Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
One Kansas Ruling Could Topple Slew Of Abortion Opponents' Successes In State
The Associated Press: Challenge To 2015 Ban Could Doom Other Kansas Abortion Laws
Abortion opponents who've enjoyed a long string of legislative victories in Kansas worry that a legal challenge to a first-in-the-nation ban on a common second-trimester procedure could doom other restrictions they've won in recent years. (3/16)
The Associated Press: Alabama Looks To Become Symbolic 'Right To Life' State
There's no sign of U.S. abortion law changing anytime soon, but Alabama wants to be ready if it ever does. A proposal in the Republican-controlled Legislature would declare Alabama a "right to life" state by amending the state constitution. The House of Representatives will vote on the bill Thursday, and if it passes the Legislature and is signed by the Republican governor, the constitutional amendment would go before voters in 2018. (3/15)
Texas Tribune: Abortion-Related Bills Get Approval In Texas Senate
The Texas Senate gave approval to two abortion-related bills on Wednesday. The upper chamber gave final passage to Senate Bill 8, which would ban what opponents call "partial-birth" abortions and put restrictions on donating fetal tissue, and gave initial approval to Senate Bill 415, which would ban doctors from performing dilation and evacuation abortions. (Alfaro, 3/15)
Los Angeles Times: A Texas Lawmaker's Answer To Abortion Restrictions: Rectal Exams For Men
Under proposed legislation in Texas, before a man receives an elective vasectomy, a colonoscopy or a prescription for Viagra, he would be required to undergo a “medically unnecessary rectal exam and magnetic resonance imagining” and wait at least 24 hours. Rep. Jessica Farrar, an 11-term Democrat, doesn’t expect the bill she introduced last week to go anywhere in the Republican-dominated state Legislature. But that was never the point. (Zavis, 3/15)
Meanwhile —
The Baltimore Sun: Hopkins-Led Study Finds 'The Pill' Would Be Safe Without Prescription
A new Johns Hopkins study could fuel ongoing efforts to allow women to get birth control pills without seeing a doctor. Bills pending in each house of the Maryland General Assembly would allow pharmacists to prescribe contraceptives. The study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins' School of Medicine found that oral contraceptives can be sold safely over the counter to all women, including teens. (Cohn, 3/15)
