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Republican legislators in Florida hit the pause button on a bill that would have given any “unborn child” new protections after opponents raised concerns it would impact women’s reproductive rights in ways similar to the Alabama IVF ruling. The bill had passed easily through most committees in the Republican-led legislature until Democrats began raising concerns last week that the proposal was so broad that it might also impact in vitro fertilization treatments. (Rozsa, 2/26)

The Biden administration is sending the nation’s top health official to Alabama on Tuesday for discussions with patients and doctors about the controversial court ruling that upended in vitro fertilization treatment in the state. The ruling by the Republican-controlled Alabama Supreme Court has unexpectedly propelled the issue of IVF into the presidential campaign conversation right ahead of Super Tuesday voting on March 5. The visit by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra comes just days after former President Donald Trump vowed to protect access to the fertility care. (Seitz, 2/26)

Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday that he supports Texas families having access to in vitro fertilization treatments and has “no doubt” the state will address issues raised by a recent controversial court ruling out of Alabama. Abbott did not call on the Legislature to take specific action to protect IVF treatment. (Klibanoff, 2/26)

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the campaign arm that helps elect Democrats to state legislatures, is circulating a new memo in order to highlight what it says is the disproportionate impact of abortion bans on Black women in GOP-led states. Such bans provoke strong emotional responses from Democratic Black women state lawmakers — sadness, distress, but not surprise. (Mizelle, 2/26)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: A Government Video Would Explain When Abortion Is Legal In South Dakota 

South Dakota lawmakers want state officials to create an educational video to help doctors understand when they can end a pregnancy without risking prison time under the state’s near-total abortion ban. It’s an example of how states are responding to the national controversy over what exceptions to abortion bans actually mean. Critics point to reports of women developing dangerous complications after hospitals in states with strict abortion laws refused to terminate their pregnancies. (Zionts, 2/27)

Decisions made by the Food and Drug Administration more than 20 years ago have come under heightened scrutiny thanks to a lawsuit calling for increased restrictions around the pregnancy-terminating drug mifepristone. (Goldhill, 2/27)

Amid worsening health outcomes for Black obstetric patients, some hospitals are improving maternal care by offering midwifery support, remote monitoring of patients' vitals and educational resources. Compared with white patients, Black obstetric patients are at disproportionate risk of life-threatening conditions, like preeclampsia and postpartum hemorrhage, as well as pregnancy-related complications like preterm birth. (Devereaux, 2/26)

“Heartbreaking.” That is how Falon Ensley, a student and former student government president at Lincoln University, described her feelings reading Antoinette Candia-Bailey’s final email to LU president John Moseley. On Jan. 8, Candia-Bailey, former vice president of student affairs at LU, took her own life. In that final email sent hours before her death, Candia-Bailey describes the toll that life at Lincoln has taken and offers ways that workplace culture could be improved. (McIlwain and Wilson, 2/27)

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday joined advocates to call for a slate of new protections for pregnant people and new mothers, including a child tax credit, support for community-based providers and measures to make doulas and midwives more accessible. (Olander, 2/26)

The pitch feels noble, visceral: Prevent newborns from being discarded in dumpsters, and do it in a way that shields the mother and protects her anonymity while safeguarding the baby’s health and future. In a growing number of states, the answer to the rare occurrence of illegal infant abandonment is a baby drop-off box. ... But a growing chorus of experts and adoption advocates argue that however well-intended, baby boxes are a gimmick, unsupported by scientific research, that won’t address the real problems facing parents and newborns. (Claire Vollers, 2/26)