Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Justice Department Drops Biden-Era Challenge to Idaho Abortion Ban
The Trump administration is dropping a yearslong legal battle with Idaho over the right to an abortion in a medical emergency one day ahead of a major hearing 鈥 reversing its stance in one of the highest-profile cases it inherited from the Biden administration. The Boise hospital network St. Luke鈥檚 said in a court filing Tuesday that the Justice Department informed the network that it is moving to dismiss the case. (Ollstein, 3/4)
Abortion updates from South Carolina 鈥
Protesters gathered outside the South Carolina State House on Tuesday during a House hearing on a bill that would prohibit all abortions in the state, with no exceptions for rape, incest, or fetal anomalies. The House is considering a bill that would enact a total abortion ban, making it illegal for doctors to perform abortions except under a very limited set of circumstances. (Carter, 3/4)
The Trump administration has filed paperwork asking the US supreme court to let it join the upcoming oral arguments in a case over South Carolina鈥檚 attempt to eradicate Medicaid funding for medical services offered by Planned Parenthood. Although it is already illegal to use federal dollars to pay for abortions, South Carolina鈥檚 Republican governor, Henry McMaster, ordered the state department of health to block Planned Parenthood from Medicaid because, McMaster said, 鈥減ayment of taxpayer funds to abortion clinics, for any purpose, results in the subsidy of abortion and the denial of the right to life鈥. (Sherman, 3/4)
From Alabama, Wyoming, and Missouri 鈥
A bellwether test of states鈥 ability to prosecute people over abortions that take place across state lines will hold a critical hearing on Wednesday, when Alabama abortion rights supporters will square off against the state attorney general over his threats to prosecute groups that help women travel for the procedure. (Sherman, 3/5)
The Wyoming House of Representatives voted Tuesday to override Gov. Mark Gordon鈥檚 veto of a bill to require patients to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound and a 48-hour waiting period before taking abortion medication.聽(Mullen, 3/5)
In an unprecedented move to funnel more public tax dollars toward groups that oppose abortion, Republican lawmakers in Missouri are advancing a plan to allow residents to donate to pregnancy resource centers instead of paying any state income taxes. The proposal would establish a 100% tax credit, up from 70%, and a $50,000 annual cap per taxpayer. The result: Nearly all Missouri households 鈥 except those with the highest incomes 鈥 could fully satisfy their state tax bill by redirecting their payment from the state to pregnancy centers. (Kohler, 3/5)
As of 8 a.m. Monday morning, abortions were once again available in Columbia. The procedure has been inaccessible to those living in mid-Missouri since the last abortion was performed at the Columbia Planned Parenthood clinic in 2018.But following the passage of Amendment 3 in November, and many of Missouri鈥檚 targeted regulations, or TRAP laws, being knocked down by a Jackson County circuit judge in February 鈥 the procedure can now be restarted without fear of legal repercussions. (Smith, 3/4)