Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
States' Abortion And Reproductive Health Regulations Under Investigation By Trump Administration
The Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Targets State Rules That Women Must Be Told Of Abortion Services
The Department of Health and Human Services is investigating requirements by California and Hawaii that anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers” tell women about state-subsidized family-planning services including abortion, according to people familiar with the matter. The HHS Office for Civil Rights has sent letters to the two states saying it has legal authority to investigate these requirements and is doing so, according to the people. The move is part of a new approach under the Trump administration to use civil rights law to roll back Obama-era health-care rules. (Armour, 5/31)
And in and Arkansas and Minnesota —
The Washington Post: Arkansas Abortion Pill Restriction Seen As Both Protecting Women And A Major Rights Setback
Stephanie Ho and her staff scrambled to call patients, canceling appointments for the women who had sought the two-pill medical abortions that the Fayetteville Health Center offered. It was moments after the U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear a case challenging an Arkansas law that effectively prohibits medical abortions in the state, and Ho’s practice needed to ensure the women knew that option was no longer available to them. Women in Arkansas who had sought to take what is commonly known as “the abortion pill” now would have to travel to the only abortion clinic in Arkansas that offers surgical abortions, in Little Rock. (Wax-Thibodeaux, 5/31)
The Associated Press: Students, Anti-Abortion Group At Odds Over Fellowship
Student activists at the University of Minnesota are trying to reinstate a medical school fellowship in reproductive health that the school has delayed following opposition from anti-abortion groups. University officials announced this month that the fellowship would be delayed for a year as they examine the value of the training. The program was scheduled to begin this fall. (5/31)
