Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Planned Parenthood's First Mobile Abortion Clinic To Roll Out In Illinois
With a growing number of patients in states that now prohibit abortion traveling for the procedure, Planned Parenthood says it will soon open its first mobile abortion clinic in the country, in southern Illinois. "Our goal is to reduce the hundreds of miles that people are having to travel now in order to access care...and meet them where they are," said Yamelsie Rodriguez, President of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, said in an interview with NPR. (McCammon, 10/3)
From Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, and Iowa 鈥
A Minnesota judge who struck down key restrictions on abortion in the state has rejected a bid by a county prosecutor who hopes to appeal the ruling. Ramsey County District Judge Thomas Gilligan ruled Tuesday night that Traverse County Attorney Matthew Franzese is not entitled to intervene in the case. Franzese had hoped to pursue an appeal after Attorney General Keith Ellison declined to challenge Gilligan鈥檚 previous ruling that Minnesota鈥檚 restrictions were unconstitutional. (Karnowski, 10/3)
Attorneys for Indiana abortion rights supporters argued Monday there is no rush to suspend a judge鈥檚 decision temporarily letting abortions continue in the state. It鈥檚 the latest legal step in the fight over the state鈥檚 recent abortion ban. ... In court documents Monday, lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana called the state鈥檚 motion 鈥渉astily filed鈥 and argued the case does not need to go to the Supreme Court. That鈥檚 because lawyers for the state 鈥渉ave not established that an emergency exists that justifies departure from normal procedure and deliberation by the Court of Appeals,鈥 the ACLU wrote. (Rodgers, 10/3)
The nation was shocked when a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim was forced to obtain an abortion in Indiana after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. ... How common are these abortions? New data from the Ohio Department of Health offer some insight: In 2021, 538 children ages 17 and younger legally obtained abortions in Ohio, including 57 who were younger than 15 years old. (Balmert, 10/3)
Police and city officials would be limited in their ability to investigate a person for accessing or providing abortions in Des Moines under a proposed resolution drafted by City Council member Josh Mandelbaum. (Barreda, 10/3)
From Arizona 鈥
A Phoenix abortion clinic has come up with a way for patients who can end their pregnancy using a pill to get the medication quickly without running afoul of a resurrected Arizona law that bans most abortions. Under the arrangement that began Monday, patients will have an ultrasound in Arizona, get a prescription through a telehealth appointment with a California doctor and then have it mailed to a post office in a California border town for pickup, all for free. (Christie, 10/4)
A 14-year-old girl in Arizona was denied the low dose of the 鈥渓ifesaving鈥 medication she takes to treat the debilitating symptoms of her arthritis, according to her doctor. (Baitinger, 10/3)
In other abortion news 鈥
A new Biden administration report on abortion access in the U.S. describes how widely the procedure has been curtailed in the roughly 100 days after Roe v. Wade was overturned, according to excerpts from the memo that were obtained by ABC News. (Haslett, 10/3)
Initial paperwork forming the 鈥淐aruso Right to Choose Constitutional Amendment Committee鈥 was filed May 20, according to state records. The committee has filed three campaign statements since then, with the most recent paperwork covering the period between July and Sept. 24. (Wick, 10/3)
鈥淎 lot of companies have talked big about it, but far fewer have actually implemented it,鈥 said Bethany Corbin, senior counsel at health care specialists Nixon Gwilt Law. When companies do begin to offer abortion benefits, she said, she expects worker uptake to be minimal. (Vestal, 10/3)