Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Texas Ruling Likely To Limit Teens' Access To Confidential Birth Control
A federal court ruling Tuesday could make it nearly impossible for Texas teens to access birth control without parental permission. US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that Title X, the federal program that provides free, confidential contraception to anyone regardless of age, income or immigration status, violates parental rights and violates state and federal laws. (Rumpf, 12/21)
In other reproductive health news from Iowa and Connecticut 鈥
The top Republicans in the Iowa Legislature said they want to wait for a pending court case involving the 鈥渇etal heartbeat鈥 law to be resolved before taking more action to restrict abortion in the upcoming legislative session. (Sostaric, 12/21)
Sixteen Democrat state legislators have filed a letter opposing Massachusetts-based Covenant Health鈥檚 proposed acquisition of Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam, citing concerns the Catholic system would force Day Kimball to eliminate an array of reproductive health and other services. (Phillips, 12/22)
In other health news from across the U.S. 鈥
Like rules, some holiday traditions were made to be broken. So say health officials in Wisconsin, where it's long been customary in some families to serve at festive gatherings an appetizer of raw, lean ground beef on rye cocktail bread with sliced onions, salt and pepper. 8Gibson, 12/21)
A Florida hospital has become the latest front for political activists eager to challenge protocols for treating COVID. While most of the 6,000 hospitals in the United States are privately-run, about 200 are controlled by publicly-elected board members, according to Larry Gage, former president of the National Association of Public Hospitals. Typically, those elections usually have nothing to do with national politics or culture war issues. (Hirsch, 12/21)
A statue of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cells were taken without her consent and subsequently used in several major medical breakthroughs, will be built in her hometown in Roanoke, Va. (Heyward, 12/22)
Sal, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection employee, was going through a difficult time in his life when he first started at the agency. His mother was being physically abused by her partner, he said -- and that was the tipping point. (Villarreal and Barr, 12/22)
