courageous women and families who were told that their unborn child would not go to term or would not survive. And then they had a healthy pregnancy and a healthy delivery." (Robertson, 7/15)
The Hill: DeSantis On 6-Week Abortion Ban: ‘I Had A Lot Of Supporters Who Were Averse To Me On This’
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) acknowledged on Friday that he “had a lot of supporters who were averse to me” on the six-week abortion ban he signed into law earlier this year. “As President, I will be somebody who will use the bully pulpit to support governors like [Iowa Gov.] Kim Reynolds when she’s got a bill, other states as they advance the cause of life. It is a critical issue, and it’s one I’m happy to have done,” DeSantis told former Fox New host Tucker Carlson during the Family Leadership Summit event in Iowa, referring to Reynolds’ recently signing a six-week abortion ban. (Vakil, 7/14)
Meanwhile, in other reproductive health news —
Charlotte Ledger: Are NC's New Abortion Restrictions Leading To More Sterilizations?
For years, Katie and her husband have used traditional forms of birth control to prevent pregnancy. The 28-year-old knew that if it failed, she could always get an abortion. The Concord woman explained that she has never wanted children. She also takes medication that could cause complications if she were to get pregnant. When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, Katie –who declined to share her last name to protect her privacy – began to think she needed more protection. Then, this spring, North Carolina lawmakers approved a 12-week restriction on abortions, and that confirmed Katie’s decision. She had her fallopian tubes removed last week by a Charlotte doctor. (Crouch, 7/17)
The New York Times: How Women Feel About Opill, An Over-The-Counter Birth Control Pill
On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration approved a hormonal birth control pill, called Opill, to be sold over the counter — a landmark decision that was largely received with excitement by many women and teenage girls in New York. The pill will be sold in stores and online, without age restrictions, beginning early next year. If Shandra Rogers, 21, had had over-the-counter access to Opill as a teenager, she might have avoided an unwanted pregnancy, she said. (Haridasani Gupta, 7/14)
The Atlantic: Birth Control Isn’t The Only Thing That Just Went Over-The-Counter
The FDA announced yesterday that it had for the first time approved a daily birth-control pill for over-the-counter sales. ... That’s historic news, but hidden underneath it is another set of firsts: In the coming months, Americans will also be able to grab an over-the-counter treatment for their heavy periods, cramps, headaches, and even migraines; they’ll have prescription-free access to a drug for endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome; and they’ll be able to buy a medication that can mitigate the symptoms of menopause. It’s all in the same, progestin-based pill. (Gutman-Wei, 7/14)
