Michiganders Shouldn’t Have To Wait For Abortion Care, Judge Rules
Noting voters approved enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution, Judge Sima Patel also blocked a requirement that providers offer information about alternatives and another that said only doctors may perform the procedure. Also in the news: abortion pills, a burgeoning maternity center, pregnancy risks, and more.
AP:
Judge Overturns Michigan's 24-Hour Waiting Period Before An Abortion
A judge on Tuesday struck down Michigan’s 24-hour waiting period before an abortion, saying it conflicts with a voter-approved amendment that locked abortion rights in the state constitution in 2022. “Michiganders have the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the right to abortion care, and the state cannot deny, burden or infringe upon this freedom barring a compelling state interest to protect the health of the individual seeking care,” Judge Sima Patel said. The waiting period had been in place for years, though Patel temporarily blocked it earlier in litigation in 2024. (White, 5/13)
The Hill:
Louisiana Investigating Another Case Against New York Doctor Over Mailing Abortion Pills
Louisiana’s attorney general is investigating a second case involving New York doctor Margaret Carpenter after she allegedly prescribed and mailed abortion medication to another woman in the state, this time located in the city of Shreveport. The Shreveport woman was 20 weeks pregnant when she took the abortion medication and subsequently went into labor, Attorney General Liz Murrill said during a testimony for an anti-abortion bill in the state’s House Civil Law and Procedure Committee on Monday. (O’Connell-Domenech, 5/13)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Newsom Seeks To Lower Prescription Prices, Protect Abortion Access
Seeking to lower prescription drug prices and safeguard abortion access, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday proposed new regulations on pharmaceutical middlemen and an expansion of state purchasing of abortion drugs. Newsom’s plan would require prescription drug intermediaries known as pharmacy benefit managers to be licensed and regulated by the state and would expand CalRx, his low-cost drug purchasing program, to include name-brand abortion drugs like mifepristone. (Bollag, 5/13)
In other reproductive health care news —
WLRN Public Media:
A Broward Maternity Center Opened A Year Ago Expecting 200 Patients. It's Up To 1,700
The Maternity Care Center in Broward County opened last May to fill a major void in services for pregnant women. A year later, the Lauderdale Lakes facility has served about 1,700 patients — a huge leap from the roughly 200 they expected to serve in that time, according to Melida Akiti, corporate transformation executive with Broward Health. (Cooper, 5/12)
ABC News:
Extreme Heat Could Make Pregnancy Riskier For Millions Of Women: Report
As human-induced climate change continues warming the planet, pregnancy risks are increasing, according to a new analysis by Climate Central. Climate Central, a nonprofit science and communications organization, analyzed daily temperature data from 2020 to 2024 in 940 cities across 247 counties and territories. Researchers looked for "extreme heat days," which are defined by temperatures that go beyond what's normal in the area 95% of the time. (Glasser, 5/14)
CIDRAP:
COVID Before Or During Pregnancy May Confer 2 To 3 Times The Risk Of Miscarriage
A study involving nearly 27,000 pregnancies suggests that women infected with COVID-19 before or during pregnancy are at two to three times the risk for miscarriage before 20 weeks' gestation. The University of Texas–led analysis used electronic health records to evaluate the relationship between COVID-19 and miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and preterm delivery from 2019 to 2023. Ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus, rendering it unviable. (Van Beusekom, 5/13)
KFF Health News:
Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
Jackie Fortiér reads this week’s news: CPR and defibrillator training can give people the skills to help others survive cardiac arrest, and doctors are using telehealth to help thousands of patients each month access abortion care in states where it’s banned. Katheryn Houghton delivers the week’s news: A new survey finds that more Americans are hearing false claims about measles and the vaccine that prevents it, and changes to federal health funding have advocates worried the White House is deprioritizing fighting addiction. (5/13)
