Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More Home Births Happened In 2021 Than For 30 Years
CNN: US Home Births Reached Highest Level In 30 Years In 2021
There were more than 50,000 home births in the United States in 2021, an increase of 12% over the year before and the highest level since at least 1990, according to a report released Thursday from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. This follows a 22% increase in home births between 2019 and 2020, “corresponding with the initial surge of COVID-19 cases in the United States,” the report says. (Hassan, 11/17)
AP: US Home Births Increased In Pandemic But Are Still Uncommon
Elizabeth Gregory, the report’s lead author, said reasons for the increases are unknown, but they occurred when COVID-19 rates were high and vaccinations were either unavailable or not widely used. Other reports have shown that many people avoided hospital and doctor visits early in the pandemic. Other possible reasons: Women lacked health insurance or lived far from a hospital and couldn’t make it there in time. Previous research suggests that about 1 in 4 home births are unplanned. (Tanner, 11/17)
In news about abortion and reproductive rights —
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Metro Atlanta Abortion Clinics Flooded With Calls After Court Strikes Down Restrictions
Phone calls to metro Atlanta abortion providers surged Wednesday after a judge struck down Georgia abortion restrictions that had been in place since July. Several clinics said they have begun performing abortions again for patients more than six weeks pregnant as women — and some protesters — showed up less than 24 hours after the court ruling. (Malik, Papp and Suggs, 11/16)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia GOP Will Let High Court Rule Before Pursuing New Limits On Abortion
Georgia legislators say they are taking a wait-and-see approach after a Fulton County judge overturned the state’s 2019 abortion law on Tuesday and told lawmakers they would need to pass new legislation if they wanted to reinstate limits on the procedure. (Prabhu, 11/16)
AP: N. Dakota AG: Docs Can Use Health Info To Defend Abortions
Doctors who perform abortions should be able to disclose the patient’s personal health information as part of their defense to avoid prosecution, North Dakota’s attorney general said Wednesday. North Dakota’s abortion ban, which is currently on hold because of a lawsuit, makes the procedure illegal except in cases of rape or incest or when the life of the mother is in danger. Doctors would have to prove those exceptions in court in order to be cleared of a Class C felony. (Kolpack, 11/17)
Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Republican Lawmakers Vote To Make Rare Stand Against Judge’s Block Of Utah’s Abortion Trigger Law
In a vote split along party lines, the Utah Legislature’s Legislative Management Committee voted Tuesday to submit an amicus brief opposing the injunction on the state’s abortion trigger law. The motion was put forward by Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, but, he said, was an idea from “multiple people.” The Utah Attorney General’s office is currently fending off a challenge of the law by Planned Parenthood Association of Utah. (Anderson Stern, 11/16)
Reuters: DeSantis Says He Cannot Be Witness In Prosecutor's Lawsuit Over Abortion Cases
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday sought a court order blocking him from being called as a trial witness by an elected state attorney who was suspended after saying he would not prosecute abortion cases. (Scarcella, 11/16)
More on the aftermath of the fall of Roe V. Wade —
NBC News: Same-Sex Marriage Protections Clear Key Senate Hurdle, Signaling GOP Support For Passage
In a statement, the bipartisan group said the amendment was crafted to “confirm that this legislation fully respects and protects Americans’ religious liberties and diverse beliefs, while leaving intact the core mission of the legislation to protect marriage equality.” (Concepcion, Shabad and Thorp V, 11/16)
