Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Ohio Judge Temporarily Blocks Restrictive Abortion Law
AP: Ohio Judge Again Blocks Abortion Law That Threatened Clinics
A judge has blocked early enforcement of an Ohio abortion law signed in December that included additional licensing requirements challenged by the ACLU and Planned Parenthood as unnecessarily onerous. Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Alison Hatheway’s ruling Friday blocked restrictions imposed on two southwest Ohio clinics by the Ohio Department of Health. (4/19)
Cleveland.com: For Second Time, Ohio Judge Halts Law Aimed At Shuttering Last Dayton, Cincinnati Abortion Clinics
Friday’s order marked Hatheway’s second block on the law. On March 2, she issued a temporary restraining order against its enforcement. Temporary restraining orders generally only last for a couple of weeks, but in this case, Hatheway set it until Friday. The state had agreed to the extra time, so it could work on its defense, said Jessie Hill, an attorney working with the ACLU of Ohio to fight the law. Then on Friday, she granted the preliminary injunction through June 21, Hill said. Between now and June 21, the clinics will work to try to comply with the law, Hill said. (Hancock, 4/15)
In abortion news from Texas —
The Texas Tribune: Former State Sen. Wendy Davis Challenges Texas Abortion Law In Court
Former Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis, best known for her 13-hour filibuster of a 2013 abortion bill, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging Texas’ recent abortion law. The suit claims the law is “blatantly unconstitutional” and written to “make a mockery of the federal courts.” The law, which went into effect in September and empowers private citizens to bring civil lawsuits against anyone who “aids or abets” in an abortion after fetal cardiac activity is detected, has led abortion clinics to stop providing the procedure after about six weeks of pregnancy. (Klibanoff, 4/19)
Dallas Morning News: Former State Sen. Wendy Davis Files Federal Suit Challenging Texas Abortion Law As Unconstitutional
“We are asking the courts today to stop the unconstitutional harassment of abortion funds by confirming SB 8 cannot be used to silence donors with bogus threats,” Davis said in a statement. SB 8 has survived every legal challenge since it was enacted, and has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Most recently, the Texas Supreme Court sent the case back to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals after certifying a question on state law, whether or not the law allowed state licensing officials to reprimand providers who violate the law. The state’s high court decided that officials could not revoke licenses because they had no enforcement power under the law, which is enforced through private citizens. The ruling effectively threw out abortion providers’ challenge to the law. (Hollers, 4/19)
KHN: Abortion Clinic On Texas-Mexico Border Faces Unique Legal And Cultural Challenges
Veronica Hernandez, manager of Whole Woman’s Health of McAllen, has long worried about the patients she sees walk in through the front door. Now, though, her concern is focused on those she doesn’t see. A Texas law that went into effect in September outlaws abortions after cardiac activity is detected in an embryo, usually at six weeks of pregnancy, and is considered the nation’s most restrictive abortion law. The law, which the Supreme Court has so far refused to block, makes no exception for victims of rape or incest and does not call on public officials to enforce it. Instead, it allows private citizens and groups to sue anyone who has provided an abortion or aided someone seeking an abortion in Texas. If the private citizens win the case, they are entitled to damages of at least $10,000. (DeGuzman, 4/20)
In abortion updates from Utah and Connecticut —
Salt Lake Tribune: Proposal To Change Utah GOP Platform On Abortion Eliminates Language On Exceptions For Rape, Incest And Preserving Life Of The Mother
Amid the campaigning and politicking at the Utah Republican State Convention on Saturday, delegates will also consider a change to the party platform that takes a much harder line on abortion. Currently, the “Right to Life” plank reads, “We strongly oppose abortion, except to preserve the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest.” The proposed change would replace the exceptions with the phrase “and encourage adoption.” Weber County Republican Delegate Bob McEntee believes the proposed change helps reframe the party’s position to focus on other available options than terminating a pregnancy. “I want people to understand that there’s a long line of people that want to adopt a baby. However hard it might be if they get through that pregnancy and give that child up for adoption, I think that would be a better solution,” McEntee said. (Schott, 4/19)
AP: Connecticut House Passes Bill To Protect Abortion Providers
Connecticut lawmakers advanced legislation Tuesday evening that abortion rights advocates say is needed to protect in-state medical providers from legal action, as well as patients who travel to Connecticut to terminate a pregnancy and those who help them. It comes amid new abortion restrictions being enacted in a growing number of conservative states. The bill cleared the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 87-60. It now awaits action in the Senate. (Haigh, 4/19)
In related news from California —
AP: California Bill Aims To Stop Pregnancy Loss Prosecutions
Adora Perez spent four years in prison for the death of her stillborn child after prosecutors in California’s Central Valley charged her with murder for using drugs during her pregnancy. Tuesday, California lawmakers advanced a bill that would let people like Perez sue prosecutors for charging them with those crimes — crimes that the state’s Attorney General has said do not exist under state law. (Beam, 4/20)
