Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Bill To Codify Federal Abortion Rights Introduced In Senate
A bipartisan group of senators on Monday introduced legislation that would codify the right to an abortion into federal law, but it faces an uncertain future. The bill from Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) comes after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion rights case, and left the authority to regulate the procedure to individual states. (Weixel, 8/1)
The new measure emerged from talks between the Maine Republican and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, after Collins joined all Republicans and one Democrat in May to聽block a more sweeping abortion-rights bill聽advanced by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York. (Shepherd, 8/1)
Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Monday joined a bipartisan coalition to introduce a bill that would protect abortion and contraception access. The measure faces an uncertain future in a Senate that failed to pass a broader measure enshrining abortion rights in May. It also comes as Murkowski faces reelection this fall, with abortion emerging as a key issue in that campaign. (Rogerson and Samuels, 8/1)
Still, the bipartisan measure鈥攖itled the 鈥樷楻eproductive Freedom for All Act鈥濃攊sn鈥檛 likely to have the 60 votes needed to pass most bills in the Senate. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) hasn鈥檛 yet said whether the chamber would vote on the bill. NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju in a statement called the bill a 鈥減olitical stunt鈥 and added that 鈥渦nless these senators are willing to end the filibuster to pass this measure, there鈥檚 no reason to take it seriously.鈥 (Lee, 8/2)
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Democratic lawmakers are piling pressure on data brokers to stop collecting information on pregnant people in order to protect those seeking abortions. They鈥檙e not having much luck. For years, brokers have sold datasets on millions of expectant parents from their trimester status to their preferred birth methods. Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, that same data is becoming a political issue, with abortion-rights groups warning that states with abortion bans are likely to weaponize it. (Ng, 8/1)