ϳԹ

Skip to main content

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.

Subscribe Follow Us
  • Trump 2.0

    Trump 2.0

    • Agency Watch
    • State Watch
    • Medicaid Watch
    • Rural Health Payout
  • Public Health

    Public Health

    • Vaccines
    • CDC & Disease
    • Environmental Health
  • Audio Reports

    Audio Reports

    • What the Health?
    • Health Care Helpline
    • ϳԹ News Minute
    • An Arm and a Leg
    • Health Hub
    • HealthQ
    • Silence in Sikeston
    • Epidemic
    • See All Audio
  • Special Reports

    Special Reports

    • Bill Of The Month
    • The Body Shops
    • Broken Rehab
    • Deadly Denials
    • Priced Out
    • Dead Zone
    • Diagnosis: Debt
    • Overpayment Outrage
    • Opioid Settlement Tracking
    • See All Special Reports
  • More Topics

    More Topics

    • Elections
    • Health Care Costs
    • Insurance
    • Prescription Drugs
    • Health Industry
    • Immigration
    • Reproductive Health
    • Technology
    • Rural Health
    • Race and Health
    • Aging
    • Mental Health
    • Affordable Care Act
    • Medicare
    • Medicaid
    • Children’s Health

  • Medical Marijuana
  • Medigap Premiums
  • Food Stamp Work Rules
  • Patients in ICE Custody
  • RFK Jr. vs. Congress

TRENDING TOPICS:

  • Medical Marijuana
  • Medigap Premiums
  • Food Stamp Work Rules
  • Patients in ICE Custody
  • RFK Jr. vs. Congress

Morning Briefing

Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

  • Email

Wednesday, Mar 2 2022

Full Issue

Georgia, Kentucky Lawmakers Try To Restrict Medication Abortions

A Georgia Senate bill was passed that requires a woman to see a physician in person before being given access to abortion pills, thus restricting the option to mail pills to women in need. Kentucky lawmakers also advanced efforts to restrict medication-by-mail abortions.

A Georgia woman would have to be examined by a physician in person and sign a consent form before she could be prescribed abortion pills under a bill passed Tuesday by the state Senate. Senate Bill 456, which passed 31-22 on a party-line vote, is part of a nationwide push by anti-abortion groups to limit the ability of physicians to prescribe abortion pills by telemedicine. It now moves to the House for more debate. (Amy, 3/1)

The Georgia Senate approved on a party-line vote a bill that would ban women from receiving the abortion pill through the mail. Senators voted 31-22 to approve the measure, with Republicans supporting the measure, which now goes to the state House. Senate Bill 456, filed by state Sen. Bruce Thompson, R-White, would require pregnant women to see a doctor in person before being able to obtain mifepristone, the abortion pill. Pills could not be sent through the mail or given on state property — or at any k-12 school or college that receives state funds. A doctor would also have to perform an ultrasound before the drugs could be prescribed and schedule a follow-up visit. (Prabhu, 3/1)

Kentucky lawmakers took a first step Tuesday toward putting more regulations on medication abortions, responding to the increased use of pills rather than surgery to terminate early pregnancies. A Republican-controlled House committee advanced a far-reaching abortion bill that would ban shipment of such medication by mail. It would require an in-person visit with a doctor, rather than using telehealth, before undergoing a medication abortion. (Schreiner, 3/1)

In other abortion news —

More than a dozen amendments to Florida’s proposed 15-week abortion ban were filed Tuesday in its latest visit to a Senate committee. Among the proposed legislative add-ons were a requirement to start paying child support at 15 weeks. If abortions are banned at 15 weeks of gestation, the amendment proposed in the Florida Senate by Tina Scott Polsky, D-Palm Beach, would require the father of the child to start paying child support as soon as abortions are no longer legal. (Donovan, 3/1)

A lawsuit has been filed against the newest state abortion restriction and its regulation of doctors’ ability to practice medicine. The ACLU, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region and Women’s Med Dayton are asking a Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to keep the state from enforcing a law to create “onerous and unwarranted” restrictions to health care in Southwest Ohio in particular. (Tebben, 3/2)

The Susan B. Anthony List, a conservative anti-abortion group, launched a $1 million ad buy in Arizona on Tuesday, targeting Sen. Mark Kelly (D) over his abortion rights stance ahead of November's midterms. The buy consists of two 30 second ads, titled "Show Pony" and "Too Extreme", which paint Kelly as extreme on the issue. One of the spots hits Kelly for co-sponsoring the Women's Health Protection Act, which abortion opponents have dubbed the "Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act.” (Manchester, 3/1)

Freeing Idaho, a coalition of organizations that support reproductive freedom, held a rally outside of the Idaho State Capitol Building on Monday, Feb. 28, at 9:00 a.m. The rally was planned after legislation, modeled after the Texas abortion ban, was introduced in the Idaho Senate. The Senate was scheduled to vote on the bill today but ended up rescheduling. (3/1)

In the days after the new Texas abortion law known as SB 8 took effect last September, Anna was planning her wedding to her fiancé, Scott. They'd set a date for this coming May — until Anna realized her period was almost two weeks late. "I just remember laughing to myself because I was like, wow, for as responsible as I think I am all the time, I had no idea that I was pregnant — and that late," says Anna. NPR is using only her first name because of the sensitivity of her story. (McCammon and Hodges, 3/1)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
Newsletter icon

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Stay informed by signing up for the Morning Briefing and other emails:

Recent Morning Briefings

  • Thursday, April 23
  • Wednesday, April 22
  • Tuesday, April 21
  • Monday, April 20
  • Friday, April 17
  • Thursday, April 16
More Morning Briefings
RSS Feeds
  • Podcasts
  • Special Reports
  • Morning Briefing
  • ϳԹ
  • Republish Our Content
  • Contact Us

Follow Us

  • RSS

Sign up for emails

Join our email list for regular updates based on your personal preferences.

Sign up
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2026 KFF