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Advocacy Group, N.D. Abortion Clinic File Lawsuit To Block State Ultrasound Law
The Red River Women"s Clinic in Fargo, N.D., went to court on Thursday to block a state law from going into effect that would require the clinic to give women the option to view ultrasound images and hear a fetal heartbeat 24 hours before receiving abortion services, the AP/Bismarck Tribune reports. The suit was filed in East Central District Court by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of the clinic, which is the only abortion clinic in North Dakota. In the lawsuit, the clinic asked the court to issue a temporary injunction to prevent the law from taking effect on Aug. 1. A hearing has been scheduled for July 30.Suzanne Stolz, an attorney for CRR, said the law is "unconstitutional"” because it "creates an undue burden on a woman"s right to have an abortion." In a statement, CRR said that the law requires an audible fetal heartbeat consistent with "standard medical practice in the community." However, the Center said no such standard exists. In addition, Stolz said that the North Dakota law is less clear than laws in other states with ultrasound mandates that include a fetal heartbeat provision, including Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Furthermore, CRR said that the equipment needed to provide the audible heartbeat would be expensive for the clinic, although it did not say what the cost would be.Tammi Kromenaker, director of the clinic, said it has offered women the option of viewing an ultrasound image since 2008. She said that the issue with the law is that it is not clear about whether a woman who chooses to view the image must also listen to the fetal heartbeat -- which sometimes cannot be heard in the early stages of pregnancy -- and about the level of technology the clinic must provide.Mary Spaulding Balch, a spokesperson for the National Right to Life Committee, said that the law is not burdensome to women seeking abortions and that it would only require the clinic to use "a simple device used by obstetrician[s] that amplifies" a fetal heartbeat. State Rep. Bette Grande (R), a sponsor of the law, said that the law does not require the Red River clinic to perform the ultrasound. She added that a woman seeking an abortion could receive the image and audio from another clinic prior to the procedure. Grande also noted that the law does not require women to view the ultrasound image and hear the fetal heartbeat -- it "just says they will have this opportunity" (MacPherson, AP/Bismarck Tribune, 7/24).

Assembly Passes Legislation Protecting Patients From Losing Health Insurance When They Get Sick
Legislation requiring an independent review of decisions by health plans and insurers to rescind coverage for patients passed the Assembly on a 46-24 vote today.
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New Clinical Research Organization Established In West Palm Beach, Florida
Executive vice president is pharmaceutical industry veteran Arthur Simon, Ph.D.
Medical Devices

Democrats Are Increasingly Confident About Reform

Despite costs and public skepticism, Democrats are increasingly confident that they"ll enact a vast health care overhaul. McClatchy reports: "The White House is ramping up its behind-the-scenes lobbying of Congress. President Barack Obama is signaling that he could drop some key principles of his campaign if necessary to jump-start negotiations, opening the door to broad tax increases and a plan that could, he now concedes, push people into a government-run insurance program against their will. Senate Democrats also said last week that they were heading toward agreement again after a momentary stall. ... Republicans, too, concede that the Democrats who control Congress and the White House are back on track to push an overhaul into law." According to McClatchy, "Two big questions still loom: How will the government pay for insurance for the 50 million people now uninsured, and will the government offer its own insurance to compete with 1,300 private insurance companies in hopes of driving down costs? Obama thinks he"s found a way to pay for almost all of a price tag estimated at $1 trillion over 10 years: by cutting Medicare and Medicaid and by raising taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year through limits on their itemized tax deductions. But many congressional Democrats prefer to raise taxes on health insurance itself, which is now deducted from taxable income. Some propose capping the deduction at $13,000 to $17,000 a year, so that the most expensive plans would be taxed and even discouraged. Obama, who opposed taxing health coverage when Republican John McCain proposed it during their campaign, now says he"s open to some version of it." McClatchy notes: "Congressional Democrats also are debating whether to include a so-called "public option"... Supporters say it would create competition and drive down costs; critics say the government plan, with no profit margin and perhaps taxpayer subsidies, would drive private insurers out of business. Obama conceded last week that the availability of lower-cost government insurance could violate one of his keystone promises: not to force people to give up doctors or insurance plans they like. He acknowledged that companies providing health insurance might choose the less expensive government insurance over their private insurers, thus forcing employees into the government fold...The government insurance option isn"t yet final, however. Several Senate Democrats propose instead that nonprofit cooperatives also could provide competition and drive down costs" (Thomma and Lightman, 6/28). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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