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The Biden administration has tried with mixed success to use a federal law to preserve abortion access in medical emergencies. The Supreme Court this month could make that work much harder. The administration has been telling hospitals that they’re required to perform abortions when a patient’s life or health is threatened — even in states with bans. But doctors, health care lawyers and abortion-rights groups say the president’s strategy has had limited impact, as many red states threaten doctors with prison for providing such abortions. Republicans in Idaho asked the Supreme Court to decide whether state bans or federal law take precedence. But the ruling, which could come as soon as Thursday, is unlikely to be the final word. (Ollstein and Messerly, 6/6)

A federal judge has permanently blocked some efforts in North Carolina to restrict how abortion pills can be dispensed, saying they are unlawfully in conflict with the authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But she allowed other state laws to remain in effect, granting only a partial victory to a doctor who sued. (Robertson, 6/4)

A House panel on Wednesday advanced plans to fund large pay raises for enlisted troops next year and ban the Pentagon from providing travel stipends for abortion services in their initial draft of the annual defense appropriations bill. The $833.1 billion measure would provide a 1% increase in overall spending for the military next fiscal year but likely faces significant changes when moving through the Republican-controlled House and Democrat-controlled Senate. (Shane III, 6/5)

Even people who know about the law might face challenges to get an abortion due to the clinic's limited capacity and lack of available trained personnel. Woman's World Medical Center can only provide abortions on Mondays and Saturdays, the only days their doctor is available. And, sometimes it’s too early to detect a pregnancy via ultrasound, which can impede abortion care. (Larreal, 6/4)

A rallying cry from the left and potential political quicksand for the right, reproductive rights weigh heavily on voters' minds in 2024 – even in states with some of the highest abortion protections. “It's not affecting women at this point in Michigan,” said Amy DeJonghe, 54, of Dearborn Heights, Michigan. There are currently no gestational limits on abortion in her state. “But look at how it's spreading, it's spreading like wildfire," she said. "So, who knows. Today, we're protected. We might not be next month, or the month after.” (Woodward, Kuchar and Cullen, 6/6)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Wins At The Ballot Box For Abortion Rights Still Mean Court Battles For Access

Before Ohio voters amended their constitution last year to protect abortion rights, the state’s attorney general, an anti-abortion Republican, said that doing so would upend at least 10 state laws limiting abortions. But those laws remain a hurdle and straightforward access to abortions has yet to resume, said Bethany Lewis, executive director of the Preterm abortion clinic in Cleveland. “Legally, what actually happened in practice was not much,” she said. (Sable-Smith, 6/6)