Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More Prosecutors Say They Won't Enforce State Abortion Bans
Dozens of Democratic prosecutors who represent liberal pockets in conservative states already have vowed to resist bans by refusing to bring charges against abortion providers. But in many rural areas and outlying suburbs, conservative prosecutors have said they will enforce their state bans. (Goodman and Healy, 6/29)
More than a third of the district attorneys representing the 25 most populous counties in states that have banned or are set to ban abortion have publicly vowed not to prosecute abortion cases, according to a CNN review. (Tolan, 6/30)
In related news 鈥
President Biden plans to nominate a conservative lawyer who has represented anti-abortion causes to a federal judgeship in Kentucky, according to Rep. John Yarmuth鈥檚 (D-Ky.) office. Chad Meredith, the attorney, has previously served as Kentucky鈥檚 solicitor general and represented a number of Kentucky鈥檚 top GOP officials in cases curbing abortion access and COVID-19 public health measures. (Schonfeld, 6/29)
On crossing state lines for an abortion 鈥
Several national antiabortion groups and their allies in Republican-led state legislatures are advancing plans to stop people in states where abortion is banned from seeking the procedure elsewhere, according to people involved in the discussions. ... The Thomas More Society, a conservative legal organization, is drafting model legislation for state lawmakers that would allow private citizens to sue anyone who helps a resident of a state that has banned abortion from terminating a pregnancy outside of that state. (Kitchener and Barrett, 6/29)
Staff at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England are reporting a spike in appointments for contraceptives and an uptick in out-of-state abortion patients following the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and end the constitutional right to abortion. Since Roe fell on Friday, a handful of patients from states like South Dakota and Louisiana, where the procedure is now illegal, have scheduled abortions in northern New England. Abortions remain legal in New Hampshire up to 24 weeks, and past that in a few circumstances. (Fam, 6/29)
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page on Wednesday backed a proposal before the County Council to set aside $1 million in federal pandemic aid to help people get abortions in other states. The proposal is a response to the state鈥檚 ban on most abortions, following the U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade. Page on Wednesday said the Supreme Court decision 鈥渆ndangered the lives of millions of Americans鈥 and 鈥渢riggered a major public health crisis in Missouri.鈥 (Benchaabane, 6/29)
For years, the Frontera Fund hotline has helped residents of the Rio Grande Valley access and pay for abortions in the region and out of state. But now, callers get just a recorded voicemail message: 鈥淚n light of the Supreme Court decision and the uncertainty around Texas law, we are forced to pause funding at this time,鈥 the recording says. 鈥淲e are working diligently with our lawyers and national partners to get through this crisis.鈥 As one of two full-time staffers at the Frontera Fund, Cathy Torres has been fielding these calls for years. Now, each missed call breaks her heart a little more. (Douglas and Klibanoff, 6/29)
KHN: Watch: Crossing State Lines For Abortion Care聽
Since last week鈥檚 Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, one state after another has outlawed abortion. Illinois is one of the few states in the middle of the country where people can still legally access abortion care. In this report co-produced by PBS NewsHour, KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney traveled from Illinois鈥 border with Missouri to its border with Wisconsin to talk to clinicians who provide abortion care. Dr. Erin King is the executive director of Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. (6/29)
Soaring inflation is making travel more expensive just as millions of people have lost access to abortion in their own states, stretching the already limited resources of the private funds that help people pay for the procedures. (Luthra, 6/29)
Before last week, adolescents seeking abortions in the U.S. already had to struggle through a thicket of legal hurdles and logistical challenges to access reproductive health care. The Supreme Court decision striking down Roe v. Wade made it that much harder. A number of states have already banned or severely restricted abortions in light of the ruling 鈥 laws that apply equally to adolescents and adults. Young people who go out of state to seek abortions elsewhere in the U.S. may run up against laws requiring parental involvement, which are common across the country. (Hernandez, 6/28)