Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
HHS Rule Reversal Leaves Access To Abortion Drugs Up To Pharmacists
After Roe v. Wade was overturned, the Biden administration enforced a rule in 2022 mandating that retail pharmacies receiving any federal funding had to carry and dispense mifepristone, misoprostol, and methotrexate鈥攄rugs used in medication abortions and, in the case of methotrexate, the treatment of ectopic pregnancies and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus鈥攊n order not to discriminate on the basis of sex and disability. The Trump administration formally withdrew that rule on Tuesday, allowing pharmacists to refuse to stock or dispense misoprostol and methotrexate, despite their other uses. (Metraux, 1/28)
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has ended abortion services and most abortion counseling for veterans nationwide, with officials telling Military.com that a Department of Justice (DOJ) opinion leaves the agency no legal authority to provide that care. The rollback follows a DOJ opinion issued last year that VA officials said required an immediate reversal of a 2022 Biden administration policy that expanded abortion access within the VA system. (Radzius, 1/28)
The Indiana Senate passed an abortion medication ban bill Tuesday, largely along party lines, with one Republican joining all Democrats present to vote against the bill. (Kukulka, 1/28)
On transgender health care in California and Indiana 鈥
The Trump administration announced Wednesday that a California policy allowing school districts to withhold information from parents about their child鈥檚 gender identity violates federal law. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said a federal investigation determined state officials 鈥渆gregiously abused鈥 their authority by pressuring local districts to keep quiet about transgender students. (He, 1/28)
The Indiana Senate gave final approval to a gender definition bill Tuesday along party lines. Senate Bill 182 defines female, male, gender, and sex for all Indiana statutes. The bill states that the Department of Correction has to assign an offender to a facility or program that is based on the inmate鈥檚 biological sex at birth. (Kukulka, 1/28)
