Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Stay Lifted On Florida's 15-Week Abortion Ban; Last Mississippi Clinic's Appeal Denied
AP: Florida 15-Week Abortion Ban Reinstated After Legal Appeal
Florida’s new 15-week abortion ban was blocked and then quickly reinstated Tuesday after an appeal from the state attorney general in a lawsuit challenging the restriction. Judge John C. Cooper issued the order temporarily halting the law after reproductive health providers argued that the state constitution guarantees the right to the procedure. The state appealed his order, automatically putting the law back into effect. (Izaguirre, 7/5)
AP: Judge Won’t Block Law Banning Most Mississippi Abortions
As attorneys argued about abortion laws across the South on Tuesday, a Mississippi judge rejected a request by the state’s only abortion clinic to temporarily block a law that would ban most abortions. Without other developments in the Mississippi lawsuit, the clinic will close at the end of business Wednesday and the state law will take effect Thursday. (Pettus, Izaguirre and McGill, 7/5)
The 19th: Out-Of-State Patients At Risk As Montana Enacts Abortion Restrictions
A Montana abortion provider announced last week that it wouldn’t provide the most common type of abortion to people traveling from out of state. As states surrounding Montana ban abortion, the move exposes a major legal concern that could lead to clinics across the country implementing similar policies. (Luthra, 7/5)
Rhode Island, Maine, and Washington extend support for those seeking abortions —
The Boston Globe: McKee Signs Executive Order To Protect Patients Traveling To Rhode Island For Abortion Care
Governor Dan McKee Tuesday signed an executive order that protects access to abortion care services in Rhode Island. The order, which he foreshadowed signing last week, ensures that individuals who come to Rhode Island seeking reproductive health care will be safeguarded from any potential legal liability in other states. The order was modeled after the one Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, a pro-choice Republican, signed recently after the US Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion. (Gagosz, 7/5)
AP: Gov: Maine Won't Help Prosecute Abortion Seekers, Providers
Maine will not cooperate with other states’ investigations into people who seek abortions or health care providers that perform them, the state’s governor said Tuesday. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed an executive order that she said will protect access to abortion in her state. She said she made the order as a response to the Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned Roe V. Wade. (7/5)
AP: WA Sheriff Won’t Cooperate With Out-Of-State Abortion Probes
The executive in the county surrounding Seattle said Tuesday its sheriff’s office and other executive branch departments will not cooperate with out-of-state prosecutions of abortion providers or patients. King County Executive Dow Constantine’s executive order signed Tuesday follows a similar one from Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, The Seattle Times reported. (7/5)
In other abortion news from Nevada, Indiana, Missouri, and Texas —
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada Sees Influx Of Out-Of-State Patients Seeking Abortions
Las Vegas has seen a 200 percent increase in patients traveling from Texas compared to the same time last year, according to Dr. Kristina Tocce, medical director for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. (Longhi, 7/5)
Indianapolis Star: Restricting Abortion May Mean More Children In Poverty. Indiana Already Lags On Funding
“No matter your position on this issue, you can still tell lawmakers, ‘Take care of babies once they're here,’” said Jessica Fraser, director of Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, an advocacy group that does not have a stance on the Supreme Court's abortion ruling. “Help us take care of children who are poor, once they're here in a way that is helpful and not punitive to parents and families.” (Lange and Fradette, 7/6)
Kansas City Star: MO Abortion Ban Lacks Rape, Incest Exceptions, Spurring Anger
When the Missouri House in 2019 debated the bill that became the state’s abortion ban, then-state Rep. Bryan Spencer quickly raised —and praised—the proposal’s lack of exceptions for victims of rape and incest. (Shorman, 7/6)
Houston Chronicle: How Texas Lawmakers Tweet About Abortion And What It Means
The Houston Chronicle analyzed Texas lawmakers’ Twitter activity to get a picture of who was vocal about abortion on the platform in the days before and after the Supreme Court voted to overturn abortion rights in the U.S. Our analysis includes data from all Texas lawmakers with Twitter accounts – all 38 members of Congress and 167 of the 180 active members of the Texas legislature. (Goodwin, 7/5)
Also —
KHN: ‘My Body, My Choice’: How Vaccine Foes Co-Opted The Abortion Rallying Cry
In the shadow of L.A.’s art deco City Hall, musicians jammed onstage, kids got their faces painted, and families picnicked on lawn chairs. Amid the festivity, people waved flags, sported T-shirts, and sold buttons — all emblazoned with a familiar slogan: “My Body, My Choice.” This wasn’t an abortion rights rally. It wasn’t a protest against the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gutted Roe v. Wade. It was the “Defeat the Mandates Rally,” a jubilant gathering of anti-vaccine activists in April to protest the few remaining covid-19 guidelines, such as mask mandates on mass transit and vaccination requirements for health care workers. (Bluth, 7/6)
New Hampshire Public Radio: Advocates Struggle With How Much They Can Help With Self-Managed Abortions
At a rally in Nashville, Planned Parenthood organizer Julie Edwards looked out at some of the "back alley abortion" imagery on signs, including bloody coat hangers. But, Edwards told the crowd, driven into the streets by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on abortion rights, it's not like the old days before Roe v. Wade. Nearly a decade ago, Edwards was a teenager and got medication from some older friends. Edwards said that may be the new normal in abortion-ban states like Tennessee. (Farmer, 7/5)
