Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
The Talk About Abortion: Should It Be A Defining Issue For Democrats?
The New York Times: Of Course Abortion Should Be A Litmus Test For Democrats
Democrats will fund anti-choice candidates in conservative districts, Representative Ben Ray Luján, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in an interview this week, citing the party’s need to build “a broad coalition” to win control of Congress in 2018. ... I am prepared to make leviathan compromises to pull us back from that brink. But there is no recognizable version of the Democratic Party that does not fight unequivocally against half its constituents’ being stripped of ownership of their own bodies and lives. This issue represents everything Democrats purport to stand for. (Lindy West, 8/2)
The Washington Post: Democrats Don’t Need To Be Afraid Of Antiabortion Liberals
[W]hen Democrats or others on the left bash the party for funding Democratic candidates with whom they disagree on abortion, they miss a key point: Democrats who oppose abortion aren’t like Republicans who oppose abortion. Not only are their priorities different, so are their policies. While Republicans who oppose abortion usually aim simply at banning the practice or making it difficult, Democrats who oppose abortion tend to take a whole-life approach, and to focus especially on reducing incentives to have abortions, rather than creating penalties. (Kristen Day, 8/3)
Los Angeles Times: Democrats Decide That There's Room In The Tent For 'Pro-Life' Candidates
Most Democratic congressional candidates will happily declare themselves pro-choice (even if they hedge by adding that they are “personally pro-life”). But suppose a Democratic candidate is “pro-life” to the point of opposing legal abortion but agrees with the party’s other priorities? Should that candidate be denied funding — and the party a potential majority — for the sake of pro-choice purity? The party’s strategists seem to think not. It’s hard to disagree. (Michael McGough, 8/2)
And on another Democratic initiative —
USA Today: Democratic 'Better Deal' Robs From The Future
The best ideas in the Democrats' proposal are investing in infrastructure and allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug makers over the prices it plays. But infrastructure spending is not strictly a Democratic idea, and the drug proposal is not new. It didn't help Democrats in 2014 and 2016, and it’s hard to see it having much impact in 2018. (8/2)
