Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Texas Files Suit To Prevent HHS Pharmacy Guidance On Abortion Medications
Reuters: Texas Sues Biden Administration For Asking Pharmacies To Fill Reproductive Health Prescriptions
Texas sued the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday to prevent it from asking pharmacies to fill reproductive health prescriptions. The Biden administration said in July 2022 that refusing to fill prescriptions for drugs that could be used to terminate a pregnancy could violate federal law, regardless of various state bans on the procedure. (Singh, 2/7)
CNN: Texas Challenges HHS Guidance That Pharmacies Can't Turn Away People Who Have A Prescription For A Drug That May End A Pregnancy
“By requiring pharmacies that receive Medicare and Medicaid funds – including retail pharmacies operated by Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center – to dispense abortifacients when the life of the mother is not in danger, the Pharmacy Mandate flouts Dobbs’s holding that States may regulate abortion and directly infringes on Texas’s sovereign and quasisovereign authority,” the lawsuit states. (Sneed, 2/8)
In other abortion updates —
The 19th: A Federal Judge Could Soon Block Access To An Abortion Pill. Here’s What That Means
A federal court in Texas could this week block access to mifepristone, a major drug used for managing abortions. The ramifications of this decision — including blocking future distribution of the drug — would be felt across the country. (Luthra, 2/7)
ABC News: Missouri AG On Mailing Abortion Pills: 'Flawed Reading' Of The Law
But attorneys general from 20 states with strict abortion bans have issued a stark warning to pharmacies that following through on mailing abortion pills would violate federal and some state laws. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey wrote the letter. He spoke to ABC News Live’s Linsey Davis about why the attorneys general issued the warning and whether women who receive the medication could face prosecution. (2/7)
Arkansas Democrat Gazette: State Senate Approves Bill To Repeal Of Abortion Licensure
The Arkansas Senate on Tuesday handily approved a bill that would repeal the state law under which a clinic, health center or other facility in which a pregnancy of a woman is willfully terminated or aborted shall be licensed by the state Department of Health. (Wickline, 2/8)
The Washington Post: Va. General Assembly Faces Stalemate On Guns, Abortion At 'Crossover'
Division was on full display this week as lawmakers churned through hundreds of last-minute bills before Tuesday night’s deadline for “crossover,” when the House of Delegates and Senate must finish work on their own measures and send them to the opposite chamber. ... None of about 20 proposed constitutional amendments got a vote in the House — most notably, one supporting Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) in his call for a ban on abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. (Schneider and Vozzella, 2/7)
Miami Herald: Her Fetus Had A Fatal Birth Defect. She Had To Fly Out Of Florida For An Abortion
Anabely Lopes wanted a child more than anything, so the 44-year-old was ecstatic when she became pregnant last year — and then devastated when doctors said her unborn child had a fatal abnormality. After a painful discussion with her husband and her doctors, Lopes decided to get an abortion. But she says undergoing the procedure in Florida proved to be complicated: A new law restricting abortion access had gone into effect days earlier, and Lopes soon found herself on a plane, leaving South Florida to get an abortion at a clinic in Washington. (Marchante, 2/7)
