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Mich. physicians group seeks standing in Kan. abortion case; Mass. anti-abortion group pushes to overturn health law

The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists is seeking to appeal a federal court ruling that temporarily blocked the Kansas law, the Kansas City Star reports. Meanwhile, the effort by abortion opponents in Massachusetts could be a complication for presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

4 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Geithner, Bowles, Simpson, Ryan, Vladeck, Wilensky on health spending and the deficit

The agreement sets up a powerful mechanism for agreement on tax reforms to strengthen growth, and entitlement reforms to strengthen programs such as Medicare. A congressional committee with fast-track authority will have a Nov. 23 deadline to recommend a balanced package of long-term reforms to produce $1.5 trillion in additional deficit reduction.

4 Aug 2011

Federal judge temporarily bars Kansas from cutting funds to Planned Parenthood

For the second time in a month, a federal judge has temporarily halted a law aimed at abortion clinics. U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten issued a preliminary injunction Monday that blocks Kansas from stripping federal family-planning funds from Planned Parenthood. He ordered the state to start distributing the money to the agency.

3 Aug 2011

Women's eNews examines U.N. Women's position on abortion

U.N. agencies "are shying away from the politically volatile topic [of abortion], despite mounting evidence that restricted abortion access contributes to maternal deaths and constitutes a violation of a woman's human rights," Women's eNews reports.

3 Aug 2011

New HHS rule requires insurance coverage for contraception, other preventive services for women

The regulations, which were issued Monday by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, implement what is likely to be one of the most wide-reaching and popular provisions of the health law.

3 Aug 2011

Global Democracy Promotion Act 'would help keep ideology in check'

The Global Democracy Promotion Act, recently introduced in the House by Rep. Nita Lowey, "would bar the use of U.S. foreign aid to restrict people's liberty and says that organizations accepting U.S. assistance cannot be forced to quash perfectly legal activities in return," Planned Parenthood Federation of America Vice President Latanya Mapp Frett writes in a New York Daily News opinion piece.

2 Aug 2011

Federal appeals court ruling undermines abortion clinic escorts

Meanwhile, NPR reports on how an abortion rights organization finds the GOP presidential field lacking when it comes to candidates and their positions regarding abortion rights.

30 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 29, 2011

Today's headlines include speculation about how the debt-ceiling debate may have altered the discussion regarding changes to Medicare.

29 Jul 2011

Longer looks: Expensive cities for health care; mapping Medicaid

It's bewildering for anyone who has ever paid for a health procedure out of pocket when health insurance doesn't cover the full cost: Why does health care cost the way it does, and why do the costs fluctuate depending on where you go and who you see? A colonoscopy, for example, can range from $500 to $3,000 — a large difference depending on how health insurance providers negotiate rates.

29 Jul 2011

State roundup: Mass. communities look to new law for health savings

Area cities and towns are salivating at the prospect of saving millions of dollars in insurance costs in coming years, under a new law making it easier to change health coverage for their employees.

29 Jul 2011

House committee releases foreign operations spending bill with state, USAID funding cuts

The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday released the FY12 Foreign Relations Authorization Act "that slashes State Department funding and foreign aid," The Hill's "On The Money" blog reports.

28 Jul 2011

U.S. should address sex-selective abortions

The contentious nature of abortion in American politics is "distracting U.S. policymakers from what should be the real conversation in a country that leads the world in human reproductive technology: whether to allow parents to use a growing range of methods to select for characteristics like sex (or diseases that come on late in life and, perhaps one day, IQ) in their children.

28 Jul 2011

Voters offer split reactions on state abortion measures

In related news, the Washington Post reports on one doctor's experiences as a physician who provides late-pregnancy abortions.

27 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 26, 2011

In her latest Kaiser Health News consumer column, Michelle Andrews writes: "In the controlled chaos of an hospital emergency department, ensuring that patients are pain-free and can make informed choices about their care often takes a back seat to assessing and stabilizing them and moving them through the system as fast as possible.

26 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Van Hollen on Medicaid cuts; debate on rising Medicare age; women's health issues

Walking away from the federal commitment to Medicaid doesn't solve the problem; it just passes health care costs down to states. Because almost every state, including Maryland, is required by law to balance its budget every year, it means cuts in services and more financial strains for already suffering families, cuts in provider payments, lost jobs in the health care sector, and dampened business activity as the consequences of lost jobs and unmet health care needs ripple through the economy.

26 Jul 2011

More Americans now support woman's right to choose abortion

Despite recent moves by some states to restrict access to abortion, more Americans now support a woman's right to choose than they did two years ago, a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll finds.

25 Jul 2011

House committee votes to reinstate 'global gag rule' on abortion

The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday voted to "reinstate a ban on providing foreign aid to groups that perform abortions or provide advice about the procedure," The Hill's "HealthWatch" blog reports on the "so-called 'global gag rule'".

25 Jul 2011

Infanticide and attempted infanticide common crimes among inmates in Malian capital's women's prison

"Infanticide or attempted infanticide has become the most common crime after theft and assault among inmates at the prison for women and girls" in Mali's capital city Bamako, the Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

25 Jul 2011

House Foreign Affairs Committee bill would cut U.S. aid, U.N. payments

"House Republicans sought to put their stamp on U.S. foreign policy Wednesday by advancing a bill that would slash federal payments to the United Nations and other international bodies and slap restrictions on aid to Pakistan, Egypt and others," the Washington Post reports.

22 Jul 2011

Texas Tribune reviews new anti-abortion law; health debate

An amendment that conservative state lawmakers hoped would wipe out the only taxpayer-funded elective abortions in Texas ultimately might not do much at all. One of many tacked onto an omnibus health care bill during the Legislature's special session in June, the amendment by Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, aims to remove state funding from any hospital district — a health care system financed by city or county tax dollars - that provides elective abortions.

21 Jul 2011