Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Science, Not Politics, Guided FDA's Decisions On Abortion Pill: Analysis
The New York Times: F.D.A. Decisions On Abortion Pill Were Based On Science, New Analysis Finds
A new study, published Monday in the medical journal JAMA, evaluates the F.D.A.’s track record of making decisions about mifepristone, drawing on rare access to internal memos, emails and thousands of pages of other documents. The study was led by experts in federal health policy and drug regulation at Johns Hopkins University. They found that, in the 12 years they examined, from 2011 to 2023, important F.D.A. actions involving mifepristone almost always adhered to evidence-based recommendations from the agency’s scientists. (Belluck, 1/12)
More news about abortion and Planned Parenthood —
ABC15: Final Arguments Made In Lawsuit Challenging Multiple Arizona Abortion Laws
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge is considering a case that could strike down several Arizona abortion regulations following a legal challenge that argues the current laws violate the state's constitutional right to abortion access. The case, which concluded closing arguments Monday, centers on three sets of laws that require a 24-hour waiting period with two separate provider visits, laws banning abortion based on the patient’s reasoning behind the procedure, and a ban on telemedicine for medication abortions. (Donahue, 1/12)
News Service of Florida: About 20,000 Fewer Abortions Were Performed In Florida In 2025 Than In 2024
More than 44,000 abortions were reported in Florida in 2025, a large drop during the first full year of a law that prevents most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Data posted on the state Agency for Health Care Administration website showed that 44,206 abortions had been reported as of Jan. 1. That was down from 64,854 abortions reported in 2024, though it was not immediately clear whether the 44,206 total was a final number for 2025 because of lags in reporting. (1/12)
Fox News: Students For Life Report Finds Massive Uptick In Christian Colleges' Support For Abortion, Planned Parenthood
Support for abortion among Christian colleges in the United States has skyrocketed since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, according to a new report by Students for Life of America’s Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement (IPA). IPA identified 725 Christian schools, defined as "an institution of higher education affiliated with a Christ-centered denomination and publicly claiming historical Christian faith in its founding," and combed through the colleges' websites for references to abortion found that one in seven is connected to the abortion industry. Information for the report was gathered during the 2024-2025 academic year. (D'Abrosca, 1/13)
St. Louis Public Radio: Planned Parenthood CEO Remains Optimistic
As a landmark trial over the legality of Missouri’s restrictions on abortion begins in Kansas City, Planned Parenthood Great Rivers CEO Margot Riphagen said she remains hopeful that this coming year will be different from the last. In 2025, multiple injunctions and appeals from the state’s attorney general led Missouri courts to repeatedly revive and prohibit access to abortion. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood is forbidden to prescribe medication abortion under state law. Missouri is currently trying to further restrict access to medication abortions through a federal lawsuit with national implications. (Wicentowski, 1/12)
