Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Same Judge From Abortion Pill Case Is Hearing Planned Parenthood Lawsuit
A Texas judge will decide whether Planned Parenthood must pay the state of Texas Medicaid reimbursements and fines that could surpass $1 billion after hearing arguments from both sides in Amarillo on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, has not indicated when he will issue a ruling in the case, which could have severe consequences for Planned Parenthood. Kacsmaryk made headlines earlier this year for ordering a hold on the decades-old federal approval of the abortion medication mifepristone. (Wolf, 8/15)
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday revived part of a lawsuit claiming that the District of Columbia enforced an anti-graffiti law against anti-abortion protesters in Washington but not racial justice demonstrators in 2020. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in a unanimous 3-0 decision, found that two anti-abortion groups had plausibly alleged that the D.C. government 鈥渄iscriminated on the basis of viewpoint in the selective enforcement of its defacement ordinance.鈥 (Goudsward, 8/15)
A man who told the authorities that he had set fire to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Illinois after being reminded of an ex-girlfriend who he said had an abortion against his wishes was sentenced on Tuesday to 10 years in prison. (Jimenez, 8/15)
What was once the Susan Wicklund Fund is now the Montana Abortion Access Program, or MAAP. The name change, however, is also connected to a disagreement between Montana abortion access trailblazer Dr. Susan Wicklund, the organization鈥檚 now-former namesake, and its board. (Silvers, 8/15)
Adm. Lisa Franchetti is set to become the first woman to head the Navy. Her confirmation is being held up by one senator as part of a protest over abortion policy within the military. (Walsh, 8/15)
A home test that checks whether a drug-induced abortion has worked is not only safe but reduces rates of unnecessary follow-up surgery, an Australian-first study has found. People who attend clinics to access medication to terminate a pregnancy, known as a medical abortion, usually need to see a doctor 14 days later and may undergo a blood test to examine levels of a hormone known as hCG, along with an ultrasound to rule out complications. (May, 8/15)
