Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Texas Is Fighting Title X Decree That Allows Kids Confidential Contraception
The Texas Tribune: Texas Sues Over Confidential Contraception For Teens
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday announced he is suing the Biden administration over a federal contraception program that provides teens birth control without requiring parental consent. The Title X program has long been the only way minors in Texas can access confidential contraception, but since a court ruling in 2022, Texas providers have been required to get parental sign-off. (Klibanoff, 7/25)
Healio: FDA Approves First Oral Dissolvable Birth Control Pill
The FDA approved the first orally disintegrating birth control pill for people who have difficulty swallowing their medication, the agency announced in a press release. The dissolvable combined oral contraceptive of norethindrone acetate and ethinyl estradiol pill (Femlyv, Millicent), was first approved in the U.S. for the prevention of pregnancy as a swallowable tablet in 1968. (Schaffer, 7/24)
In abortion news —
AP: Arkansas Abortion Measure's Signatures From Volunteers Alone Would Fall Short, Filing Shows
The signatures collected by volunteers for an Arkansas abortion-rights measure would fall short of the number needed to qualify for the ballot if those are the only ones counted, according to an initial tally from election officials filed Thursday with the state Supreme Court. The filing from the secretary of state’s office comes after the court ordered officials to begin counting signatures submitted, but only those collected by volunteers. Arkansans for Limited Government, which used volunteer and paid canvassers, has sued the state for rejecting its petitions. (Demillo, 7/25)
AP: Montana Supreme Court Allows Signatures Of Inactive Voters To Count On Ballot Petitions
Montana’s Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would allow the signatures of inactive voters to count on petitions seeking to qualify constitutional initiatives for the November ballot, including one to protect abortion rights. District Court Judge Mike Menahan ruled last Tuesday that Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen’s office wrongly changed election rules to reject inactive voter signatures from three ballot initiatives after the signatures had been turned in to counties and after some of the signatures had been verified. The groups that sued — Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights and Montanans for Election Reform — alleged the state for decades had accepted signatures of inactive voters. (Hanson, 7/23)
Side Effects Public Media: Iowa's New Abortion Law Could Have Ripple Effects Across The Region
It’s quiet over the lunch hour on a recent Friday at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Mankato, Minn. Brooke Zahnle, the health center manager, steps into the southern Minnesota clinic’s small hallway to point out the clinic’s lab and five exam rooms, including an ultrasound room. The clinic is tucked away in a strip mall close to Minnesota State University, Mankato. It’s about an hour from the Iowa border. (Krebs, 7/25)
Michigan Advance: Rhetoric Versus Reality: Addressing Common Misconceptions About Abortion
Candidates have been campaigning on rhetoric that abortion is infanticide and happens “post birth,” “up until the moment of birth,” or “after birth,” as Trump alleged in the June debate with President Joe Biden. However, abortion does not happen “after birth.” That would be categorized as murder, as it was in the case of former Philadelphia abortion doctor and convicted murderer Kermit Gosnell. (Resnick, 7/26)
In other reproductive health news —
Missouri Independent: Study: Missouri Is One Of The Worst States For Women’s Health
Missouri women have more limited access to health care and worse outcomes than any other state in the Midwest, a new study of the nation’s health care system found. Missouri ranks 40th out of 51 states plus the District of Columbia on the 2024 state scorecard on women’s health and reproductive care, published by the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation focused on health care issues. (Spoerre, 7/26)
CNN: Barbie’s Gynecologist Appointment Increased Online Search Interest Around Reproductive Health, New Study Finds
When she leaves Barbie Land for the real world, Barbie must keep up with her regular health maintenance, which includes seeing her gynecologist.A new study published Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open has found that the ending in the 2023 blockbuster film “Barbie” had an influence on online search interest in terms around gynecology, the branch of medicine that deals with women’s reproductive health. (Nicioli, 7/25)
