Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New Mexico Supreme Court Set To Hear Arguments Against Abortion Bans
AP: New Mexico Supreme Court Will Hear Oral Arguments On Local Abortion-Ban Ordinances
New Mexico’s Supreme Court will hear oral arguments regarding a request to strike down recent abortion-ban ordinances in several cities and counties. The high court on Tuesday announced it will hear arguments in December and agreed to consider legal briefings filed by an array of advocacy groups. (8/29)
Reuters: South Carolina High Court Will Not Reconsider Abortion Ban Decision
South Carolina's top court on Tuesday declined to reconsider a recent ruling upholding the state's ban on abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which opponents say will prevent women from terminating pregnancies after about six weeks. The South Carolina Supreme Court on a 4-1 vote rejected a request by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers to reconsider its Aug. 23 ruling, which they said left unanswered what constitutes a "fetal heartbeat" under the Republican-backed law. (Raymond, 8/29)
The New York Times: Republican Women, Fearing Backlash On Abortion, Pivot To Birth Control
She had barely opened her town hall to questions when Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican from a competitive district in Iowa, was pressed to defend her opposition to abortion rights. “One of the main functions of the federal government is to protect life,” Ms. Miller-Meeks, who won election in 2020 by just six votes, told a sparse crowd this month in Iowa City, a younger, more progressive part of her district where she rarely campaigns. (Karni, 8/30)
Stateline: Abortion-Ban States Pour Millions Into Pregnancy Centers With Little Medical Care
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, Louisiana Republican state Sen. Beth Mizell looked for a way to address her state’s abysmal record on infant and maternal mortality, preterm births and low birth weight. Louisiana has one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans, with no exceptions for rape or incest. Mizell and her colleagues borrowed an idea from neighboring Mississippi: a state tax credit program that sends millions each year to nonprofit pregnancy resource centers, also called crisis pregnancy centers. They’re private anti-abortion organizations, often religiously affiliated, that typically offer free pregnancy tests, parenting classes and baby supplies. They are not usually staffed by doctors or nurses, though some offer limited ultrasounds or testing for sexually transmitted infections. (Vollers, 8/29)
The Washington Post: Antiabortion Activist Who Kept Fetuses Convicted Of Blocking Clinic
An antiabortion activist who kept fetuses in a Capitol Hill home was convicted Tuesday of illegally blockading a reproductive health clinic in D.C. Lauren Handy was on trial with four others who were charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, a 1994 law that prohibits threats to and obstruction of a person seeking reproductive health services or providers. A U.S. District Court jury in D.C. found Handy and all four of her co-defendants guilty on all counts. (Alexander, 8/29)
In related news —
The Texas Tribune: Texas Life-Support Law Extends Notice Hospitals Give Before Ending Care
At 9 months old, Tinslee Lewis had been on a respirator for much of her life. The Fort Worth toddler was born with Ebstein’s anomaly, a rare and often life-threatening heart condition. Lewis had been at the intensive care unit at Cook Children’s Medical Center since birth when doctors scheduled to remove her off life support in November 2019. It started a public court battle, where her mother fought the hospital to keep her alive. She drew the support of Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton and staunch anti-abortion group Texas Right To Life. Her legal fight renewed the push to change legislation over when and how hospitals withdraw life support. (Dey, 8/30)
