Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Online Abortion Pill Access Up In Early 2025, Despite GOP Efforts to Restrict It
The Washington Post: More Women Accessing Abortion Pills Online Despite Red State Efforts
The percentage of medication abortions arranged via telehealth grew again in the first half of 2025, according to a report released Tuesday, despite Republican efforts to keep doctors in blue states from prescribing pills to women in states where abortion is illegal. Twenty-seven percent of the nearly 592,000 abortions provided from January to June relied on clinicians prescribing and mailing pills to patients seeking care remotely, according to the report by #WeCount, a project from the Society of Family Planning, which supports abortion rights. The number, up from 25 percent at the end of 2024, comes as Republicans file lawsuits and enact legislation to try to curtail pill access. (Somasundaram, 12/9)
Rewire News Group: After Abortion, Some People Report Worsening Mental Health. Experts Say It's Not About Regret.
When Melanie walked out of the abortion clinic in her city, it felt like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders. The 32-year-old, who is using a pseudonym to protect her privacy, had a procedural abortion at 10 weeks of gestation after unintentionally getting pregnant with her then-partner. (Santilli, 12/9)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
CNBC: Eli Lilly To Build $6 Billion Alabama Manufacturing Plant
Eli Lilly on Tuesday said it will spend $6 billion to build a manufacturing plant in Huntsville, Alabama, to help boost production of its closely watched experimental obesity pill and other drugs. (Constantino, 12/9)
AP: Georgia's Prison System Must Continue Hormone Therapy For Transgender Prisoners, Judge Rules
A federal judge has permanently ordered Georgia’s prison system to keep providing some kinds of gender-affirming care for transgender prisoners, although the state plans to appeal. U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert last week ruled that a new state law denying hormone therapy to inmates violated their protection against cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. She ordered the state to keep providing hormones to inmates who had been receiving therapy and to allow others medically diagnosed as needing hormone therapy to begin receiving treatment. (Amy, 12/9)
Chicago Tribune: Bill Could Inspire More Illinois Therapists To Take Insurance
Carey Carlock never imagined she’d have so much trouble finding a therapist for her teenage child. She was a hospital CEO, on the board of a prominent local mental health organization and well connected. Yet the Oak Park mother couldn’t locate a therapist in her community who took her health insurance. (Schencker, 12/9)
ProPublica: Wave Of Tax Cuts Has Left Many States Vulnerable To Trump SNAP And Medicaid Crisis
This fall, Americans got to see what it’s like to go without a safety net for the hungry. With the U.S. government shut down for multiple weeks and President Donald Trump refusing to fund SNAP, the federal food stamp program, a panic set in among the more than 40 million people who rely on it. Families skipped meals, and babies went unfed. Food banks ran out of food, and some people turned to dumpster diving. It was just a glimpse of what’s to come. Starting next October, Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act will shift billions in SNAP costs from the federal government onto states. (Hager, 12/9)
