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ANTI-ABORTION POLICIES REMAIN PRIORITY IN ‘PRO-WOMAN’ THEME: March for Life’s annual anti-abortion theme for 2020 adopts feminist movement rhetoric with the motto “Life Empowers: Pro-Life is Pro-Woman,” but the group isn’t backing policies associated with that line of argument, such as ones that help women’s health, education, or workplace advancement.
Anti-abortion advocates stress they’re “pro-woman” because they support “a woman’s right to be born.” But there’s a debate happening in the movement right now over whether groups should advocate for policies that go beyond abortion bans and restrictions, including support for paid family leave, access to healthcare, or even fighting for changing stations in college bathrooms.
March for Life isn’t wading into that debate, despite what its theme might suggest. Asked about its policy priorities, the group said it supports the discharge petition in the House for the Born Alive Infant Child Protection Act, which clarifies that babies born alive after botched abortions must receive the same medical care as premature babies. It also supports having the Trump administration mandate that Obamacare insurers separate out premiums so that people receive a separate bill to cover abortions.
The list of demands that the anti-abortion movement has for President Trump has shrunk because Trump has kept many of his promises on the matter. Last year March for Life asked the Trump administration to end fetal tissue research, and the White House delivered by banning government scientists from using new fetal tissue obtained from an abortion to conduct medical research.
But there still might be an opportunity for policies outside abortion to emerge. Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri, who is speaking at the rally, is the main sponsor of the “Born-Alive” bill but also has introduced legislation that would let new parents take out Social Security early in exchange for delaying retirement. The anti-abortion group Students for Life of America has met with GOP lawmakers to encourage them to back paid leave, an issue that is also a priority for first daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump.
And at a press conference rolling out the theme, the difficulties women face in comparison to men were acknowledged, even if not backed by specific policy asks on the matter.
Gloria Purvis, chairperson for Black Catholics United for Life, said abortion was the wrong solution to issues of poverty and of women being excluded from the workplace.
“It is not empowering or freeing for us to have to kill our children in the name of equality and freedom,” Purvis said. “Freedom built on the crushed skulls of our children is not freedom — that’s oppression. And we are monsters if that’s our way of climbing to the top.”
Good morning and welcome to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare! This newsletter is written by senior healthcare reporter Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). You can reach us with tips, calendar items, or suggestions at [email protected]. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe here.
SPEAKING OF ABORTION: During Tuesday’s Democratic Debate in Ohio, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii was the only candidate to come out in support of limits on abortion. She said that it should be “safe, legal, and rare.”
Catching our eye: Planned Parenthood’s ousted president agrees. “I don’t agree with @TulsiGabbard on a lot, but do appreciate that she brought up the third rail for Democrats: that abortion should be ‘safe, legal, and rare,'” tweeted Dr. Leana Wen, who was let go from the organization after only eight months on the job. “We should reduce the need for abortions by investing in prevention.”
Why this is surprising. The construction “safe, legal, and rare” isn’t favored by abortion rights groups, which back broader access to abortion, and is no longer part of the Democratic platform, which says only that abortion must be “safe and legal.”
‘MEDICARE FOR ALL’ MORE EXPENSIVE THAN CURRENT SYSTEM: STUDY: A new analysis suggests that the “Medicare for All” idea backed by Democratic presidential rivals Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren would be $7 trillion more expensive than the current healthcare system.
The analysis undercuts the argument by “Medicare for All” supporters who say providing a single public plan would save the U.S. money. The analysis, out Wednesday from the Commonwealth Fund and the Urban Institute, finds that while “Medicare for All” would leave no one uninsured, over a decade it would increase government spending by $34 trillion while overall healthcare spending would climb to $59 trillion. That total is $7 trillion more than the U.S. is projected to spend over 10 years under current law.
PELOSI DRUG PRICING BILL GETS MARKUP: Democrats appear to be keeping up their pledge to move legislation quickly to address high drug prices. The Lower Prescription Drug Costs Now Act is set for a markup Thursday morning in the Energy and Commerce Committee.
But what about the subcommittee markup? Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo of California, who heads the Health subcommittee, had agreed last month to have the bill get a markup in the subcommittee, after GOP Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon insisted that happen.
