Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Judge Temporarily Blocks Wyoming's Days-Old Abortion Ban
AP: Judge Halts Wyoming Abortion Ban Days After It Took Effect
Abortion will again be legal in Wyoming — at least for now — after a judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a ban that took effect a few days earlier. Teton County District Court Judge Melissa Owens’ decision halts the ban amid a challenge in her court to a law that took effect Sunday. The Republican-controlled Legislature approved the law despite earlier rulings by Owens that had blocked a previous ban since shortly after it took effect last summer. (Gruver, 3/23)
The New York Times: Wyoming Judge Temporarily Blocks The State’s New Abortion Ban
The new ban, enacted earlier this month, was the legislature’s attempt to circumvent the constitutional guarantee of freedom in health care choices by declaring in the law that abortion is not health care. On Wednesday, Judge Owens questioned that assertion. “I’m just still hung up on abortion not being health care,” she said to the lawyer defending the laws for the state, Jay Jerde, a special assistant attorney general for Wyoming. “An abortion can only be performed by a licensed medical professional, so what authority does the legislature have to declare that abortion is not health care when our laws only allow a licensed medical professional to administer one?” she asked. (Belluck, 3/22)
In abortion news from Kansas and Massachusetts —
Kansas City Star: Kansas House Passes ‘Born Alive’ Abortion Bill
The Kansas House Wednesday passed a bill that requires physicians to care for infants born alive during an abortion, despite no evidence this has happened in Kansas in decades. The chamber voted 88 to 34 to approve the “born alive” bill and send it to the state Senate. Similar legislation has been pursued at the federal level and in Republican-led statehouses nationwide. (Bernard, 3/22)
Kansas News Service: Small Planes And Secrecy: Pilots Fly People To Kansas And Other States For Abortions
The pilot, clad in a blue windbreaker, pulls his single-engine, four-seater prop plane onto the tarmac. The small municipal airport sits in a state where abortion is now banned in virtually all cases. But a short flight away in Kansas, it remains legal. That’s launched a wave of travel from across the South and Midwest in pursuit of pills and procedures no longer legal in many places. Michael — who asked to only use his first name — is part of a growing group of hobby pilots who have begun ferrying people across state lines to get abortions and gender-affirming medical care, flouting local restrictions and bans. (Conlon, 3/23)
The Boston Globe: State Officials Issue Guidance To Mass. Pharmacies: Stock Abortion Pills
State officials on Wednesday reminded Massachusetts pharmacies that they must stock all reproductive health medications including mifepristone, a drug that can safely end a pregnancy in its early stages and whose availability is the subject of dueling lawsuits. In a statement, the state Department of Public Health said the “clarifying guidance” came from the state Board of Registration in Pharmacy. (Andersen, 3/22)
From North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Ohio —
AP: New Hawaii Law Expands Abortion Access, Protects Providers
Hawaii’s governor on Wednesday signed legislation expanding access to abortion and putting into law recent executive orders protecting local health care providers from prosecution by out-of-state authorities. (McAvoy, 3/23)
North Carolina Health News: Docs Visit Legislature To Oppose Abortion Limits
Since legislators returned to Raleigh in late January, physicians opposed to any new restrictions on abortion in North Carolina have been making themselves visible at the General Assembly. Leading the opposition to any new legislation are obstetrician-gynecologists (known as OB-GYNs), who have the closest contact with people who face the decisions about whether to continue a pregnancy. (Hoban, 3/23)
Oklahoman: Excerpts: Oklahoma Supreme Court Justices' Deep Division Over Abortion
The Oklahoma Supreme Court was deeply divided over the abortion question, with the 5-4 majority ruling on Tuesday that the state constitution protects a woman’s right to have an abortion to save her own life. The majority opinion states that the court did not rule on elective abortions. The majority opinion was accompanied by six separate concurring and dissenting opinions. (Casteel, 3/22)
Axios: Inside The Fight For Abortion Rights In Ohio
The battle over a proposed amendment for abortion rights in Ohio intensified this week with legal maneuvering and a trained army of volunteers at the forefront. Why it matters: If the amendment makes it to the November ballot and voters approve it, it would preserve abortion access in a state that's been a conservative front for opposing abortion. (Smith, 3/23)
Also —
CNN: How Ginsburg's Death And Kavanaugh's Maneuvering Shaped The Supreme Court's Reversal Of Roe V. Wade And Abortion Rights
The internal negotiations on the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ended up reversing nearly a half century of abortion rights, were tightly tied to Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death and the succession of Amy Coney Barrett. (Biskupic, 3/23)
