Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Texas Judge Allows Woman To Have Emergency Abortion Despite Ban
The Texas Tribune: Judge Says Texas Woman May Abort Fetus With Lethal Abnormality
For the first time in at least 50 years, a judge has intervened to allow an adult woman to terminate her pregnancy. When Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble handed down the temporary restraining order Thursday, Kate Cox, 31, of Dallas burst into tears. Cox and her husband desperately wanted to have this baby, but her doctors said continuing the nonviable pregnancy posed a risk to her health and future fertility, according to a historic lawsuit filed Tuesday. (Klibanoff, 12/7)
Houston Chronicle: Paxton Warns Houston Hospitals Not To Comply With Abortion Order
Hours after a Texas judge ruled a woman may receive an emergency abortion, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warned three Houston hospitals that they could still face penalties if they allow the procedure to happen. “We feel it is important for you to understand the potential long-term implications if you permit such an abortion to occur at your facility,” Paxton wrote in a letter Thursday to Houston Methodist, The Woman’s Hospital of Texas and Texas Children’s Hospital. (Goldenstein, 12/7)
The Hill: Texas AG Says Abortions Still Prosecutable Despite Court Exemptions
Paxton said Thursday that the ruling “will not insulate hospitals, doctors, or anyone else, from civil and criminal liability for violating Texas’ abortion laws.” He continued, “The TRO [temporary restraining order] will expire long before the statute of limitations for violating Texas’ abortion laws expires.” (Robertson, 12/7)
The 19th: Pregnancy Loss In America Has Long Been A Lonely Experience. Abortion Bans Have Made It Perilous.
It had only been three weeks since Ann Carver and her husband started trying to have a baby, and somehow, she was already pregnant. In the summer of 2022, she’d become a mom. The couple told everyone they knew, too excited for early pregnancy secrecy and caution. Carver was 26. She felt like there was no reason to worry. (Luthra, 12/7)
More abortion news —
The 19th: New Hampshire Republicans Propose 15-Day Abortion Ban
A newly introduced bill in New Hampshire would ban abortion at 15 days of pregnancy, effectively outlawing the procedure entirely — and indicating either a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of how pregnancy and pregnancy dating work. And Democrats in the state believe it could be setting other abortion bans up to look less strict. (Luthra, 12/7)
The 19th: How 15-Week Abortion Bans Became The Center Of Republican Debate
The Republican debate over abortion has centered around one number: 15. Backers of a 15-week federal ban tout it as a compromise measure, even in the face of recent electoral defeat. Anti-abortion advocates hope congressional candidates will embrace this measure, and they’re pushing GOP presidential candidates to promise they would sign such a bill. (Luthra, 12/6)
KFF Health News and PolitiFact: Candidates Clashed But Avoided Talk Of Abortion At 4th GOP Primary Debate
Raised voices and sharp words marked Wednesday night’s fourth Republican presidential primary debate as four candidates argued about everything from their own electability to the continued front-runner status of former President Donald Trump. Abortion was never mentioned. (12/7)
In other reproductive health news —
Side Effects Public Media: After Dobbs, Doctors Say More People Are Turning To Permanent Contraception
Sitting in the living room of her Cleveland home, 30-year-old Grace O’Malley reflects on when she ruled out having kids of her own. O’Malley has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic condition that weakens the body’s connective tissue, and can get much worse postpartum. About three years earlier, when she was in her mid-twenties, her condition worsened. O’Malley’s doctors told her that if she did get pregnant, her uterus could rupture and her child would be more likely to be born prematurely. (Wizner, 12/7)
KFF Health News: Being Black And Pregnant In The Deep South Can Be A Dangerous Combination
O’laysha Davis was a few weeks shy of her due date when in mid-August she decided it was time to switch doctors. Davis had planned to give birth at a small community hospital about 20 minutes from her home in North Charleston, South Carolina. But that changed when her medical team started repeatedly calling her cellphone and pressuring her to come to the hospital and deliver the baby. (Sausser, 12/8)
On transgender health —
The 19th: What It Looks Like To Be A Pregnant Trans Man In America
Three days after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Sam Guido gave birth to his first child. His doctors, unsure of what was still legal, didn’t prescribe misoprostol — a drug used in medication abortions — to help with contractions. That was another blow, another way in which Guido felt he wasn’t in control of his labor. (Rummler, 12/7)
The Washington Post: How ‘Detransitioners’ Are Influencing Conservative Transgender Care Laws
In her teens, Prisha Mosley, 25, transitioned from female to male. Last year, she detransitioned and joined forces with conservative activists fighting to ban the gender-affirming care she had received. Mosley is among more than a dozen detransitioners who have gained prominence this year, suing the doctors and clinics from which they received care in more than half a dozen states, headlining conservative events and starring in documentaries often sponsored by right-wing groups. (Hennessy-Fiske, 12/6)
