Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
NC Lawmakers Override Governor's Veto, Uphold 12-Week Abortion Ban
The New York Times: North Carolina Legislature Reapproves Abortion Ban, Overriding Governor’s Veto
North Carolina’s Republican-dominated legislature upheld a bill Tuesday night that will ban most abortions after 12 weeks, overriding the Democratic governor’s recent veto of the new restrictions. The success of the override was a victory for Republicans and a critical test of their new, but slim, supermajority. The vote, taken in both chambers in back-to-back sessions, means a dramatic change for abortion access in North Carolina, where abortion is currently legal up to 20 weeks. The vote also restricts access for women across the South, some of whom have traveled to North Carolina for abortions from states where the procedure is largely banned. The new law is set to take effect July 1. (Kelly, 5/16)
Billings Gazette: Gianforte Signs More Abortion Bills, Vetoes Another
Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte on Tuesday signed into law more bills to limit access to abortions in Montana, including one policy opponents renewed a previously filed lawsuit against. The governor also vetoed a bill that sits squarely in the middle of a decade-long legal battle over parental involvement in a minor child’s abortion decision, saying he thought it improperly limited parental rights. (Michels, 5/16)
AP: Montana Abortion Clinics Ask Judge To Block Law That Bans Second-Trimester Abortion Method
Planned Parenthood of Montana on Tuesday asked a state judge to temporarily block a law that bans the abortion method most commonly used after 15 weeks of gestation, arguing it is unconstitutional. The organization filed the complaint over the law to ban dilation and evacuation abortions just hours after Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s office announced he had signed the bill. (Hanson, 5/16)
Roll Call: Republicans Weigh Changes To Law Meant To Protect Abortion Access
The chairman of a House Judiciary subcommittee said Tuesday that Republicans could pursue changes to a 1994 law meant to protect access to reproductive health care clinics. Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., made the comments at the outset of a hearing on the so-called FACE Act, where the parties clashed over the issue of abortion and heard about clinic access, firebombings, FBI oversight and food stamps. (Macagnone, 5/16)
On the abortion pill case —
The New York Times: Supreme Court Decision On Abortion Pills: What To Know And What Comes Next
A federal appeals court in New Orleans is expected to weigh in on whether a commonly used pill, mifepristone, should remain widely available. Here is what’s at stake. (VanSickle and Belluck, 5/17)
The New York Times: How a 150-Year-Old Law Against Lewdness Became a Key to the Abortion Fight
The resurrection of the Comstock Act is part of a larger legal effort by abortion opponents to force abortion pills off the market. The central battle currently is a lawsuit, brought by a consortium of anti-abortion organizations and doctors in Texas, which has already made a brief stop at the Supreme Court and is now scheduled for argument on Wednesday before a federal appeals court. (Bazelon, 5/16)
In other reproductive health news —
The Washington Post: Abortion Laws Triggered Dozens Of Health Complications, New Report Says
A new report has identified dozens of examples in which medical providers say pregnant patients received care in the past year that deviated from care they would have received before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — a sign, researchers said, of a pattern of serious health complications triggered by abortion bans. While no nationwide data has yet emerged to show the extent of these complications, the report, being released Tuesday by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco and shared with The Washington Post, offers a first-of-its-kind summary of anonymized examples from medical providers across the country. (Kitchener, 5/16)
The New York Times: Many Women Have An Intense Fear Of Childbirth, Survey Suggests
An online survey of nearly 1,800 American women found that in the early days of the pandemic, tokophobia may have affected the majority of American women: 62 percent of pregnant respondents reported high levels of fear and worry about childbirth. The results were published last month in the journal Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health. (Rabin, 5/16)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
On the KFF Health News Minute this week: Artificial intelligence is coming to dinner, and why maternity wards are closing in states with anti-abortion laws. (5/16)
