Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Secret Shopper' Study Reveals Hospitals' Confusion Over Abortion Laws
CNN: Amid Contradictory Laws, Hospitals In One State Were Unable To Explain Policies On Emergency Abortion Care, Study Finds
Oklahoma’s laws restricting abortions have created a confusing, contradictory environment that may have a chilling effect on health care, new research says. After the US Supreme Court overturned the right to an abortion last year with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, several states quickly passed laws that restricted such procedures. A report released Tuesday and described in the medical journal the Lancet finds that the laws in at least one state left workers at many hospitals confused about how to proceed. (Christensen, 4/25)
NPR: In Oklahoma, A Woman Was Told To Wait Until She's 'Crashing' For Abortion Care
The molar pregnancy Jaci Statton had would never become a baby. It was cancerous, though. At the last hospital in Oklahoma she went to during her ordeal last month, Statton says staff told her and her husband that she could not get a surgical abortion until she became much sicker. (Simmons-Duffin, 4/25)
Abortion news from New Mexico, Texas —
AP: Abortion-Ban Ordinances Gain Ground In New Mexico
A small New Mexico town near Albuquerque adopted an ordinance Wednesday aimed at blocking the distribution of abortion medication or supplies by mail, extending a wave of local government restrictions on abortion. The ordinance won approval by a 4-1 vote of the town commission in Edgewood, a community of about 6,000 residents separated by a mountain pass from metropolitan Albuquerque. It aims to enforce provisions of a 19th century federal law that once prohibited mail shipments of abortion materials. (Lee, 4/26)
The Texas Tribune and The New York Times: Senate OKs Bill To Allow Construction Of Anti-Abortion Monument At Capitol
The Texas Senate on Tuesday advanced legislation that could initiate the process for construction of a sculpture of a mother with a fetus visible in her womb on Capitol grounds. The sculpture would be a replica of the “Life Monument,” a bronze sculpture created by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz. The original sculpture was installed in the Church of San Marcello al Corso in Rome last year and is often interpreted as a depiction of the central figures of Christianity, Mary and Jesus. Replicas have since been installed elsewhere. (Tompkins, 4/25)
Also —
PBS NewsHour: Support For Abortion Rights Has Grown In Spite Of Bans And Restrictions, Poll Shows
Support for abortion rights overall has increased as state legislatures and courtrooms have instituted a growing number of restrictions and bans, according to the latest PBS NewHour/NPR/Marist poll. Sixty-one percent of U.S. adults say they support abortion rights, marking a 6-percentage point increase since last June. (Santhanam, 4/26)
In other reproductive health news —
Des Moines Register: Iowa AG's Pause On Paying Rape Victims' Plan B Pills Sets Off Scramble
A spokeswoman for Bird confirmed to the Des Moines Register that she had put payments for such services on pause as part of a "top-down, bottom-up audit of victim assistance" that began in January. According to Press Secretary Alyssa Brouillet, Bird is "carefully evaluating whether this is an appropriate use of public funds." Bird, however, refused to answer questions regarding the review at a press conference in West Des Moines Tuesday, stating, "We don't have an update at this time." (Ramm and Morris, 4/24)
Fortune: 3 Reasons We Need More Male Birth Control Options, According To A Top Medical Researcher
People with uteruses have a plethora of birth control options. There are pills, rings, implants and intrauterine devices, or IUDS. There are also hormonal options and non-hormonal options. However, for the other half of the population, there are two options: condoms or vasectomies. (Payton, 4/25)
