Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Will Abortion Shield Laws Protect Doctors From Extradition?; RFK Jr. Is A Danger To Childhood Vaccines
Last week, Louisiana prosecutors filed criminal charges against a New York doctor for violating the state鈥檚 abortion laws. The facts of the case aren鈥檛 fully clear, but prosecutors allege that the doctor mailed pills to a woman who gave them to her minor daughter. When the daughter experienced complications and called 911, law enforcement learned that she鈥檇 terminated her pregnancy and discovered the pills had come from out of state. (Mary Ziegler, 2/5)
What would happen if there were a need for another Operation Warp Speed, but this time the point man on health was suspicious of vaccines 鈥 including those that arrested the last pandemic? (Nicholas Kristof, 2/4)
President Trump鈥檚 decision to impose sweeping tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China 鈥 which he justified under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to combat the fentanyl crisis 鈥攎akes good on a running threat to do so. It may appear bold to some or as an attempt to 鈥渘egotiate鈥 by others, but for many it is legally questionable, economically risky, and geopolitically shortsighted. (Dewardric L. McNeal, 2/3)
Why are Americans furious at health insurers 鈥 so incensed that many have made an alleged assassin, charged with terrorism, into a folk hero? (M. Gregg Bloche, 2/5)
Across the country, state legislatures are considering or enacting bans on state-funded diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. National leaders have broadly criticized DEI efforts, with the current administration working to dismantle decades of federal programs. Businesses that once championed diversity after the deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery are retreating from prior commitments.聽But what is fueling this backlash? (Jerome Adams, 2/4)