Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Law Requiring Doctors To Tell Patients Abortions Can Be Reversed Compels AMA To Step In
The Washington Post: A North Dakota Abortion Law Requires Doctors To Misinform Women. The American Medical Association Is Suing.
One of America’s leading medical organizations has filed a lawsuit to block a North Dakota abortion law requiring doctors to tell women that a medication-induced abortion can be “reversed,” an assertion medical experts say is scientifically unsound. The American Medical Association has joined the Red River Women’s Clinic, the last abortion facility in the state, and its medical director, Kathryn Eggleston, to argue that the law violates doctors’ constitutional right to free speech by forcing them to lie to patients. (Epstein, 7/2)
Previous KHN coverage: AMA Abortion Lawsuit Puts Doctors In The Thick Of Debate
Concord (N.H.) Monitor: Planned Parenthood, Other Organizations, Face Funding Crunch After Budget Veto
Gov. Chris Sununu’s veto of the Democratically passed budget puts the fate of several long-term initiatives in the air – from education funding to mental health care. But for Planned Parenthood and other state reproductive health centers, it also sets up an immediate funding crunch. A $1.6 million appropriation proposed in the budget was meant to act as a state-funded counterweight against stringent new funding conditions imposed by President Donald Trump. Now, with the state budget at a standstill, abortion-providing health centers say they’ll have to cut back on non-abortion-related health services to absorb the new cuts. (DeWitt, 7/2)
Kansas City Star: Missouri Planned Parenthood License Renewal Case Pushed Back
Attorneys for Planned Parenthood of St. Louis and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) asked a state administrative hearing commissioner Tuesday to postpone a scheduled Aug. 1 hearing on the state’s decision to deny a new license to the clinic. Attorneys said they would not have enough time to prepare. (Thomas, 7/2)
Vice: A Decade Ago Missouri Had 5 Abortion Clinics. Now It Has One. Here's What Happened.
Eleven years ago, Missouri had five abortion clinics. Today, the state has just one — and it may close in a month. On Friday, Planned Parenthood of St. Louis won a last-minute reprieve that will allow it to keep offering the procedure until August. But the clinic is still facing the prospect of losing its abortion license altogether, which would leave Missouri the first state in decades without an abortion provider. (Sherman, 7/2)
Kaiser Health News: Newly Blue Maine Expands Access To Abortion
While abortion bans in Republican-led states dominated headlines in recent weeks, a handful of other states have expanded abortion access. Maine joined those ranks in June with two new laws ― one requires all insurance and Medicaid to cover the procedure and the other allows physician assistants and nurses with advanced training to perform it. With these laws, Maine joins New York, Illinois, Rhode Island and Vermont as states that are trying to shore up the right to abortion in advance of an expected U.S. Supreme Court challenge. What sets Maine apart is how recently Democrats have taken power in the state. (Wight, 7/3)
