Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Virginia Democrats Push Ahead With Promise To Protect Reproductive Rights
AP: Virginia Democrats Advance Efforts To Protect Abortion, Voting Rights, Marriage Equality
Democrats who control both chambers of the Virginia legislature are hoping to make good on promises made on the campaign trail, including becoming the first Southern state to expand constitutional protections for abortion access. The House Privileges and Elections Committee advanced three proposed constitutional amendments Wednesday, including a measure to protect reproductive rights. Its members also discussed measures to repeal a now-defunct state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and ways to revise Virginia’s process to restore voting rights for people who served time for felony crimes. (Diaz, 11/13)
Ohio Capital Journal: Abortion Opponents Back Measure Barring Local Support Programs
State lawmakers in Ohio want to prohibit local governments from using public dollars in support of abortion. They’re casting a wide net. Legislation sponsored by state Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania, bars public funds from being given directly or indirectly to an organization that provides abortions that aren’t necessary to protect the life of the mother. In addition, the bill prohibits funding going to any group providing services for people seeking such abortions like transportation, housing or wage reimbursement. (Evans, 11/14)
Politico: Red Wave Crashes Down On Ballot Measures
The left sees setbacks on abortion, drug legalization, minimum wage and election-process questions from coast to coast. (Schultheis, Zhang and Ukenye, 11/13)
The Nation: What We Learn From The Texas Town That Voted For Abortion And For Trump
In the Texas panhandle city of Amarillo on Election Day, in the buckle of the Bible Belt, Dexie Organ, 60, dressed in black leggings and a red shirt, stepped out of her beat-up Nissan and headed across the parking lot to vote. On her way, she saw a volunteer holding a sign that read: “Vote No on Prop A.” Organ stopped. “I need a little education,” she told the sign-holder, Diann Anderson, who explained to her that Proposition A was an abortion travel ban that would deputize private citizens to sue anyone they suspected of helping someone travel through Amarillo to get an abortion out of state. “I do believe that is unconstitutional,” Organ told me. “We’re women; I don’t know why they think they need to suppress us.” Organ told me she has 14 children—and she’s had an abortion. “I have eight daughters…and I want them to have what they want,” she told me. (Littlefield, 11/14)
In other reproductive health news —
Stat: Plan B: Sales Are Surging, But Is It Effective If You're Overweight?
Americans have been stocking up on emergency contraception and abortion pills in the wake of the election, with reproductive health company Cadence OTC reporting purchases in a single day that were five times the amount it normally gets in a week. But amid this surge in interest, social media discourse has also been highlighting concerns about whether the drugs are less effective for people at higher weights. (Broderick, 11/14)
Roll Call: In Divide On Women's Health Care, A Consensus On Menopause
Despite deep partisan divides on issues like abortion and contraceptive access, lawmakers from both parties appear to have forged a cautious consensus on another women’s issue: menopause. The agreement became evident earlier this year, when a bipartisan group of female senators introduced legislation that would increase federal research on menopause and coordinate the federal government’s existing programs related to menopause and midlife women’s health for the first time. (Heller, 11/13)
