Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Sen. Tim Kaine's Role In Abortion Bill Stuns Abortion-Rights Supporters
The Hill: Tim Kaine’s Role On Abortion Bill Sparks Progressive Concerns
Progressive Democrats are expressing growing concern about having Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) as the face in the Senate of restoring abortion rights, particularly after voters in Kansas struck down a proposed constitutional amendment that would have eliminated abortions in the state. They see Kaine, who personally opposes abortion, as too much of a centrist on the issue, and they argue the legislation he’s backing, which he says would codify the Roe v. Wade decision, doesn’t go nearly far enough. (Parnes, 8/17)
In abortion updates from Florida —
AP: Court: Parentless Girl, 16, Not 'Mature' Enough For Abortion
An appellate court has upheld a lower court ruling that a parentless 16-year-old girl in the Florida Panhandle was not “sufficiently mature” to end her pregnancy while seeking a waiver from a state law that requires minors to get parental consent for an abortion. The teen, known as Jane Doe 22-B in court papers, had told the lower court that she wasn’t ready to have a baby, didn’t have a job and the father was unable to assist her. She was pursuing a GED and living with a relative. The teen also told the lower court that her appointed guardian was “fine” with her decision to have an abortion. (8/16)
The Washington Post: DeSantis Sued By Prosecutor Suspended Over Stance On Abortion-Related Crime
A Florida prosecutor has sued Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in a bid to be reinstated after he was dismissed from his post for pledging he would not prosecute cases stemming from Florida’s 15-week abortion ban and potential bans on gender-affirming care. (Bellware and Beachum, 8/17)
From Nevada, Idaho, Kansas, Indiana, and Wisconsin —
AP: Nevada Gov Vows To Codify Order Protecting Patients Into Law
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said Wednesday that if he wins re-election he would seek to codify in law next legislative session an order he signed that protects in-state abortion providers and out-of-state patients. “Governors are the last line of defense in protecting reproductive freedoms,” he said. “The buck stops with us.” (Stern, 8/18)
AP: Medical Groups, 20 States Weigh In On Idaho Abortion Lawsuit
A legal battle over abortion rights pitting one of the reddest states in the nation against the U.S. government has dozens of states and major medical associations seeking to weigh in. Twenty states, Washington, D.C., the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and others are among those to have filed “friend of the court” briefs as of Wednesday, siding with the federal government’s claims that Idaho’s near-total abortion ban violates federal health care law. (Boone, 8/17)
AP: Kansas Abortion Vote: Why Recount With Such A Large Margin?
Kansas on Tuesday began a partial hand recount of this month’s decisive statewide vote in favor of abortion rights, a move forced by two Republican activists even though the margin was so large that the recount won’t change the outcome. Nine of the state’s 105 counties are doing the recount at the request of Melissa Leavitt, of Colby, in far northwestern Kansas, who has pushed for tighter election laws. A longtime anti-abortion activist, Mark Gietzen, of Wichita, is covering most of the costs. ... Gietzen and Leavitt have both suggested there might have been problems without pointing to any actual examples or evidence. (Hanna, Hollingsworth and Riccardi, 8/16)
Indianapolis Star: Indiana Abortion Law: Planned Parenthood Pivots Care After Indiana Law
Clinics that provide abortions in Indiana are seeing more patients than ever these days as pregnant people from as far as away as Texas travel here for care. That could change dramatically next month when the state’s near total ban is scheduled to take effect, limiting not only who can have abortions but also where they can be performed. (Rudavsky, 8/18)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Doctors In Wisconsin Say Abortion Ban Confuses In At-Risk Pregnancies
The woman had been traveling through Wisconsin from out of state in late July when, early in her second trimester, her water broke. Dr. Shefaali Sharma, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Madison, was working on the labor and delivery floor when the call came in that the patient was on the way to her clinic. (Eilbert, Mathew and Shastri, 8/17)
From Texas —
The Texas Tribune: First Lubbock Banned Abortions. Now The Fight Is Over Contraception.
When the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortions in June, Destiny Adams felt the country was taking a step backward. So she decided to push her small West Texas town a step forward. To do her part, Adams began leaving free emergency contraception kits neatly packed in white plastic bags in the bathroom of her coffeehouse, Tumbleweed + Sage. (Lozano, 8/18)
The Texas Tribune: Texas Law Banning Abortion Dates To 1857
When Mollie Smith learned she was pregnant by her former school teacher, the 20-year-old was “mentally depressed and despondent.” She asked the man who impregnated her to help her seek an abortion. It was 1897. (Klibanoff, 8/17)