“I was encouraged when the majority committed — in front of everyone — to regular order and a subcommittee markup during last month’s hearing,” Walden said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “It is disappointing to see that promise will not be kept.”
Other items on the docket: Bills that would add more benefits to traditional Medicare, including dental, hearing aids, and vision.
POST-HEART-ATTACK BERNIE FELT GREAT, ENOUGH TO CRACK A JOKE WITH CORY BOOKER: All eyes were on Sanders, who recently endured a heart attack, but he proclaimed his health on stage to cheers from the crowd. “I’m healthy, I’m feeling great,’ he said. Senator Cory Booker then reminded the audience from across the stage that Sanders is a strong supporter of medical marijuana.
“Thank you. I’m not on it tonight,” Sanders said, and the audience erupted in laughter. .
CANDIDATES TAKE AIM AT WARREN IN MEDICARE FOR ALL ATTACKS: Democrats on the debate stage descended on Warren’s responses to questions about Medicare for All. After moderator Marc Lacey asked Warren to say explicitly if Medicare for all would increase taxes, Pete Buttigieg attacked the senator for neglecting to give a yes or no answer: “A yes or no question that didn’t get a yes or no answer,” he noted. “This is why people are so frustrated with Washington in general and Capitol Hill in particular.”
Senator Amy Klobuchar swooped in, called Warren’s plan “a pipe dream” and told Warren she was “making Republican talking points right now in this room.” Klobuchar took another dig at Warren: “At least Bernie’s being honest here and saying how he’s going to pay this… I think we owe it to the American people to tell them where we will send the invoice.”
JUDGE RULES DOCTORS AREN’T OBLIGATED TO PERFORM GENDER TRANSITION SURGERIES: Federal Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas ruled against a 2016 Affordable Care Act mandate Tuesday that requires doctors perform transition procedures because it violates conscience protections enshrined in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Doctors, if they disagreed to perform procedures on moral grounds, risked losing their jobs.
IT’S A BIG DAY FOR VAPING ON THE HILL. VAPING LEGISLATION, THAT IS: Three congressional hearings to address the vaping epidemic are getting underway this morning. The first, “E-cigarettes: An Emerging Threat to Public Health,” starts at 10 and can be streamed here. At the same time, the House Judiciary Committee will begin to mark up the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act and you can watch it here. Then, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will begin a hearing at 10:30 on Chairman Frank Pallone’s bill, the “Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019.” Tune in here.
Energy and Commerce Committee member Democrat Jan Schakowsky spoke to Cassidy before the hearing and was optimistic that Congress would make moves to pass legislation to stop the youth vaping epidemic: “I’ve been pretty surprised and gratified at how fast the concern has risen about e-cigarettes. So I think there’s a commitment on both sides of the aisle to act on this. And I think the suggestions in the Pallone bill are certainly a good baseline.”
Schakowsky added she was pleased that Congress has wasted little time in working to tackle the issue of vaping, in part because the crisis, she says, is not a strictly political issue: “I’m looking forward to [the committee hearing] because we deal with non-political issues, this one certainly because it’s a largely unknown hazard to kids. So I’m hopeful we’ll be able to move ahead with restrictions of e-cigarettes and expand what kinds of controls we have on tobacco.”
The Rundown
MedCity News The future of health care at Walmart includes root canals next to garden rakes
Politico Warren’s charmed campaign just entered a brutal new phase
The New York Times A young man nearly lost his life to vaping
The Wall Street Journal Drug distributors in talks to settle opioid litigation for $18 billion
ProPublica When medical debt collectors decide who gets arrested
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | Oct. 16
Congress back in session.
10 a.m. 2358-C Rayburn. House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies hearing on “E-cigarettes: An Emerging Threat to Public Health.” Tune in.
10 a.m. 2141 Rayburn. House Judiciary Committee to mark up the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act. Tune in.
10:30 a.m. 2322 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee hearing on “Legislation to Reverse the Youth Tobacco Epidemic.” Tune in.
THURSDAY | Oct. 17
10 a.m. 2123 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce to mark up the Lower Drug Costs Now Act and Medicare bills.
2 p.m. 2154 Rayburn. House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on “The Administration’s Decision to Deport Critically Ill Children and Their Families.” Details.
