Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House To Rally With Abortion Rights Groups To Mark Dobbs Anniversary
AP: One Year After The Anti-Abortion Ruling, The White House Keeps A Spotlight On The Issue
Unbowed on Saturday’s anniversary, it’s the White House, not Republicans, calling the most attention to the issue with a cascade of events designed to tap into simmering rage from the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “I don’t think people are tired,” Jennifer Klein, the White House point person on gender policy, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I think people might be mad. I think there’s a lot of fear out there. But I feel like that turns into power.” (Megerian, 6/22)
The Hill: Major Reproductive Rights Groups To Back Biden For Reelection
Three major reproductive rights groups are expected to back President Biden’s reelection bid during a Friday rally to mark one year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America and EMILY’s List are each slated to endorse Biden and Vice President Harris during the Friday event in Washington, D.C., which Biden and Harris are both scheduled to attend. While it is not a surprise for abortion-rights groups to support Biden and Harris, the early endorsements underscore how the issue is likely to be central to the president’s campaign heading into 2024. (Samuels, 6/22)
Politico: Biden Can Barely Say The Word, But ‘Abortion’ Is Set To Define His 2024 Pitch
President Joe Biden has never hidden the fact that his Catholic roots can make it difficult to be a politician in favor of abortion rights. In fact, he still rarely uses the word “abortion” at all. But as the 2024 election comes into focus, Biden is poised to run the most overtly abortion rights platform of any general election candidate in political history as he and his team navigate the first presidential cycle in the post-Roe era. (Otterbein and Ward, 6/22)
In other updates from the Democrats —
Axios: Scoop: Senate Dems Tie Abortion To Broader Health Care In New Dobbs Push
Medical associations say state abortion restrictions adopted in the wake of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision have restricted access not only to reproductive care, but "unrelated" health care treatments as well, according to a report from six Senate Democrats. ... Democrats this week have focused on painting Republicans as anti-abortion extremists to appeal to independents and swing voters as the 2024 elections get closer. The Senate report is led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). (Gonazalez and Solender, 6/23)
The 19th: Democrats In House, Senate Focus On Abortion
Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, Congress is seeing a flurry of action on reproductive health as Democrats highlight ongoing concerns over the impact of abortion restrictions and raise the specter of a GOP takeover in 2024. Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley and other House Democrats on Thursday plan to introduce new abortion legislation designed to address disparities in reproductive health care access. The bill would guarantee a federal right to abortion and miscarriage care and protect patients and health care providers from criminalization, among other provisions. (Barclay, 6/22)
NBC News: How A Personal Experience With Abortion Is Guiding The Senate Democrats' Campaign Chair
It’s still hard for Sen. Gary Peters to talk about. More than 40 years ago, his then-wife's water broke four months into a very much-wanted pregnancy. Doctors told them “there’s no way” the baby could survive, he recalled in an interview with NBC News; he and Heidi were told they should let a miscarriage happen naturally. After three days of what Peters described as “anguish,” the miscarriage didn’t come — and Heidi’s health deteriorated. But their doctor couldn’t perform an abortion. ... The trauma of that moment is still palpable for Peters, now a two-term senator from Michigan and tasked, for the second time, with leading the campaign to help Democrats keep control of the Senate in the 2024 elections. (Vitali and Brown-Kaiser, 6/23)
