Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Supreme Court Could Rule Today On Whether To Allow Abortion Pill Limits
Politico: ‘The Justices Were Kidding Themselves’: Supreme Court Takes Up Abortion After Saying Lawmakers Should Decide
Abortion is back before the Supreme Court just 10 months after conservative justices said they were washing their hands of the issue. The court is expected to rule by Wednesday on whether to allow an earlier decision from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to take effect, sharply limiting access to a commonly used abortion pill nationwide. The lower court ruling, which the Biden administration wants paused while the legal battle plays out, would prohibit telemedicine prescriptions, mail delivery and retail pharmacy dispensing of the drug. (Ollstein, 4/18)
Roll Call: Supreme Court Could Soon Rule On Abortion Drug
Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal advocacy group representing the medical groups, submitted its brief Tuesday ahead of a noon court deadline, opening the door for the Supreme Court to weigh in on the abortion drug less than a year after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturned the national right to an abortion. (Macagnone and Raman, 4/18)
Also —
San Francisco Chronicle: One California Republican Signed Onto A Brief Supporting Abortion Pill
Republicans may be trying to downplay abortion as an election year wedge issue, but more than half of House Republicans are asking the Supreme Court to allow a lower court ruling banning an abortion pill used by millions of patients to stand. That included only one California House member: Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale (Butte County). House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Bakersfield Republican, did not sign the brief. (Garofoli, 4/18)
NPR: Rep. Nancy Mace Says Her Party's Stance On Abortion Has Gotten Too 'Extreme'
Rep. Nancy Mace isn't convinced about some of the stances her party is taking. And she's already facing blowback for it. (López Restrepo, 4/18)
NPR: Anti-Abortion Groups Are Looking To A 19th-Century 'Vice Reformer'
A federal case challenging access to a common abortion pill is reviving discussions about a 150-year-old anti-obscenity law. In 1873, what's known as the Comstock Act banned multiple items related to sex and reproductive health that many people see as quite ordinary today. Until recently, that law had been largely forgotten or ignored. But it's being cited in the federal case out of Texas that could curb access to the widely used abortion pill mifepristone. (McCammon, 4/18)
What will happen to the FDA? —
The Washington Post: Abortion Pill Rulings Threaten FDA, Drug Companies Tell Supreme Court
Pharmaceutical companies, among the most powerful interests in Washington, have mobilized against a pair of lower-court rulings restricting access to abortion pills that they contend go far beyond issues of reproductive health and pose a threat to the regulatory foundations of the U.S. drug industry. The warnings — contained in friend-of-the-court advisory briefs filed Friday with the U.S. Supreme Court — are harshly critical of rulings this month by a U.S. District Court judge in Texas and a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. (Rowland, 4/18)
