Less Travel For Abortions In 2024, But Overall Numbers Continue To Rise
A recent survey by the Guttmacher Institute showed that the number of Americans traveling out of state for abortions fell by 9% from 2023 to 2024, even as abortions are on the rise throughout the country. Another study suggests pills account for 1 in 10 abortions in states with bans.
AP:
Study Finds More Abortion, But Less Travel To Other States For It
Fewer people crossed state lines to obtain abortions in 2024 than a year earlier, a new survey has found. The Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights, estimates in a report released Tuesday that the overall number of clinician-provided abortions in states where it’s legal rose by less than 1% from 2023 to 2024. But the number of people crossing state lines for abortions dropped by about 9%. (Mulvihill, 4/15)
More news from across the U.S. —
AP:
California OKs $2.8B To Close Medicaid Funding Gap After Expanding Immigrant Coverage
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Monday to close a $2.8 billion budget gap in the state’s Medicaid services and ensure coverage through June for 15 million people, including immigrants, who receive health care via the program. The legislation is part of the state’s solution to solve the $6.2 billion hole in the state’s Medicaid budget. It comes a year after California launched an ambitious coverage expansion to provide free health care to all low-income adults regardless of their immigration status. (Nguyễn, 4/14)
KFF Health News:
States Push Medicaid Work Rules, But Few Programs Help Enrollees Find Jobs
For many years, Eric Wunderlin’s health issues made it hard to find stable employment. This article is part of KFF’s Medicaid Watch, featuring policy research, polling, and news about the Medicaid financing debate and related issues. Struggling to manage depression and diabetes, Wunderlin worked part-time, minimum-wage retail jobs around Dayton, Ohio, making so little he said he sometimes had to choose between paying rent and buying food. But in 2018, his CareSource Medicaid health plan offered him help getting a job. (Whitehead, Galewitz and Houghton, 4/15)
Politico:
How Bad Is California’s Housing Crisis? A First-In-The-Nation Bill Would Let Students Live In Cars.
A progressive Democratic lawmaker is seeking a simple but jarring remedy of last resort for California’s college students navigating the state’s housing crisis: Let them sleep in their cars. While roughly half a dozen state legislative proposals this year seek to fund student or faculty housing or loosen building regulations, the benefits would come far too late for current students struggling to stay afloat. With one in four California community college students experiencing homelessness in the past year, Democrats — who have a supermajority in the statehouse — face increasing pressure to deliver on affordability issues. (He, 4/13)
NPR:
As Special Ed Students Are Integrated More At School, Teacher Training Is Evolving
General education teachers are more likely than ever to be working with students who have special needs. And yet, according to NPR reporting, the 10 largest universities in the country have a patchwork of special education requirements for future teachers. When it comes to elementary teacher prep programs, which are designed to prepare students to earn state teaching certifications, six of those institutions require education students to take just one dedicated course in special education. The remaining four require more than one course. (Wallis, 4/15)
The Texas Tribune:
The Texas Legislature Is Having Big Battles Over Gender And Sexuality
As fundamental questions of gender and sexuality dominate Republican priorities at the state and federal level, the Texas Legislature is considering a record number of anti-trans bills this session. (Klibanoff, 4/14)
The Texas Tribune:
String Of Law Enforcement Suicides Rattles First Responders And Exposes Gaps In State Support
After two officers he had worked with during a 20-year stint in the U.S. Marine Corps took their own lives, Dustin Schellenger researched what mental health resources were available to his friends, both of whom were local first responders when they died. (Salhotra, 4/14)
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