Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Leaked Abortion Opinion Rocks Washington’s World


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People who pay attention to the Supreme Court have been expecting the justices to scale back the right to abortion when they issue their ruling on a Mississippi abortion law by the end of the current session. What no one expected was that a draft of that opinion — which called for a full overturn of the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision — would be leaked to Politico. The reaction has been swift and loud from both sides of the divisive debate and could affect the coming midterm elections.

Meanwhile, the FDA is proposing a ban on menthol flavoring in cigarettes and cigars, sparking a debate on whether the move disproportionately hurts or helps African Americans, who use menthol-flavored products at higher rates than other people.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Shefali Luthra of the 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Paula Andalo, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment about a family whose medical debt drove them to seek care south of the border. If you have an outrageous medical bill you’d like to share with us, you can do that here.

Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too:

Julie Rovner: Mother Jones’ “Meet Abortion Bans’ New Best Friend — Your Phone,” by Lil Kalish

Joanne Kenen: Stat’s “A Clash Over Online Adderall Prescriptions Is Raising New Questions About Telehealth,” by Mohana Ravindranath

Jessie Hellmann: Politico’s “Oregon, Kentucky Dust Off an Obama-Era Policy to Expand Health Insurance,” by Megan Messerly

Shefali Luthra: The 19th’s “Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Argued Abortion Isn’t an Economic Issue. But Is That True?” by Chabeli Carrazana

Also discussed on this week’s podcast:

Politico’s “Supreme Court Has Voted to Overturn Abortion Rights, Draft Opinion Shows,” by Josh Gerstein and Alexander Ward

KHN’s “Historic ‘Breach’ Puts Abortion Rights Supporters and Opponents on Alert for Upcoming Earthquake,” by Julie Rovner


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This story was produced by KHN (Kaiser Health News), a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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