Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Texas Led Nation In 2024 For Women Seeking Out-Of-State Abortions
The Washington Post: Texans Were Most Likely To Cross State Lines For Abortions In 2024, Study Finds
More than 150,000 people traveled out of state to get an abortion last year — and nearly one-fifth came from Texas alone, a new report found. The data released Tuesday shows the home states of people who traveled across state lines for an abortion in 2024, who together made up about 15 percent of all abortion patients. Most came from the South, the region that most heavily restricts abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an organization that supports abortion rights and wrote the report. (Somasundaram, 6/24)
CNN: Man Charged With Supplying Chemicals In California Fertility Clinic Bombing Has Died In Custody, Officials Say
Daniel Jongyon Park — a man federal authorities said provided chemicals to make explosives used to bomb a California fertility clinic in May — has died, according to a statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. (Campbell and Watson, 6/24)
KFF Health News: California's Much-Touted IVF Law May Be Delayed Until 2026, Leaving Many In The Lurch
California lawmakers are poised to delay the state’s much-ballyhooed new law mandating in vitro fertilization insurance coverage for millions, set to take effect July 1. Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked lawmakers to push the implementation date to January 2026, leaving patients, insurers, and employers in limbo. The law, SB 729, requires state-regulated health plans offered by large employers to cover infertility diagnosis and treatment, including IVF. (Kwon, 6/25)
More health news from across the U.S. —
The Texas Tribune: Texas To Create Its Own Licensing Test For Psychologists
After leading a national pushback against a costly new national certification exam for psychologists, Texas has approved crafting its own cheaper test with hopes that other states will take it. (Simpson, 6/24)
North Carolina Health News: NC Senate’s “Mini Budget” Would Fund Healthy Opportunities Pilot
North Carolina senators slipped the language for a “mini” state budget into a bill passed by the N.C. House of Representatives that was formerly about designating the state star. Completely revamped, House Bill 125 now funds certain state operations until lawmakers can agree on a full budget. (Vitaglione, 6/25)
AP: In Line With Trump, North Carolina Legislature Takes Aim At Transgender Rights
Legislation much in line with President Donald Trump’s political agenda on transgender rights squeezed through the North Carolina Senate this week, as state lawmakers prepare for their anticipated summer recess by the week’s end. A measure approved Tuesday — despite heightened tensions in the Senate — offers protections for women and minors in pornography but had various provisions related to transgender people tacked on in a Senate committee last week. In its original form, the bill passed unanimously through the House last month before the changes, which caused a stir among Democrats who have said the bill was hijacked. (Seminera, 6/24)
AP: Mississippi's Longest-Serving Death Row Inmate Is Set To Be Executed
Mississippi’s longest-serving death row inmate is set to be executed Wednesday nearly five decades after he kidnapped and killed a bank loan officer’s wife in a violent ransom scheme. Richard Gerald Jordan, a 79-year-old Vietnam veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman. He is one of several people on Mississippi’s death row suing the state over its three-drug execution protocol, which they claim is inhumane. (Bates, 6/25)
On housing and race —
The 19th: Evictions Hurt Physical And Mental Health Of Black Mothers, New Study Shows
Black mothers are more likely to face eviction and housing discrimination, which has lasting impacts on their mental and physical health — as well as that of their neighbors, a new report says. (Turner, 6/24)
