Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Senate Moves To Sidestep Tuberville's Military Holds Over Abortion Policy
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Monday that the Senate Rules Committee will mark up a resolution Tuesday to confirm more than 350 nonpolitical military promotions at once, circumventing a hold that Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R) has had in place for nine months to protest the Pentagon鈥檚 abortion policy. 聽The Democratic leader said once the Rules Committee approves the measure, he will bring it to the Senate floor for a vote 鈥渁s soon as possible.鈥 聽(Bolton, 11/13)
The Pentagon abortion policy at the center of a bitter political fight that has jammed up hundreds of military promotions is likely to cost less than $1 million annually, according to a recent analysis published in a medical journal. The low estimated cost relative to the Pentagon's more than $800 billion budget is unlikely to shift the political debate since opponents of Pentagon policy argue that not a single taxpayer dollar should go toward abortion-related expenses. But the analysis comes as the Senate has been scrambling to find a way to end the blockade Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., has maintained on senior officer promotions for nearly nine months. (Kheel, 11/13)
In other reproductive health care news 鈥
After thirty years in the business, the Women鈥檚 Health and Family Care clinic is closing down next month due to rising costs, such as rent. It鈥檚 the only clinic that provides abortions in the region, and its closure may mean a six-week gap in pregnancy-ending care. For that time, the closest in-person abortion provider will be more than four hours away, 280 miles, in Casper. (Merzbach, 11/13)
Supporters of a proposed constitutional amendment that would ensure abortion rights in Florida have fired back at Attorney General Ashley Moody鈥檚 arguments that the measure should be blocked from the 2024 ballot. The political committee Floridians Protecting Freedom, which is sponsoring the proposal, filed a brief late Friday at the Florida Supreme Court disputing Moody鈥檚 contention that the measure would be misleading to voters. (Saunders, 11/13)
As more abortion bans have gone into effect across the country, it has become far more difficult to perform a standard element of gynecological care: screening patients for domestic abuse. (Gerson and Luthra, 11/13)
Also 鈥
When Kelsey Hatcher visited her obstetrician for an ultrasound this year, she smiled when an image of a healthy fetus appeared on the screen. Before leaving, Hatcher asked the nurse for further examination. Hatcher had been born with a second uterus, and she wanted the nurse to check on the health of that one, too. The nurse at the University of Alabama at Birmingham鈥檚 hospital spread gel on the opposite side of Hatcher鈥檚 abdomen and went over it with the wand. They couldn鈥檛 believe what they saw on the screen. (Melnick, 11/14)