Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
S.C. Governor Directs Agencies To Cut Off Funding For Providers Affiliated With Abortion Clinics
The Associated Press: Governor's Order Says Funds Won't Go To Abortion Providers
One of Donald Trump's earliest backers is taking advantage of a law signed by the president to further restrict funding to abortion providers, signing an executive order directing state agencies not to allocate state and federal money to health care providers affiliated in any way with abortion clinics. In the order signed Thursday, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster also directed the state's Medicaid agency to seek federal permission to exclude abortion clinics from its Medicaid provider network. (8/25)
The Hill: South Carolina Governor Cuts Off Funding For Abortion Clinics In Executive Order
The order directs state agencies to cease providing funds, whether via grant, contract, state-administered federal funds or "any other form," to any abortion clinic. McMaster also directed the state's Department of Health and Human Services to seek waivers from the federal government allowing it to exclude abortion clinics from the state's Medicaid provider network. (Hellmann, 8/25)
In other women's health care news —
The Washington Post: Maryland Provider Of Late-Term Abortions Under Contract To Be Purchased By Anti-Abortion Group
A Maryland abortion clinic, one of only a few that provides late-term abortions to women in the United States, plans to close its doors and is under contract to be purchased by an antiabortion group that has worked for many years to shut it down, according to an official with the coalition that has plans to buy it. If the sale goes through this fall, the new owners of the Germantown clinic will soon be owned by the Maryland Coalition for Life, a grass-roots organization that has staged regular protests at the clinic and, in 2011, opened up a crisis pregnancy center across the parking lot to counsel women against choosing abortion. (Chandler and Hendrix, 8/25)
The Washington Post: House Republican Seeks To Quash D.C. Law Banning Reproductive Discrimination
The District’s landmark 2014 law that says employers cannot discriminate against workers based on their reproductive health decisions is being targeted for the third straight year by a House Republican. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) late Thursday filed an amendment to a House appropriations bill to block the District from using funds to carry out the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act. (Portnoy, 8/25)
NPR: Miscarriage On Twitter: What Is The Public Saying?
Losing a pregnancy because of a miscarriage can be a difficult and painful experience, one that people often don't talk about even among friends and family. Women who suffer miscarriages can feel shame and isolation. Some even blame themselves. (Nsoesie and Cesare, 8/27)
