Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Judge Lifts Ban On Planned Parenthood Medicaid Funding, With Caveat
Politico: Judge Blocks Provision Of Law That Strips Medicaid Funding For Planned Parenthood Affiliates
A federal judge has again blocked a provision Congress passed in July that stripped federal Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood affiliates, ruling that the language likely places an unconstitutional burden on states to apply vague criteria about the scope of the ban. (Gerstein and Ollstein, 12/2)
The New York Times: Supreme Court Seems Skeptical Of N.J. In Dispute Over Anti-Abortion Center Donor Records
A majority of the Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared to believe an anti-abortion pregnancy center should be able to challenge a subpoena demanding its donor information in federal court. The dispute focused on a subpoena issued by the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General in November 2023, seeking information, including donor names and contact information, from First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, a group of five centers that seek to dissuade women from having abortions. (VanSickle, 12/2)
More reproductive health news —
CNN: US Stillbirth Rate Improved Last Year, But Progress Is Slow
The US stillbirth rate dropped 2% last year, according to data published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a hopeful improvement after a turbulent few years. (McPhillips, 12/3)
Undark: Is Male Infertility Contributing To Falling Birth Rates?
For decades, U.S. marriage rates have been on the decline while the average age at which Americans have children has risen. Alongside this, birth rates have dropped — a phenomenon the Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has called a “national security threat.” Within Donald Trump’s administration’s Make America Great Again movement, pro-natalists opine that society’s existence could be at stake. (Cohen, 12/3)
KFF Health News: Trump Wants Americans To Make More Babies. Critics Say His Policies Won’t Help Raise Them
Maddy Olcott plans to start a career once she graduates from college. But the junior at the State University of New York-Purchase College is so far not planning to start a family — even with the Trump administration dangling inducements like thousand-dollar “baby bonuses” or cheaper infertility drugs. "Our country wants us to be birthing machines, but they’re cutting what resources there already are,” said Olcott, 20. “And a $1,000 baby bonus? It’s low-key like, what, bro? That wouldn’t even cover my month’s rent.” (Armour and Seitz, 12/3)
Bridge Michigan: Michigan Tops Doula Goal In Push To Improve Maternal And Infant Health
Michigan is rapidly expanding doula access after beginning to cover the service through its federally funded Medicaid program, a shift that health officials say will improve birth outcomes and strengthen maternal care. There are over 1,000 registered doulas in Michigan, which surpassed the state’s goal of having 500 registered doulas by 2028, as part of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Advancing Healthy Births Plan. (James, 12/2)
