Author: Nathaniel Weixel

Democrats divided over fentanyl bill

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter {beacon} Health Care Health Care   The Big Story Fentanyl bill divides House Democrats Legislation to permanently classify fentanyl-like substances into a category reserved for the most dangerous drugs passed the House on Thursday. © AP The vote divided Democrats and showed the political difficulties in trying to…

Dozens of Democrats join GOP in passing bill on fentanyl-related drug penalties

Legislation to permanently classify fentanyl-like substances into a category reserved for the most dangerous drugs passed the House Thursday. The GOP-sponsored HALT Fentanyl Act passed 289-133 with support from 74 Democrats, who wanted to be on record as supporting legislation intended to crack down on the synthetic opioid crisis. But the majority of House Democrats…

Biden backs GOP fentanyl bill

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter {beacon} Health Care Health Care   The Big Story Biden administration endorses GOP-led fentanyl bill The White House on Monday put its weight behind a bill introduced by two House Republicans that would increase the penalties for trafficking fentanyl. © AP The Biden administration called on Congress to…

Abortion battles fuel push against ballot measures

After a string of defeats at the ballot in red and purple states in the 2022 election, a growing number of GOP-controlled state legislatures and anti-abortion groups are pushing back. They are working to restrict or even ban citizen-led ballot initiatives, which have been used by progressive groups to bypass conservative lawmakers. Some of the…

Court temporarily blocks new Montana abortion ban

Montana’s ban on a second-trimester abortion procedure was temporarily blocked by a state court on Thursday. District Judge Mike Menahan granted Planned Parenthood of Montana’s request for a temporary restraining order on the enforcement of a law that bans dilation and evacuation abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Dilation and evacuation is the most common…

Appeals court shows openness to rolling back abortion pill access

A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday seemed skeptical of the Biden administration’s arguments to keep the widely used abortion pill mifepristone on the market in its current form. During oral arguments, a three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — all appointed by Republican presidents — grilled attorneys from the Department…

Abortion pill fight heads to conservative appeals court

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter {beacon} Health Care Health Care   The Big Story Abortion pill fight heads back to court Arguments about the future availability of a widely used abortion pill will be back in court on Wednesday, as the Biden administration attempts to reverse a decision that would take mifepristone off…