Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Judge Rules He Had No Authority To Block Georgia's Abortion Ban
AP: Judge Refuses To Immediately Block Georgia Abortion Ban
A state judge refused Monday to immediately stop enforcement of Georgia’s restrictive abortion law, which took effect last month and bans most abortions once fetal cardiac activity is present. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled he did not have the authority to issue a preliminary injunction and block the law at this stage of the lawsuit. (8/15)
In abortion updates from Idaho and West Virginia —
AP: Judge: Legislature Can Intervene A Little In Abortion Case
A federal judge says the Idaho Legislature can intervene in the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit targeting Idaho’s total abortion ban, but only to present evidence about emergency abortions performed in Medicaid-funded emergency rooms. In the written ruling handed down Saturday, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill said the Legislature’s interests are already well-represented by the Idaho Attorney General’s office and Gov. Brad Little, so there’s no legitimate reason to add another party to the lawsuit. (Boone, 8/15)
AP: WVa Governor: Voters Shouldn't Decide Abortion Access Issue
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice scoffed Monday at a suggestion by Democratic lawmakers to let voters decide whether abortion should continue to be allowed in the state. The Republican governor said the state’s abortion law falls under the scrutiny of the Legislature and the attorney general. (Raby, 8/15)
More are seeking out sterilization —
The Washington Post: Post-Roe, More Americans Want Their Tubes Tied. It Isn’t Easy
Frances Vermillion showed up to their consultation for a tubal ligation prepared for the worst. Expecting resistance from their gynecologist, the 24-year-old from Ames, Iowa, carefully assembled a binder containing information about sterilization, including their reasons for wanting to get their tubes tied. When they arrived at the initial consultation in late July, Vermillion said their doctor “didn’t even look at the binder” and instead pressed them on why they wanted the procedure, suggesting they were too young and might change their mind later. (Venkataramanan, 8/15)
KUER 90.1: In A Post-Roe World, These Utah Women Are Considering Sterilization As A Form Of Protection
Sara Reyes, 36, knows she doesn’t want kids. For her, the choice was settled years ago, but then Roe v. Wade was overturned and Utah attempted to implement its trigger law. While the abortion ban remains held up in litigation, Reyes, who gets the Depo-Provera shot for birth control, said she’s scared that the Supreme Court will come after contraceptives next. (Martinez, 8/15)
On medical training and clinic work —
Reuters: Abortion Bans Limit Training Options For Some Future U.S. Physicians
University of Oklahoma medical student Ian Peake spent four years shadowing doctors at a Tulsa abortion clinic because his school didn't offer courses on abortion or provide any training. But the Tulsa Women's Clinic stopped abortion services in May when Oklahoma enacted a near-total ban, and the provider closed for good after the U.S. Supreme Court ended constitutional abortion protections in June. Peake, 33, now had no local options to learn about abortion. (Horowitch, 8/15)
The CT Mirror: With CT Safe Harbor Law Passed, Clinicians Train To Perform Abortion
On a recent weekday, a nurse midwife and an advanced practice registered nurse at Planned Parenthood of Southern New England sat hunched over two papayas on a medical table. (Carlesso, 8/16)
KHN: On The Wisconsin-Illinois Border: Clinics In Neighboring States Team Up On Abortion Care
Around two days a week, Natalee Hartwig leaves her home in Madison, Wisconsin, before her son wakes up to travel across the border into Illinois. “Luckily it’s summer,” said Hartwig, a nurse midwife at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. “For now, he can sleep in. But any getting ready that has to happen will be on my spouse.” She drives at least two hours each way, immersed in audiobooks and podcasts as she heads back and forth from a clinic in this northern Illinois suburb. She spends her days in the recovery room, caring for patients who have had abortions and checking their vitals before they go home. (Schorsch, 8/16)
Presurgical pregnancy testing becomes more complicated —
Stat: Once Routine, Pre-Surgical Pregnancy Testing Now Is Anything But
Monica da Silva, a critical care and cardiac anesthesiologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was counseling a patient who had been in a car accident. Just before they headed to the operating room, however, the patient’s pregnancy test came back unexpectedly positive. (Pasricha, 8/16)
