Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Idaho Mom, Son Kidnapped Girl To Get Her An Abortion: Prosecutors
An Idaho woman and her son have been charged with kidnapping after prosecutors say they took the son鈥檚 minor girlfriend out of state to get an abortion. Court documents show Idaho police began investigating the mother and son earlier this summer after a 15-year-old girl鈥檚 mother told authorities her daughter had been sexually assaulted and later taken to Oregon to have an abortion. (Kruesi, 11/1)
Attorney General Ashley Moody late Tuesday urged the Florida Supreme Court to reject a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to ensure abortion rights, describing the measure as an effort to 鈥渉oodwink鈥 voters. Moody filed a 39-page brief contending that the proposal should be kept off the 2024 ballot because the wording of the ballot summary would be misleading to voters. (Saunders, 11/1)
An abortion ballot measure in Ohio is driving a surge in early voter turnout in what is seen as the most important referendum on reproductive rights this year. ... Turnout has been high since early voting started on Oct. 11, with the Ohio secretary of state鈥檚 office noting that the state had seen more than 200,000 people voting early in person by Oct. 24 and roughly 110,000 mailed absentee ballots, according to The Columbus Dispatch. In comparison, at this point during the August special election, 192,000 people voted in person early, and 93,000 mailed absentee ballots were received. (Vakil, 11/1)
Volunteers canvassing in favor of a ballot initiative to establish a constitutional right to abortion stopped Alex Woodward at a market hall in Ohio to ask if they could expect her vote in November. Ms. Woodward said she favors abortion rights and affirmed her support. But as the canvassers moved on through the hall, she realized she was not sure how to actually mark her ballot. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a yes,鈥 she said. 鈥淢aybe it鈥檚 a no?鈥 ... The measure in Ohio is the first time that voters in a red state are being asked to affirmatively vote 鈥測es鈥 to a constitutional amendment establishing a right to abortion, rather than 鈥渘o鈥 to preserve the status quo established by courts. Ohio voters have historically tended to reject ballot amendments. (Zernike and Lerer, 11/2)
Also 鈥
House Republicans unveiled a revised version聽of their fiscal 2024 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill that includes a number of new conservative social policy riders related to abortion, gun control and diversity. The revised bill, posted on the House Rules Committee鈥檚 website Monday night, comes ahead of possible floor action the week of Nov. 13. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced plans to discharge the bill from committee in a Dear Colleague letter ahead of his election as speaker, meaning it is expected to head to the floor without a full committee markup. (Raman and Hellmann, 11/1)