Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Missouri Planned Parenthood Ordered To Turn Over Patient Records
Planned Parenthood Great Rivers must turn over documents about gender-affirming care to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, an appeals court ruled Tuesday morning. Bailey has been looking into the use of cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers and gender-transition surgeries for minors in the state since March 2023, when a former case worker at the Washington University Transgender Center claimed the center rushed children into treatment. (Hanshaw, 5/7)
The nation鈥檚 most influential anti-abortion groups have a new plan to roll back access to the procedure for millions of Americans in what they鈥檙e calling the 鈥渂iggest opportunity for the pro-life movement鈥 since toppling Roe v. Wade. The effort, which the groups have privately named 鈥淩olling Thunder,鈥 is the movement鈥檚 first concerted attempt under the second Trump administration to target abortion pills, and aims to convince the FDA, Congress and courts to crack down on their use. (Ollstein, 5/7)
Nearly four years ago in Texas, the state鈥檚 new abortion law started getting in the way of basic miscarriage care: As women waited in hospitals cramping, fluid running down their legs, doctors told them they couldn鈥檛 empty their uterus to guard against deadly complications. The state banned most abortions, even in pregnancies that were no longer viable; then, it added criminal penalties, threatening to imprison doctors for life and punish hospitals. The law had one exception, for a life-threatening emergency. (Surana, Presser and Suozzo, 5/7)
In other reproductive health news 鈥
Girls who grow up eating a healthier diet than their peers may be less likely to get their first menstrual periods at an earlier age 鈥 regardless of height or body mass index 鈥 a new study suggests. Though previous research has tied height and BMI to the earlier onset of menarche, or first period, the study, published Tuesday in the journal Human Reproduction, claims to be the first to explore the biological milestone鈥檚 link to specific diets. (Leake, 5/7)
The White House is reportedly considering a proposal to give new mothers a $5,000 鈥渂aby bonus鈥 to help encourage Americans to have more children, but economists and social science experts are skeptical that the potential move would work.聽The New York Times reported last month that the White House was consulting with policy experts and pronatalist advocates about ways to incentivize American women to have more children. Cash bonuses and Fulbright scholarship allotments are among the ideas under consideration.聽(O鈥機onnell-Domenech, 5/7)
A study conducted at a sexual health clinic in San Francisco found sustained significant declines in cases of chlamydia and syphilis among those who used doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy-PEP) nearly 2 years after it was introduced, with a smaller effect on gonorrhea, researchers reported yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Dall, 5/7)
Philip Sunshine, a Stanford University physician who played an important role in establishing neonatology as a medical specialty, revolutionizing the care of premature and critically ill newborns who previously had little chance of survival, died on April 5 at his home in Cupertino, Calif. He was 94. His death was confirmed by his daughter Diana Sunshine. (Rosenwald, 5/6)