Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
What's At Electoral Stake: Health Care Access, Abortion, Drug Pricing
Stat: Health And Science Are On The Ballot This Election. Here’s What We’re Watching
The midterm elections this year are centered on weighty topics: the economy looms large, as does the existential future of democracy. But there are plenty of health and science priorities on the ballot, too, as Tuesday’s votes will chart the course for the future of health care access, affordability, and public health writ large. (11/7)
The Boston Globe: Here Are The Many Ways Abortion Is On The Ballot Around The Country On Tuesday
Michigan’s amendment is one of the many ways abortion is on the ballot in elections across the country on Tuesday. The Supreme Court’s June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and its nearly five-decade-old guarantee of a federal right to an abortion kicked the issue back to the states. It also made abortion a centerpiece of the midterm elections. The abortion rights landscape is now a patchwork of state laws that could be directly or indirectly changed by voters at the polls in the first major election since the decision. (Villa Huerta and Coan, 11/6)
ABC News: How Abortion Rights Advocates Say Midterm Elections Could Impact Access In Arizona
Arizona abortion rights advocates have been fielding confusing abortion laws in the state for months. Now, those advocates say the midterm elections are critical for determining access to abortion in the state. Abortion providers in Arizona have been living in "legal limbo" since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, abortion rights advocates say. (Guilfoil, 11/7)
Los Angeles Times: Democrats Rally In Long Beach For Abortion Rights Measure Prop. 1
California’s top Democrats rallied in Long Beach on Sunday morning to urge voters to support Proposition 1, a state constitutional amendment that would block the state from passing any measures restricting access to abortion or contraception. (Rainey, 11/6)
Politico: ‘Republicans Abandoned Me’: Meet The Dobbs Voters Of Michigan
In one state, the fight over abortion rights has made Election Day particularly unpredictable: Michigan, which has both a high-stakes abortion rights referendum and a governor’s race where abortion has become central. POLITICO spoke to nine voters in the state who have been energized by the issue to vote or engage in politics in a wholly new way. Some of them have switched parties; some are engaging in serious activism for the first time; some are casting their first ever ballots. (Ollstein, 11/4)
KHN: Election Canvassers Want Latinos To Know Voting Is Good For Their Health
Jonathan Flores spent a sunny Saturday in late October knocking on the doors of registered voters in this predominantly Latino working-class town in southeastern Los Angeles County. Most people weren’t home or didn’t come to the door. Some of those who did expressed strong opinions about Joe Biden and Donald Trump and took an interest in abortion rights and clean-air initiatives on the California ballot for the Nov. 8 election. One young man gave Flores the brush-off, saying he doubted his vote would be counted. Like the other canvassers sent out that day by AltaMed Health Services Corp., a large chain of community clinics, Flores sported a black baseball cap and a T-shirt emblazoned with “My Vote. My Health.” Underneath, it read the same in Spanish, “Mi Voto. Mi Salud.” His mission was to urge residents to cast their ballots, even if they had never voted, so they could be fairly represented in city hall, Sacramento, and beyond. (Wolfson, 11/7)
