Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'A Time Bomb You Can't Control': Ectopic Pregnancy Deaths Have Soared Since 2020
ProPublica: Ectopic Pregnancy Deaths Have Nearly Doubled. It’s Worse In Abortion-Ban States
The number of women who died after an ectopic pregnancy has spiked in recent years, a ProPublica analysis found. The mounting deaths in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data have drawn little scrutiny or response. Such deaths typically occur in the first trimester, after a pregnancy fails to properly implant in the uterus and begins to develop elsewhere, most commonly inside a fallopian tube. The embryo grows until it causes the organ to rupture, triggering catastrophic bleeding. (Suozzo and Philip, 9/9)
On abortion rights —
The Washington Sun: Challenge To Abortion Drug Heads Back To Court Ahead Of Midterm Elections
A federal appeals court in Louisiana is set to hear oral arguments Wednesday in a high-profile case that could limit access to a drug used in nearly two-thirds of abortions in the United States. The court action over whether the abortion and miscarriage drug mifepristone can continue to be distributed through the mail and telemedicine appointments, coming weeks before the midterms, is legally and politically thorny for the Trump administration. (Hawkins and Winfield Cunningham, 9/8)
In other news about maternal and infant health —
CNN: A Study Links Prenatal Acetaminophen With Reproductive Changes In Girls. Doctors Say It Remains Safe To Use When Needed
A new study found that some girls born to mothers who took acetaminophen during pregnancy developed reproductive organ changes that could affect fertility later in life. It’s a finding the study authors say should drive future research but shouldn’t yet change how certain symptoms are treated during pregnancy. (Christensen, 9/8)
The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Infant Sleep Deaths Reach 11 As City Warns Against Co-Sleeping
Eleven Baltimore infants have died in sleep-related incidents so far this year, already matching the city’s total for all of 2025 and prompting health officials to renew warnings about unsafe sleeping practices. (Pryce, 9/8)
Maryland Matters: Cecil County Looks To Fill In Maternity Care Gaps After Closure
Cecil County leaders and community members are scrambling to piece together solutions to the loss this summer of the county’s only birthing center, after the closure of the unit at ChristianaCare Union Hospital in Elkton. (Brown, 9/8)
KFF Health News: A NY Hospital Tried To Close Its Birthing Center. This City United To Fight Back
Like many residents of this aging industrial city on the Hudson River, Starletta Washington was stunned when she heard Troy’s last remaining hospital planned to close its birthing center. “It was devastating,” said Washington, who heads the local YWCA. Washington was born at the hospital and had her children there. She couldn’t believe families would now have to get to a hospital half an hour away or face the prospect of an emergency delivery. (Levey, 9/9)
MedPage Today: Menopausal Hormone Therapy May Bolster Heart Health
Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) may have heart benefits for some women with vasomotor symptoms, though effects vary by timing of initiation and race, a target trial emulation of observational data suggested. (Robertson, 9/8)
