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Missouri’s Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday signed legislation to once again try to kick Planned Parenthood out of the state’s Medicaid program. Parson’s signature could mean Missouri joins a small band of states — Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas, according to Planned Parenthood — to have successfully blocked Medicaid funding for the organization. (Ballentine, 5/9)

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has announced he will sign legislation limiting Planned Parenthood’s ability to serve low-income patients at a ceremony in his Capitol office Thursday. The new law, which will go into effect Aug. 28, will end Medicaid reimbursements to any health centers affiliated with abortion providers. In Missouri, the law would apply to Planned Parenthood. (Spoerre, 5/9)

A Colorado abortion fund said Thursday it’s helped hundreds access abortion in the first months of 2024, many arriving from Texas where abortion is restricted, showing a steady increase in need each year since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision left a patchwork of state bans, restrictions and protections across the country. In response, a national makeshift network of individuals and organizations help those seeking abortions in states where it’s restricted, including the Colorado-based Cobalt Abortion Fund. (Bedayn, 5/9)

Anti-abortion legal crusader Jonathan Mitchell has filed at least seven legal petitions in Texas in recent years asking to depose abortion funds, providers and researchers. While these filings have created fear and confusion, none have yet to be approved by a judge. Now, Mitchell has moved on to targeting individual women. (Klibanoff, 5/10)

The Alaska Legislature is slated to approve a bill that would allow Alaska women to get a year’s worth of prescription birth control at one time. Supporters of House Bill 17 say extending the amount of birth control medicines given by pharmacies from the current limit of 90 days would be particularly impactful for women in rural Alaska. Under the measure, insurance companies and Medicaid would be require to cover prescription contraceptives without a co-payment. (Maguire, 5/9)

Fewer U.S. medical school graduates are applying to residency programs, but the drop is more striking in states that ban abortion compared with other states. Figures released Thursday by the Association of American Medical Colleges showed continuing declines after the group first spotted the difference in an analysis last year. “It looks even more pronounced. So now, I’m looking at a trend,” said Dr. Atul Grover, a co-author of the latest report. (Ungar, 5/10)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Medical Residents Are Increasingly Avoiding States With Abortion Restrictions

Isabella Rosario Blum was wrapping up medical school and considering residency programs to become a family practice physician when she got some frank advice: If she wanted to be trained to provide abortions, she shouldn’t stay in Arizona. Blum turned to programs mostly in states where abortion access — and, by extension, abortion training — is likely to remain protected, like California, Colorado, and New Mexico. Arizona has enacted a law banning most abortions after 15 weeks. (Rovner and Pradhan, 5/9)