Category: Abortion

When an Anti-Vaccine Activist Runs for President

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s official entry into the presidential race poses a thorny challenge for journalists: how to cover a candidate who’s opposed to vaccines without amplifying misinformation. And South Carolina becomes the latest state in the South to ban abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani about her project to track the billions of dollars coming from opioid makers to settle lawsuits.

Abortion Bans Are Driving Off Doctors and Closing Clinics, Putting Basic Health Care at Risk

Doctors say they are reluctant to practice in abortion-banned states, where making the best decision for a patient could run afoul of the law. Even former President Donald Trump’s surgeon general is concerned about the repercussions for women’s health, writes KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner.

Small, Rural Communities Have Become Abortion Access Battlegrounds

After local leaders in rural Nevada reached an impasse over a proposed Planned Parenthood clinic, an anti-abortion activist pitching local abortion bans across the U.S. arrived at their remote City Hall.

The Abortion Pill Goes Back to Court

A three-judge appeals court panel heard testimony this week about revoking the FDA’s 22-year-old approval of a key pill used in medication abortion and miscarriage management. The judges all have track records of siding with abortion foes. Meanwhile, as the standoff over raising the federal debt ceiling continues in Washington, a major sticking point is whether to impose work requirements on recipients of Medicaid coverage. Victoria Knight of Axios, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Watch: 5th Circuit Judges Question Two-Decade-Old Approval of Abortion Pill

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case brought by conservative Christian abortion opponents seeking to revoke FDA approval of mifepristone, a medication used in more than half of abortions in the U.S.

The Crisis Is Officially Ending, but Covid Confusion Lives On

The public health emergency declaration for covid-19 ends May 11, ushering in major changes in how Americans can access and pay for the vaccines, treatments, and tests particular to the culprit coronavirus. But not everyone will experience the same changes, creating a confusing patchwork of coverage — not unlike health coverage for other diseases. Meanwhile, outside advisers to the FDA formally recommended allowing a birth control pill to be sold without a prescription. If the FDA follows the recommendation, it would represent the first over-the-counter form of hormonal contraception. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

In Idaho, Taking a Minor Out of State for an Abortion Is Now a Crime: ‘Abortion Trafficking’

Under the nation’s first law of its kind, teens must have parental consent to travel for medical care, including in cases of sexual assault or rape. Any adult, including an aunt, grandparent, or sibling, convicted of violating the criminal statute faces up to five years in prison — and could be sued for financial damages.

Health Programs Are at Risk as Debt Ceiling Cave-In Looms

A warning from the Treasury Department that the U.S. could default on its debt as soon as June 1 has galvanized lawmakers to intervene. But there is still no obvious way to reconcile Republican demands to slash federal spending with President Joe Biden’s demand to raise the debt ceiling and save the spending fight for a later date. Meanwhile, efforts to pass abortion bans in conservative states are starting to stall as some Republicans rebel against the most severe bans. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Colorado Becomes the First State to Ban So-Called Abortion Pill Reversals

The controversial practice of administering progesterone to people after they have taken the abortion pill mifepristone may be coming to an end in Colorado. Pills have emerged as the latest front in the war over abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer.

After Idaho’s Strict Abortion Ban, OB-GYNs Stage a Quick Exodus

At least two Idaho hospitals are ending labor and delivery services, with one citing the state’s “legal and political climate” and noting that “recruiting replacements will be extraordinarily difficult” as doctors leave.