Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Will States Try To Ban Women From Traveling At All To Abortion-Rights States?
Now that the Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, more than a dozen states over the next month are expected to begin enforcing partial or near-total bans on abortion within their borders. But some foes of abortion have proposed going even further 鈥 stopping women from their states from traveling to another where abortion is legal for the procedure. Antiabortion groups and state legislators have discussed ways to restrict interstate travel for abortion, according to a Washington Post report. Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota, which now bans abortion in almost all cases, said there 鈥渨ill be a debate鈥 about how to handle cases of South Dakota women traveling out of state for the procedure. (Damiano, 7/1)
Conservative activists, having won their goal of being able to criminalize abortion, are now aiming to limit or ban online information-sharing on the topic. In the wake of the Supreme Court's Dobbs ruling overturning Roe V. Wade, tech platforms are already struggling to moderate abortion-related content and fight misinformation around the topic. Those seeking to share information online about abortion, whether it's about the procedure itself or where to legally access it, will be in the crosshairs of restrictive state laws and changing social media policies. (Gold, 7/1)
TikTok and other social media platforms are attempting to clamp down on posts highlighting certain toxic herbs that some say might stop a pregnancy, as doctors sound聽the alarm over their potentially fatal effects for the person taking them. (Ceron, 7/1)
Since early May, after a leaked draft of the high court's abortion opinion came out, IVF provider Kindbody has fielded numerous calls from patients who are concerned with how they should proceed, "particularly with embryos they already had frozen," said Dr. Angeline Beltsos, CEO, Clinical, of Kindbody. Beltsos was founder and chief medical officer of Chicago-based network Vios Fertility Institute, which Kindbody acquired in early 2022. (Asplund, 6/30)
On the increased demand for birth control 鈥
From San Diego to New Jersey, biotechs developing new forms of birth control say they鈥檙e doubling down on those efforts after Roe v. Wade was overturned 鈥 even as the Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling clouded the future of contraception. Companies are scrambling to accelerate research timelines, pressing insurers to cover approved products, and forging ahead to develop and deliver everything from on-demand, hormone-free female contraception to male birth control. (Wosen, 7/1)
Philip Werthman, a Los Angeles urologist, also reported a 鈥300 to 400 percent鈥 increase in the number of vasectomy consultations he has performed. Esgar Guar铆n, an Iowa-based urologist who trained under Stein and specializes in vasectomies, said he has seen a 鈥200 to 250 percent鈥 increase in traffic on his website offering information specifically about vasectomies.(Venkataramanan, 6/29)