The Biden admin wants to tighten up privacy rules around abortion.
How?
Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a new rule to protect thousands of women who have to travel out of state for abortion access. The measure could also expand protections for doctors, insurers, and others who help someone get the procedure. Currently, medical records are generally protected by federal privacy laws, but health providers and insurers can be forced to turn over medical records with a court order. Now, HHS wants to strengthen already existing HIPAA privacy rules by making sure info on reproductive healthcare, like abortion, isn't shared for investigations or lawsuits against those who get or provide the procedure.
What’s next?
The rule still has some hurdles to go through before becoming final. That includes a 60-day comment period. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra reportedly said the rule would “assure” that health care providers will not be disclosing “protected health information.” But others raised concerns the rule may not stack up against state abortion bans. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, at least 24 states have banned abortions or are in the process to do so. A new report found that legal abortions in the US have dropped by 6% since the landmark ruling was overturned. Meanwhile, patients are concerned that restrictions could continue to rise for things like medication abortion.
What's the latest with that?
Last night, a federal appeals court ruled that mifepristone — the first of two medications used to end pregnancies — will remain on the market with some restrictions. Reminder: Last week, a Texas judge decided to suspend the FDA’s approval of the abortion pill. Now, the appeals court has put the Texas ruling on hold until the legal challenge plays out. The court's new hold comes with some limitations. Patients will reportedly be required to make in-person visits to get mifepristone, meaning they won't be able to access it via mail. It’s not clear how this pause could affect a separate ruling on mifepristone out of Washington state.
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Post-Roe, states have issued a number of restrictions on abortion access. Now, the federal gov is trying to step in when it comes to protecting patients' privacy and their access to medication abortion.
NPR. Yesterday, the media outlet said it is immediately suspending its Twitter accounts. The decision comes less than a week after the social media platform labeled NPR as “state-affiliated media” — a label that’s typically reserved for Russia- and China-based propaganda sites. Twitter’s since updated NPR’s label to “government-funded media.” Despite the change, NPR called the label misleading and said it falsely implies it is not “editorially independent.” On average, the outlet gets less than 1% of its annual budget from the federal government. It's not the only public broadcasting network to get a little pay bump from Uncle Sam (hi, PBS). Now, NPR said its 52 official Twitter feeds are going radio silent — becoming the first major US news outlet to do so. Twitter CEO Elon Musk and others are calling for the gov to "defund NPR." Meanwhile,PBS has followed NPR's wavelength and quit Twitter.
Making (air)waves:NPR’s decisionhighlights the tensions between Musk’s vision for Twitter and how people access the news, according to some media experts. One official said it could further harm Americans' trust in the media, which one survey says is at an all-time low.
Who got his job back…
Tennessee Rep. Justin Pearson (D). Yesterday, local officials unanimously voted to reinstate him to the state’s House of Representatives. It comes less than a week after the Republican-led chamber expelled Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones (D) for participating in a gun control demonstration and breaking House rules. The expulsions of the young, Black lawmakers prompted outrage and accusations of racism, after a white lawmaker survived her expulsion vote. Now, Pearson and Jones — who was also reinstated — are back in their seats. Pearson said his return to the chamber shows “you can’t expel justice.” The state’s Republican House speaker had said the chamber would honor the reappointments. However, Jones and Pearson are only back on an interim basis. Both men plan to run in an upcoming special election to keep their seats. Meanwhile, a group of Senate Democrats called on the Justice Dept to investigate if the expulsions violated any federal civil rights.
What's still crunching the numbers…
The Federal Reserve. Yesterday, the central bank released its meeting minutes from last month. Normally, those minutes aren't exactly a page-turner. However, this time, officials hinted that the effects from the recent banking crisis could push the US into a recession later this year. A recovery could begin next year — potentially complicating things for President Biden if he runs for re-election. On the upside: The consumer price index shows that inflation eased to 5% last month — the lowest level in almost two years. Still, the news isn't expected to stop the Fed from announcing another interest rate hike next month.
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