Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Indiana High Court Will Hear Challenge To Abortion Ban Based On Religious Freedom
A lawsuit for an additional exemption to Indiana’s near-total abortion ban allowing it as a religious right will head straight from a county courtroom to the Indiana Supreme Court. (Kukulka, 4/22)
A Natrona County judge heard arguments on April 22 about the state's partial abortion ban. Abortion is still largely banned in Wyoming starting around six weeks, but Judge Dan Forgey could decide to temporarily allow it again as the lawsuit continues. He didn’t give any timing for when he’ll issue his decision on a temporary restraining order. (Merzbach, 4/22)
Building on prior progress in addressing maternal health care disparities and increasing support for new parents, Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a slate of bills that have been part of the ongoing “Momnibus” package on Wednesday. The move came just ahead of an annual Virginia March for Life rally around Capitol Square, where more than a thousand exhibited their support for anti-abortion legislation. (Woods, 4/22)
In other reproductive health news —
The biological parents of a baby at the center of an embryo mix-up have been identified, according to attorneys for the Florida woman who gave birth to the infant. Tiffany Score and Steven Mills sued the Fertility Center of Orlando and its head reproductive endocrinologist in January after learning that their newborn, Shea, was not genetically related to either of them. (Chuck, 4/22)
Emily Laszlo-Rath felt her first contraction when she was at home in her trailer outside Joshua Tree National Park. A first-time mother, she was living off the grid, far from medical help. At first, the labor pains were mild, like cramps. Over the next three days, as they intensified, she weathered them in bed and on the sofa, trusting her body to know what to do. Now, though, she felt chilled, feverish. (MacKeen, 4/22)
Male infertility could be a warning sign for certain types of cancer, a new study says. Men with severely reduced fertility are more likely to develop colon cancer or thyroid cancer, researchers reported in the European Journal of Epidemiology. (Thompson, 4/22)
