Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Washington State Becomes Latest To Reject Family Planning Funding Following Trump Administration's Changes
Washington state exited a federal family planning program Thursday over the Trump administration's new abortion restrictions. Washington's Department of Health notified the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Thursday that it would withdraw from the Title X family planning grant program rather than follow new rules banning grantees from referring women for abortions. (Hellmann, 8/22)
A federal appeals court has upheld an injunction allowing a South Bend abortion clinic to remain open without a state-required license until there is a final ruling in a lawsuit on the license. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued the ruling Thursday, thwarting an attempt by Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill to reverse the opening of the Whole Woman's Health clinic in June. (8/22)
Opponents of Missouri’s eight-week abortion ban have dropped their efforts to gather the needed 100,000 signatures to place a referendum on the November 2020 ballot. They claim Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft did not give them enough time to do so by Wednesday, when the law takes effect. The abortion-rights coalition No Bans On Choice and the ACLU of Missouri have instead turned their attention to making sure state officials cannot block future referendums. (Fentem, 8/22)
Meanwhile —
New York City will no longer make burial records public that include the names of women who had stillbirths, miscarriages and possibly abortions, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. The practice has raised alarms among medical-privacy experts. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that women’s names had been included in burial records for infants and fetal remains on Hart Island, one of the country’s largest public cemeteries that serves as a potter’s field for the city’s unclaimed bodies and deceased low-income residents. (Riski, 8/22)
