Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Missouri Lawmakers Weigh Bill to Curb Abortions Out of State
A Missouri lawmaker wants to stop residents from obtaining abortions outside the state by allowing lawsuits to be filed against anyone who helps them. Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, an Arnold Republican, has proposed a measure that would make performing an abortion on a Missouri resident 鈥 or helping a Missouri resident get one 鈥 illegal. (Shorman, 3/8)
In other abortion news 鈥
As the Supreme Court mulls whether to uphold Mississippi鈥檚 15-week abortion ban, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists filed a brief against the state law, calling it 鈥渇undamentally at odds with the provision of safe and essential healthcare.鈥 But the organization鈥檚 support for abortion hasn鈥檛 always been unequivocal. After the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteed the right to abortion, American OB-GYNs remained divided on the issue. Many declined to perform elective abortions either out of moral opposition or because they wanted to avoid the 鈥渂utcher鈥 stigma that still clung to abortion doctors from the pre-Roe days. (Loller, 3/8)
A group of investors led by a private-equity firm focused on reproductive health is warning U.S. state lawmakers that limiting access to abortion will hinder their ability to attract talent and curb economic growth.聽A letter spearheaded by Shelley Alpern, the director of shareholder advocacy at Rhia Ventures, will be sent to Arizona legislators Tuesday. The organizers, who say the signatories have more than $40 billion of assets under management, plan to send similar missives to lawmakers in other states that move to curtail abortion services. (Kinery, 3/8)
Papers, pictures and other artifacts belonging to Sarah Weddington, a Texas lawyer who at the age of 26 successfully argued the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade before the U.S. Supreme Court, will become part of Texas Woman鈥檚 University鈥檚 permanent collection. The university in Denton said Tuesday that before Weddington died at 76 in December, she donated her papers to TWU鈥檚 Jane Nelson Institute for Women鈥檚 Leadership. (3/8)
Also 鈥
A Republican candidate favored to win a seat in the Michigan House said he tells his daughters to 鈥渏ust lie back and enjoy it鈥 if raped, as he attempted to make an analogy about abandoning efforts to decertify the results of the 2020 election. Robert Regan, who is running to represent Michigan鈥檚 District 74 in the state legislature, made the comments during a Facebook live stream Sunday. (Alfaro, 3/8)