Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Montana Minors May Seek Abortions Without Parent's OK, Court Rules
AP: Montana Supreme Court Rules Minors Don't Need Parental Permission For Abortion
Montana’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that minors don’t need their parents’ permission to get an abortion in the state – agreeing with a lower court ruling that found the parental consent law violates the privacy clause in the state constitution. “We conclude that minors, like adults, have a fundamental right to privacy, which includes procreative autonomy and making medical decisions affecting his or her bodily integrity and health in partnership with a chosen health care provider free from governmental interest,” Justice Laurie McKinnon wrote in the unanimous opinion. (Hanson, 8/14)
AP: Fetus Can Be Referred To As ‘Unborn Human Being’ In Arizona Abortion Measure Voter Pamphlet
An informational pamphlet for Arizona voters, who will decide in the fall whether to guarantee a constitutional right to an abortion, can refer to an embryo or fetus as an “unborn human being,” the state’s highest court ruled Wednesday. The Arizona Supreme Court justices sided with Republican lawmakers, who drafted the language sent to all voters in the state, over proponents of the ballot measure on abortion rights. (Govindarao, 8/14)
WOUB Public Media: Decision On Ohio Abortion Ban Constitutionality Later This Month
A Hamilton County Common Pleas Court judge was scheduled to put out a decision today on whether the state’s six-week abortion ban law could move forward. But that’s been delayed until Aug. 29. ... Last November, voters approved a reproductive rights amendment which the ACLU of Ohio and others maintain would make the six-week ban unconstitutional. But attorneys for Republican Attorney General Dave Yost have argued parts of the law should remain in force. Ohio legislators have not removed any abortion limits in state law, saying parts of them do not violate the new amendment. Ohio’s Republican legislative leaders who dominate the General Assembly have said courts should decide the fate of existing state abortion laws. (Ingles, 8/13)
Politico: New York Dems’ New Strategy: Prove Every GOP Lawmaker Is A Hypocrite On Abortion
Democrats in New York, following significant losses two years ago, are deploying a now-familiar playbook in half a dozen battleground House races: Accuse Republicans of opposing abortion rights, an approach that has worked in tough races across the country. The party is reviving those anti-abortion attacks in New York and say, this time, they have proof of their claims: the incumbents’ voting records. They are painting first-term GOP representatives as hypocrites in a bevy of blistering attacks. (Ngo, 8/14)
Politico: A Florida Referendum Is Putting Trump In A Bind On Abortion
Donald Trump still doesn’t have an answer on how he’ll vote on an abortion measure in his home state. And it’s about to become a lot harder for him to avoid it. Four months ago, Trump announced he favored leaving the issue of abortion to the states. Now, state-level referendums on the lightning-rod issue are making ballots across the country — including, on Monday, in the battleground state of Arizona, and on Tuesday in Missouri. (Allison and Sarkissian, 8/14)
