Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Supreme Court Justices Question Unique Provisions Of Texas Abortion Law
NPR: Supreme Court Justices Seem To Tilt Toward Abortion Providers In Texas
The Supreme Court appeared inclined Monday to allow abortion providers to challenge a controversial Texas law that in effect bans all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which is before most women know they are pregnant. But if the clues from the three-hour argument are correct, it's still unclear when the court will rule or whether it will temporarily block the law while the lower courts consider it. (Totenberg, 11/1)
The Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court Questions Texas Abortion Law - WSJ
During nearly three hours of oral arguments, justices across the ideological spectrum explored how they might allow abortion-rights advocates to challenge the law in federal court—with some expressing concern that other states could follow the model of the Texas law to target religious expression, access to guns or other rights defined by the court. The Supreme Court’s focus Monday wasn’t directly on abortion rights, but rather the anomaly of the law, known as SB 8 or the Texas Heartbeat Act: State officials aren’t allowed to enforce it, a feature designed to thwart legal challenges. Under Supreme Court precedents, abortion-rights plaintiffs would sue such officials and ask a judge to block them from enforcing the law. Texas instead limited enforcement to private parties, who are offered financial incentives to sue abortion providers and other people who aid abortions. (Kendall and Bravin, 11/1)
Politico: Kavanaugh, Barrett Air Skepticism Of Texas Abortion Law
Two appointees of President Donald Trump — Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — raised the hopes of abortion rights advocates with their questions in Monday’s arguments. Both aired concerns that Texas’ abortion ban was designed to evade federal law and constitutional review. Kavanaugh seemed troubled by the possibility that allowing the Texas law to remain in effect could lead other states to pass laws that would intrude on various rights protected by the Constitution — one of the key arguments the abortion clinics challenging the law put forward when asking the court to strike it down. (Gerstein and Ollstein, 11/1)
AP: Supreme Court Questions Controversial Texas Abortion Law
The justices sounded less convinced that the Justice Department lawsuit should go forward, and Justice Elena Kagan suggested that a ruling instead in favor of the providers would allow the court to avoid difficult issues of federal power. In neither case argued Monday is the right to an abortion directly at issue. But the motivation for the lawsuits is that the Texas law conflicts with landmark Supreme Court rulings that prevent a state from banning abortion early in pregnancy. (Sherman and Gresko, 11/1)
More details and takeaways from the first abortion hearings of this session —
Politico: Takeaways From SCOTUS Arguments On Texas Abortion Ban
Two Trump-appointed justices, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, surprised Supreme Court watchers on Monday by sounding receptive to the arguments that opponents have leveled against Texas’ novel abortion ban. Normally, word on where Kavanaugh and Barrett actually come down on the cases would be months away. But because the court scheduled arguments on the issue faster than any it has heard in decades, a decision is expected within days or weeks. (Ollstein and Gerstein, 11/1)
KHN: High Court Hears Cases On Novel Texas Law, But Outcome May Not Affect Abortion Access
The Supreme Court, whose conservative majority is considered poised to overturn decades-old decisions guaranteeing abortion rights, heard its first two abortion cases of the 2021-22 term Monday. But the court could decide this case without deciding the fate of abortion rights in America. At stake is the future of a Texas law, which severely limits the procedure, that the high court refused to block from taking effect in September. The state law has cut the number of abortions in the state by half. (Rovner, 11/1)
SCOTUSblog: Two Cases. Three Hours Of Arguments. Four Sets Of Lawyers. Fifty Mentions Of Abortion. One Pair Of Red Socks.
A minute-by-minute look at what happened inside 1 First Street during Monday’s back-to-back arguments on the Texas abortion law. (Walsh, 11/1)
Also —
NPR: More Activists Who Have Had Abortions Are Saying So Out Loud. Here's Why
Telling personal abortion stories has increasingly become central to the abortion-rights movement in recent years. There's a number of reasons why advocates believe this strategy might work. One is the hope that telling stories will normalize the procedure, making Americans more sympathetic. (Kurtzleben, 11/2)
