Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Providers, Planned Parenthood Push Back At Idaho Anti-Abortion Bill
CNN: Abortion Providers Ask Idaho Supreme Court To Block State's New 6-Week Ban
Abortion providers are asking the Idaho Supreme Court to strike down the state's new six-week abortion ban which mimics a controversial Texas law. The providers said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that the Idaho law violates several provisions of the state constitution. They're asking the state Supreme Court to intervene before April 22, when the law goes into effect. The law poses a "massive liability threat" to providers that is "so significant that the few remaining abortion providers in Idaho would have to cease the majority of abortions," Rebecca Gibron, the interim CEO of the Planned Parenthood affiliate bringing the lawsuit, told reporters Wednesday. (Sneed, 3/30)
NBC News: Planned Parenthood Sues To Block Idaho's Six-Week Abortion Ban
In the petition, health care providers urged the state Supreme Court to block the policy from taking effect, calling it an "unprecedented power grab by the Idaho Legislature” that would wreak “havoc on this State’s constitutional norms and the lives of its citizens.” The law bans abortion once cardiac activity is detected — usually around six weeks of pregnancy — except in cases of rape and incest. It also allows family members of fetuses to sue doctors for a minimum of $20,000 within four years of abortions. The bill, which was signed into law last week, is scheduled to take effect April 22. (Atkins, 3/30)
And more news on abortion —
AP: Arizona Governor Signs Bills Limiting Abortion, Trans Rights
Arizona’s Republican governor signed a series of bills Wednesday targeting abortion and transgender rights, joining a growing list of GOP-led states pursuing a conservative social agenda. The measures signed by Gov. Doug Ducey will outlaw abortion after 15 weeks if the U.S. Supreme Court allows it, prohibit gender confirmation surgery for minors and ban transgender girls from playing on girls and women’s sports teams. (Christie and Cooper, 3/30)
The Baltimore Sun: Bill To Expand Maryland Abortion Access Heads To Gov. Larry Hogan’s Desk
Health care workers besides physicians could start performing abortions in Maryland and the procedure would be covered without cost by most insurance plans in the state under legislation passed by the General Assembly this week and is now headed to Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk. The Abortion Care Access Act received broad support from Maryland Democrats, who hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly, and was passed over fervent objections from Republican lawmakers who oppose abortion on moral grounds. (Stole, 3/30)
The Boston Globe: Amid National Erosion Of Access, Abortion Rights Group Endorses Healey In Mass. Governor’s Race
National abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America endorsed Maura Healey for governor Wednesday, citing her record championing reproductive freedoms in Massachusetts and across the country, and her leadership as cochair of the Democratic Attorneys General Association. The high-profile endorsement comes as the US Supreme Court is poised to decide a case that directly challenges Roe v. Wade, setting the nation up for a potential undoing of the landmark abortion law by the conservative-majority bench, a key reason why NARAL is endorsing candidates months ahead of primary elections. (Gross, 3/30)
In other reproductive health news —
AP: UN Report: Nearly Half Of All Pregnancies Are Unintended
The U.N. Population Fund says new research shows that nearly half of all pregnancies worldwide -- 121 million annually -- are unintended, which it calls “a neglected crisis.” In its annual State of World Population Report 2022 released Wednesday, the fund said over 60% of unintended pregnancies end in abortion and an estimated 45% of abortions are unsafe, causing 5% to 13% of maternal deaths. (Lederer, 3/31)
Billings Gazette: Montana Nonprofit, Not The State, Awarded Federal Family Planning Grant
A longtime Montana nonprofit reproductive and sexual health care clinic announced Wednesday that it — and not the state health department — was awarded more than $2 million in federal family planning money. The Department of Public Health and Human Services has for 50 years been awarded and administrated the money, known as Title X funding, and distributed it through contracts to clinics around Montana. But Bozeman-based Bridgercare said in a press release that state legislation passed last year would have prohibited it and other organizations like Planned Parenthood from receiving the federal funding if the state was granted this year's award. (Michels, 3/30)
AP: Feds: 9 Charged With Blocking DC Reproductive Health Clinic
Nine people were charged with federal civil rights offenses after they traveled to the nation’s capital and then blocked access to a reproductive health center and streamed it on Facebook, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The charges include violations of a federal law known as the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or the FACE Act, which prohibits physically obstructing or using the threat of force to intimidate or interfere with a person seeking reproductive health services. The law also prohibits damaging property at abortion clinics and other reproductive health centers. (Balsamo, 3/30)
AP: Jury Gives $5.25M To Woman Impregnated By Doctor's Own Sperm
A federal court jury in Vermont on Wednesday awarded a Florida woman $5.25 million from a doctor who used his own sperm to impregnate her during an artificial insemination procedure in 1977. The federal court jury in Burlington began deliberating on Tuesday and returned the verdict on Wednesday. (Ring, 3/30)
