Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
GOP Governor Labeled 'Traitor' After Signing Abortion, Birth Control Bills
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has clashed with Illinois Democrats on big issues like the state budget and the influence of unions, but he recently he bucked the party line on legislation the GOP has fervently opposed: expanding birth control coverage and access to abortions. Not a single Republican voted in favor of either bill. So last week, Rauner surprised some Republican legislators and angered conservative groups when he signed both Democrat-sponsored measures. (Moreno, 8/4)
(Denee) Booker was among dozens who testified on a pending rule change that prohibits hospitals, abortion clinics and other health care facilities from disposing of fetal remains in sanitary landfills, instead allowing only cremation or interment of all remains — regardless of the period of gestation — even in instances of miscarriages. Packed into a conference room at the Texas Department of State Health Services, health care providers, funeral directors and reproductive rights activists testified that the change would do little to improve public health and could be burdensome to women who miscarry and those seeking abortions. A contingent of anti-abortion activists and two Republican lawmakers endorsed the measure, which was quietly proposed in July at the directive of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. (Ura, 8/4)
When a physician at a Dayton-area abortion clinic performed an abortion on a woman seemingly high on drugs before sending her to the hospital for treatment of a possible overdose, doctors decided it was the best option at the time But both the Ohio Department of Health and an anti-abortion group say the abortion doctor broke the law, and they asked the State Medical Board of Ohio to investigate the case from spring 2015. (Candisky, 8/5)
In other news, nearly 60 percent of Americans think women should be able to have a late-term abortion if she's been infected by Zika —
Americans’ strong aversion to late-term abortions drops precipitously if a developing fetus would likely be born with severe damage from the Zika virus, a new STAT-Harvard poll found. It showed that 59 percent of respondents thought women should have the right to end a pregnancy after 24 weeks of gestation if testing showed there was a serious possibility the fetus had microcephaly caused by the mother’s Zika infection. (Branswell, 8/5)
