Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'There's A Lot On The Line In This Case': Justices To Hear Oral Arguments Tomorrow Over Louisiana's Abortion Law
The Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court Will Hear First Major Abortion Case Since Two Trump Appointees Joined
The Supreme Court hears its first major abortion case Wednesday since two Trump nominees joined the bench, potentially signalling whether—and how much——reproductive rights may change under a bolstered conservative majority. “There’s a lot on the line in this case, and more than most people realize,” said Mary Ziegler, a law professor at Florida State University and author of the forthcoming book “Abortion and the Law in America.” Most prominently, the case involves the Supreme Court’s approach to precedent, since it largely is a replay of an issue the court decided in 2016, when by a 5-3 vote it struck down a Texas law requiring that abortion providers obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. (Bravin, 3/2)
The New York Times: An Abortion Clinic’s Fate Before A Transformed Supreme Court
Kathaleen Pittman, the director of the Hope Medical Group for Women, remembers when there were 11 abortion clinics in Louisiana. Now there are only three, hers among them. Soon, depending on how the Supreme Court rules in a case to be argued on Wednesday, there may be just one, in New Orleans, more than 300 miles away. Since 1973, when the court established a constitutional right to abortion in Roe v. Wade, Louisiana has enacted 89 abortion restrictions, the most of any state. The restriction at issue now requires doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. (Liptak, 3/3)
Meanwhile, in West Virginia —
The Associated Press: W.Va. Governor Signs 'Born Alive' Abortion Bill
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Monday signed a proposal to penalize physicians who don't provide medical care to a child born after an abortion, a largely symbolic measure due to existing laws that protect newborns. The measure easily passed both the GOP-held Senate and House of Delegates with supporters admitting that it's more about sending a political message than solving an ongoing problem. State law forbids abortions after 20 weeks and many Democrats have pointed out that murder is already a crime in West Virginia. (Izaguirre, 3/2)
