Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Texas Women Denied Abortions Testify Dramatically Against State Ban
The Wall Street Journal: Texas Women Denied Abortions Testify About Impact Of State Bans
For the first time since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, women provided hours of testimony in front of a judge about the emotional and physical impact of being denied an abortion because of a state ban. (Kusisto and Flores, 7/19)
NPR: Texas Abortion Bans Challenged In Dramatic Court Testimony From 3 Women
Samantha Casiano, who gave birth to a baby who lived just four hours, broke down and became physically ill on the witness stand as she told the story of her doomed pregnancy in an Austin, Texas, courtroom on Wednesday. Her husband, Luis Villasana, rushed to the front of the courtroom to help her, during a hearing in a case challenging the abortion bans in Texas. (Simmons-Duffin, 7/19)
NBC News: Woman Suing Texas Over Abortion Ban Vomits On The Stand
A hearing in a lawsuit challenging Texas' abortion ban opened Wednesday with dramatic testimony from three women who experienced serious pregnancy complications but were denied abortions. One of the plaintiffs in the suit, Samantha Casiano, vomited on the stand while discussing her baby's fatal birth defect, which she said also put her life at risk. (Bendix, 7/20)
The Texas Tribune: Texas Women Testify Against State Abortion Ban
One woman could barely get words out through her tears. Another ran to the restroom as soon as she was done, wordless, wretched sobs wracking her tiny body. A third threw up on the witness stand. These are believed to be the first women in the country since 1973 to testify in court about the impacts of a state abortion ban on their pregnancies. They almost certainly won’t be the last. (Klibanoff and Schneid, 7/19)
After abortion bans like Texas' take effect, infant mortality spikes —
CNN: Nearly Two Years After Texas' Six-Week Abortion Ban, More Babies Are Dying
Texas’ abortion restrictions – some of the strictest in the country – may be fueling a sudden spike in infant mortality as women are forced to carry nonviable pregnancies to term. Some 2,200 infants died in Texas in 2022 – an increase of 227 deaths, or 11.5%, over the previous year, according to preliminary infant mortality data CNN obtained through a public records request. Infant deaths caused by severe genetic and birth defects rose by 21.6%. That spike reversed a nearly decade-long decline. Between 2014 and 2021, infant deaths had fallen by nearly 15%. (Chapman, 7/20)
Meanwhile, in other news on abortion access —
AP: Maine Governor Expands Access To Abortion Later In Pregnancy
Maine will soon expand abortion access, joining a half dozen states that leave it to doctors and patients to make the decision without restrictions on timing. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill into law Wednesday that allows abortions at any time if deemed medically necessary by a doctor, making the law one of the nation’s least restrictive. The previous law banned abortions after a fetus becomes viable outside the womb, at roughly 24 weeks, but allowed an exception if the patient’s life is at risk. (Sharp, 7/19)
The Washington Post: Abortion Providers In Democrat-Led States Work With Aid Access To Funnel Pills Into Antiabortion States
The doctor starts each day with a list of addresses and a label maker. Sitting in her basement in New York’s Hudson Valley, next to her grown children’s old bunk beds, she reviews the list of towns and cities she’ll be mailing to that day: Baton Rouge, Tucson, Houston. A month ago, a phone call was the only thing the doctor could offer to women in states with abortion bans who faced unexpected pregnancies. Hamstrung by the laws, she could only coach them through the process of taking abortion pills they received from overseas suppliers. (Kitchener, 7/19)
The New York Times: Abortion Networks Adapt To A Post-Roe World
The year since the Supreme Court rescinded a constitutional right to abortion by reversing the landmark Roe v. Wade decision has been a time of fear and retrenchment for groups that provide abortion services and support abortion rights. It has been a period of elation and opportunity for those who oppose them. And it has produced widespread confusion as organizations across the ideological spectrum scramble to keep up with legal, political and social fallout from the court decision. (Kelly and Schwartz Taylor, 7/20)
