51��Ƶ

As debate intensifies in the U.S. over abortion, a new survey finds nearly half of all women support alternatives to visiting a medical facility in order to obtain the abortion medicine to terminate pregnancies. And the findings suggest there is potential to expand access to abortion care, if regulators can be persuaded to loosen regulations governing access to the medicine, according to the researchers. Currently, women in the U.S. must obtain mifepristone at a doctor’s office, clinic, or hospital under a risk management program required by the Food and Drug Administration. The restrictions were imposed when the drug was approved in 2000 and stipulate Mifeprex may not be sold in pharmacies and health care providers must complete a certification process. (Silverman, 11/15)

After plenty of campaign ads talking about health care, education, taxes and job growth, Ohio House Republicans kicked off the post-election lame-duck session with controversial bills on guns and abortion. The House voted 64-26 on Wednesday to pass a “stand your ground” bill that would eliminate the obligation to retreat in confrontations before deciding to utilize deadly force. That margin is large enough to override a likely veto from Gov. John Kasich, if the Senate quickly approves the bill before the session ends in mid-December. (Siegel, 11/14)

The Ohio General Assembly mustered enough votes Wednesday afternoon to override a summertime veto by Gov. John Kasich of a bill centered on the power of the legislature over the governor’s agencies. The veto override of Senate Bill 221 is just one strike at the outgoing governor. On Thursday, the Ohio House is expected to vote on House Bill 258, which prohibits abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected. Kasich vetoed a similar bill in 2016. (Hancock, 11/14)

Several Democratic members of Congress are warning Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to not move forward with a possible ban on State Department employees using terms like “sexual and reproductive health” and “comprehensive sexuality education”. The lawmakers — Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) — argue in a letter sent Wednesday to Pompeo that banning State Department employees from using those terms would be regressive for U.S. global health programs. The letter comes after POLITICO reported that conservative political appointees in the Trump administration were pushing for the proposal two weeks ago. (Choi, 11/14)