Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Maryland Is First State To Take Steps To Protect Planned Parenthood Funding
Maryland has become the first state to enact legislation to mitigate any federal cuts to Planned Parenthood. The measure was enacted Thursday after Gov. Larry Hogan decided not to veto the bill. Like 14 other bills, it went into effect after a midnight deadline without the Republican governor's signature. The Democrat-led General Assembly passed the bill with enough votes to override a veto. (Witte, 4/6)
California has joined 15 other state attorneys general in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood聽of Greater Ohio challenging a law in that state that excludes healthcare providers that offer abortion services from participating in聽other publicly funded health programs, officials said Thursday. The lawsuit聽challenges the exclusion of such providers from breast and cervical cancer prevention programs, according to California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra. (Patrick McGreevy, 4/6)
Shonda Rhimes, one of Hollywood鈥檚 most popular and powerful women, has joined the national board of Planned Parenthood. Rhimes, creator and producer of prime-time television shows 鈥淕rey鈥檚 Anatomy鈥 and 鈥淪candal鈥, assumes a formal role in the organization at a time when antiabortion activists and some Republican lawmakers have set their sights on defunding Planned Parenthood. (Williams, 4/6)
And in other news聽鈥
Tennessee's attorney general has questioned the constitutionality of current legislative proposals that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks. The opinion from Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III, the top law enforcement official in a conservative Republican state, is the second this year to raise concerns over whether an abortion ban bill is constitutional. Last month, Slatery wrote that a push to outlaw most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detectable, as early as six weeks, may not be able to withstand a court challenge. (Mattise, 4/6)
After more than six hours of sometimes bitter debate extending over two days the Iowa House last night approved a bill which, if it becomes law, would include the most extensive abortion restrictions ever approved in Iowa. The bill bans abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy, and enacts a 72 hour waiting period for all abortions. (Russell, 4/6)
