Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Texas Maternal Mortality Panel Wants Access To Death Data Tied To Abortion
The Texas Tribune: Texas Committee Asks To Review Abortion-Related Deaths
Texas’ maternal mortality committee should be allowed to review abortion-related deaths and have more voices from impacted communities at the table, the group’s chair said at a Friday meeting. These comments represent the committee’s most forceful critique yet of the system by which the state reviews deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth. Dr. Carla Ortique, a Houston OB/GYN who chairs the committee, called for the reversal of recent legislative changes that redrew committee membership and began the process to remove Texas from the federal maternal mortality tracking system. (Klibanoff, 9/27)
Austin Bureau: Texas AG Ken Paxton Sues Austin Over Abortion Travel Grants
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing to stop the city of Austin from covering travel expenses for residents who seek abortions out of state. In a lawsuit filed Friday, Paxton argued that the Texas Constitution prohibits gifts without a public benefit. He said there is no public benefit to the city initiative and therefore the policy is illegal. (Goldenstein, 9/27)
Los Angeles Times: California Abortion Clinics Worry About Security Amid Protests
A bill signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday takes a statewide approach to deterrence, increasing criminal penalties for those who harass or threaten patients entering abortion clinics. The legislation goes further than a decades-old federal law that makes it illegal to threaten or harass people outside of abortion clinics and churches. (Mays, 9/29)
The 19th: The Future Of Abortion In North Carolina Could Come Down To Hundreds Of Votes
With its 12-week cutoff and just over a dozen clinics, North Carolina is one of only two states in the South to allow abortion beyond six weeks of pregnancy. Some providers say a stricter ban could force them to halt services altogether. If the state passed a ban at six weeks, which is before many people know they’re pregnant, it could cut their patient volume so much that they wouldn’t make enough money to stay open. “That would mean imminent failure,” said Calla Halle, who operates A Preferred Women’s Health Center, a network of abortion clinics with two outposts in North Carolina and two more in Georgia, where abortion is outlawed after six weeks. (Luthra, 9/30)
Vox: Abortion Groups Are Raising More Money Than Ever. Where Exactly Is It Going?
This past year, abortion funds say they’re fighting for their lives, unable to raise enough money to meet demand. A few are fundraising with new state-level partners, but increasingly, funds have had to tell callers they’ve run out of resources, leaving people to scramble for other options or carry unwanted pregnancies to term. (Cohen, 9/30)
