Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Despite Bans, Abortions Rise In US
Despite restrictions and bans that have taken effect in the two years since the US Supreme Court鈥檚 Dobbs decision revoked the federal right to an abortion, the average number of abortions provided each month in the United States continues to rise, a new report shows. (McPhillips, 8/7)
More women in the US are seeking abortion care through telehealth than before the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, according to a new report. One in five clinician-provided abortions performed in the first quarter of 2024 were obtained through telehealth services, the analysis from abortion advocacy group the Society of Family Planning showed. That contrasts with the second quarter of 2022, during which only one in 20 abortions were obtained through telehealth. (Ceron, 8/7)
The packages, no bigger than a hardcover book, line the walls of the nondescript office near Boston. It's not an Etsy retailer or a Poshmark seller or, as the nearby post office workers believe, a thriving jewelry business. These boxes contain abortion pills. "Welcome to modern abortion care," says Angel Foster, as she holds up a box for mailing. Foster, who has an M.D. degree, leads operations at what's known as the MAP, a Massachusetts telehealth provider sending pills to people who live in states that ban or restrict abortion. (Nadworny, 8/7)
Abortion updates from Illinois, Florida, and Ohio 鈥
Gov. JB Pritzker signed multiple bills expanding reproductive rights in Illinois on Wednesday, including codifying a federal law that allows medical professionals to perform an abortion in response to a clinical emergency. (Raju, 8/8)
Two months after going into effect, there has been a 575% increase in Floridians calling the National Abortion Federation hotline. 鈥淲hat we've seen in the aftermath of this ban is just devastation and chaos, and it has really impacted the lives of Floridians but also has expanded its impact throughout the southeast,鈥 Brittany Fonteno, president and CEO of the National Abortion Federation, told Salon in a phone interview. 鈥淲e have seen a dramatic increase in people being forced to travel outside of Florida, outside of the Southeast, and having to travel further distances to access the essential health care that they need.鈥 (Karlis, 8/8)
New data studying state funding for anti-abortion centers showed Ohio provided more than $22 million to groups in the state since the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 2022 Dobbs decision overturned national abortion rights. Since 2013, the state has fed more than $35.5 million to anti-abortion funding, according to Equity Forward鈥檚 newest study of state-by-state funding for centers who are also called 鈥渃risis pregnancy centers,鈥 and are often religiously affiliated facilities that provide services like ultrasounds and pregnancy tests, but have also reportedly provided outdated or debunked information about pregnancy. (Tebben, 8/8)