Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
VA To Provide Abortions In Some Cases, Even In States Where It's Banned
The Texas Tribune: VA Will Provide Abortions Even In States Like Texas That Ban It
The Department of Veterans Affairs said Friday it will provide abortions for veterans and their beneficiaries as medically necessary or in cases of rape or incest. The VA said it plans to provide abortions across the entire nation — including states, such as Texas, that prohibit the procedure. (Erickson, 9/2)
NPR: The VA Says It Will Provide Abortions In Some Cases Even In States Where It's Banned
Now, the VA says it's stepping in to offer abortions in order to protect the health and lives of veterans in places where they can no longer access such reproductive care. Under a new interim final rule, pregnant veterans and VA beneficiaries will be able to get abortions if their life or health would be in danger if the pregnancy went to term. Patients whose pregnancies were the result of rape or incest will also be eligible for abortions. (Hernandez, 9/3)
In other abortion updates —
The Washington Post: Abortion Has Upended The Midterms As Sprint To November Begins
Cat Thomas used to call herself politically independent. But she registered as a Democrat the moment she turned 18 this summer, fearful that Republicans in Pennsylvania would ban abortion. Hope Pierotti, 20, hurried to re-register in her new swing-state home days after Roe v. Wade was overturned, similarly anxious about abortion rights. The procedure is legal in Pennsylvania, but Republicans could pass sweeping new restrictions if they win the governor’s race and keep control of the statehouse. (Knowles and Kitchener, 9/5)
KHN: In The Rush To Curtail Abortion, States Adopt A Jumbled Stew Of Definitions For Human Life
As life-preserving medical technology advanced in the second half of the 20th century, doctors and families were faced with a thorny decision, one with weighty legal and moral implications: How should we define when life ends? Cardiopulmonary bypass machines could keep the blood pumping and ventilators could maintain breathing long after a patient’s natural ability to perform those vital functions had ceased. After decades of deliberations involving physicians, bioethicists, attorneys, and theologians, a U.S. presidential commission in 1981 settled on a scientifically derived dividing line between life and death that has endured, more or less, ever since: A person was considered dead when the entire brain — including the brainstem, its most primitive portion — was no longer functioning, even if other vital functions could be maintained indefinitely through artificial life support. (Varney, 9/6)
Oklahoman: Oklahoma AG Issues Guidance On State Abortion Bans For Law Enforcement
Both the Oklahoma attorney general's office and the state's medical boards have crafted guidance meant to shed light on how Oklahoma's multiple abortion laws should be interpreted by doctors and law enforcement agencies. Abortions in Oklahoma essentially ceased about three months ago, when Oklahoma banned the procedure at any point during pregnancy. (Branham, 9/1)
Missouri Independent: Abortion Rights Groups Fear Outcome Of St. Louis Loss In Federal Court
When the attorney general’s lawsuit challenging St. Louis’ plan to use federal funds to support abortion access was moved to federal court, it didn’t draw much attention. But the move set off alarms for abortion-rights advocates. (Weinberg, 9/2)
AP: Lawyer's Mission: Translate Tenn.'s Bewildering Abortion Ban
Chloe Akers considers herself a grizzled criminal defense attorney. Until a few months ago, she didn’t spend much time thinking about abortion — for all her 39 years, abortion was not a crime, so she’d never imagined having to defend someone accused of performing one. That changed in June, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Akers sat down in her law office and pulled up Tennessee’s new criminal abortion statute. She didn’t read it through a political lens; it doesn’t matter whether she likes a law — there are a lot of them she doesn’t like. Instead, she read it like she would any other statute: What does it make illegal? How would it be enforced? She was shocked. She read it maybe 10 times more. Surely, she was missing something. (Galofaro, 9/5)
In news about contraception access —
Dallas Morning News: Rape Victims Can Take Plan B Instead Of Having Abortions, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Says
“We want to support those victims, but also those victims can access health care immediately, as well as to report it,” Abbott said during a segment that will air Sunday on Lone Star Politics, a show produced by KXAS-TV (NBC 5) and The Dallas Morning News. “By accessing health care immediately, they can get the Plan B pill that can prevent a pregnancy from occurring in the first place. With regard to reporting it to law enforcement, that will ensure that the rapist will be arrested and prosecuted.” (Jeffers Jr., 9/2)
The Texas Tribune: Plan B Isn’t Widely Available For The State’s Poorest People
On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott told The Dallas Morning News that rape victims can take emergency contraception, like Plan B, to prevent a pregnancy. With abortion now banned in Texas, even in instances of incest or rape, the governor recommended the use of emergency contraception to ensure a victim of rape does not become pregnant. (Melhado, 9/3)
NPR: Birth Control Access Can Be Limited In Places With Catholic Health Systems
Last week, students returning to campus at Oberlin College in Ohio got a shock: A local news outlet reported that the campus' student health services would severely limit who could get contraception prescriptions. They would only be given to treat health problems — not for the purpose of preventing pregnancy — and emergency contraception would only be available to victims of sexual assault. It turned out the college had outsourced its student health services to a Catholic health agency – and like other Catholic health institutions, it follows religious directives that prohibit contraception to prevent pregnancy. They also prohibit gender-affirming care. (Godoy, 9/4)
