Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Minnesota Judge Throws Out Most Abortion Restrictions
AP: Judge Strikes Down Most Of Minnesota's Abortion Restrictions
A judge declared most of Minnesota’s restrictions on abortion unconstitutional on Monday, including the state’s mandatory 24-hour waiting period and a requirement that both parents be notified before a minor can get an abortion. Ramsey County District Judge Thomas Gilligan also struck down Minnesota’s requirements that only physicians can perform abortions and that abortions after the first trimester must be performed in hospitals. His order took effect immediately, meaning the limits can’t be enforced. (Karnowski, 7/11)
In other news on state reproductive rights —
Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Judge Grants Request To Keep Abortion Trigger Law On Hold
Utah’s abortion trigger law will continue to be on hold, a judge ruled Monday, and will not be enforced as a lawsuit against it continues making its way through the courts. The trigger law would have banned abortions in Utah, except for a few limited circumstances. (Jacobs, 7/11)
AP: Federal Judge Blocks Arizona's 'Personhood' Abortion Law
A federal judge in Phoenix on Monday blocked a 2021 state “personhood” law that gives all legal rights to unborn children and that abortion rights groups said put providers at risk of prosecution for a variety of crimes. U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes said in his written ruling that the groups that sued to block the law are right — it is “anyone’s guess,” as the state acknowledged, what criminal laws abortion providers may be breaking if they perform otherwise-legal abortions. (Christie, 7/12)
A battle plays out in Missouri —
The Kansas City Star: Appeals Court Reinstates Missouri’s Down Syndrome Abortion Ban
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month to strike down Roe v. Wade, a panel of federal judges on Friday ruled in favor of an appeal that allows Missouri to prohibit abortions that are based solely on whether a baby was diagnosed with Down syndrome. (Bayless, 7/11)
AP: Missouri Dems Seek Contraception, Ectopic Pregnancy Session
Two leading Democratic Missouri lawmakers on Monday asked the state’s Republican governor to call a special session to pass legislation that would safeguard contraception and medical treatment for ectopic pregnancies after a near total ban on abortion was instituted. (Hollingsworth, 7/11)
In more abortion news from Ohio, Michigan, and Maryland —
Columbus Dispatch: Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Ban Abortion From Conception
Ohio lawmakers introduced a bill Monday that would effectively ban all abortions, except to save the life of a mother. State Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, introduced House Bill 704 which states that Ohio must "recognize the personhood, and protect the constitutional rights, of all unborn human individuals from the moment of conception." (Wu, 7/11)
AP: Abortion Rights Poised To Go Before Michigan Voters In Fall
Abortion rights are poised to come before Michigan voters in November after an abortion rights campaign turned in a record-breaking number of signatures Monday for a ballot initiative to the secretary of state’s office. (Cappelletti, 7/11)
The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore County Prosecutors Won’t Help States With Abortion Bans Extradite Someone Who Travels There For Treatment, Officials Say
Baltimore County officials on Monday became the latest in Maryland to declare prosecutors would not cooperate in extraditing anyone who travels to the state for abortion care from one where it is banned. (Costello, 7/11)
