Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More Than 7 In 10 Americans Support Medication Abortion Access
More than 7 in 10 Americans support access to medication abortion, and even more back the Food and Drug Administration's ability to regulate drugs, a new Axios-Ipsos poll finds. The findings suggest a Supreme Court decision that would overrule the FDA to limit access to the commonly used abortion pill mifepristone would be out of step with public sentiment in the post-Roe world. (Bettelheim, 3/29)
Â鶹ŮÓÅ Health News: The Supreme Court And The Abortion Pill
The Supreme Court this week heard its first abortion case since overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, about an appeals court ruling that would dramatically restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone. But while it seems likely that this case could be dismissed on a technicality, abortion opponents have more challenges in the pipeline. (Rovner, 3/28)
Hours after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the first abortion-related case since its 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan was processing the weight of the day. (Gerson, 3/28)
Also —
Kansas could become the latest state to ban gender-affirming health care for minors after its Republican-dominated Legislature sent a bill prohibiting transgender youth from accessing treatments such as puberty blockers and hormones to the governor’s desk. The bill, which passed both the state House and Senate on Wednesday, is expected to be rejected by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who vetoed a similar measure last year. (Migdon, 3/28)
With Kansas poised to ban gender-affirming care for minors, college students are trying to counter Republican efforts to roll back transgender rights by pushing the state’s largest university to declare itself a haven for trans youth. The GOP-controlled Legislature approved its proposed ban on puberty blockers, hormone treatments and surgeries for minors Wednesday, apparently with the two-thirds majorities in both chambers needed to override an expected veto from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. (Hanna, 3/28)
Transgender people in Idaho will no longer be able to use Medicaid and other publicly funded programs to help cover the cost of gender-affirming medical care under a new state law set to take effect in July. Republican Gov. Brad Little quietly signed the measure Wednesday, a day after receiving it from Idaho’s GOP-controlled Legislature. Little’s office did not immediately return a request for comment. (Migdon, 3/28)
