Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Louisiana Becomes Fourth State With No Planned Parenthood Locations
AP: Planned Parenthood Shuts Down All Operations In Louisiana After 40 Years
Planned Parenthood on Tuesday shuttered its two clinics in Louisiana over what the organization said were mounting financial and political challenges that made operating in the state no longer possible after more than 40 years. The closures make Louisiana the most populous of just four states with no Planned Parenthood locations. The exit underlines the pressures on Planned Parenthood as it warns of wider closures nationwide in the face of Medicaid funding cuts in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill. (Cline, 10/1)
WDSU: New Orleans Health Department Provides Resources After Planned Parenthood Closure
The City of New Orleans Department of Health said it remains committed to protecting access to essential sexual and reproductive health care and has provided a list of available services. (Lowrey, 9/30)
Idaho Capital Sun: ‘We Aren’t Going Anywhere:’ Idaho’s Last Planned Parenthood Plans To Stay Open Despite Federal Cuts
By one early afternoon in late August, Dr. Colleen McNicholas had already inserted an IUD, seen a patient to provide gender-affirming care and helped a patient access HIV prevention medication. After the Idaho Legislature’s near-total abortion ban took effect three years ago, the state has lost more than a third of its OB-GYN doctors — and new recruits aren’t making up for the losses, a peer-reviewed study recently found. Planned Parenthood has expanded services to fill in gaps left behind, said McNicholas, an OB-GYN at the clinic and the chief clinical transformation officer for the regional Planned Parenthood affiliate. (Pfannenstiel, 10/1)
In abortion news —
The Hill: Pope Leo XIV: Support For Death Penalty Is ‘Not Really Pro-Life’
Pope Leo XIV criticized supporters of the death penalty on Tuesday, saying they are “not really pro-life.” “Someone who says, ‘I’m against abortion,’ but says ‘I’m in favor of the death penalty,’ is not really pro-life,” the pope told reporters, via EWTN News. “Someone who says that, ‘I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants who are in the United States,’ I don’t know if that’s pro-life.” (Rego, 9/30)
Politico: Pope Leo Speaks Up On Dick Durbin’s Behalf Amid Abortion Rift
Pope Leo XIV made a direct foray into U.S. politics Tuesday, offering measured support for the Chicago Archdiocese’s plan to honor Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who supports abortion rights, with a “lifetime achievement award” for his work on immigration policy. The pope’s comments to reporters come as anti-abortion advocates are condemning Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich and the archdiocese’s immigration ministry for planning to give Durbin the award at a Nov. 3 event. (Kapos, 9/30)
The 19th: Abortion’s Most Motivated Voters Went From Defenders To Opponents
Americans who call abortion their top voting issue are now more likely to support banning it, a reversal from the energized reproductive rights supporters who turned abortion into a key election issue after Roe v. Wade was overturned. (Luthra, 9/30)
On the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act —
AP: Justice Department Sues New Jersey Synagogue Protesters Using Law Meant To Protect Abortion Clinics
Federal officials have sued pro-Palestinian demonstrators involved in a heated protest outside a New Jersey synagogue last year, citing a law created to protect abortion clinics from obstruction and threats. Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said the lawsuit filed Monday against two pro-Palestinian groups and some demonstrators appears to be the first time the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act has been used against protesters outside a house of worship. (Shipkowski, 10/1)
In other reproductive health news —
NPR: Scientists Create Human Eggs Via In Vitro Gametogenesis
Scientists have created human eggs containing genes from adult skin cells, a step that someday could help women who are infertile or gay couples have babies with their own genes but would also raise difficult ethical, social and legal issues. "It's a significant step forward," says Shoukhrat Mitalipov of the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, who led the research published in the journal Nature Communications. (Stein, 9/30)
