When it comes to Washington and emergencies, it’s out with the old, in with the new.
The old, of course, are the national and public health emergencies declared by Donald Trump to fight Covid-19 as it began its disastrous spread across the country in 2020. Republicans were always uneasy with the idea of restricting what Americans could do in a bid to halt transmission of the virus, and the House GOP will today introduce two bills that would end the emergencies. But the Biden White House took some wind out of their sails by announcing they plan to let both expire on 11 May, while warning that a sudden termination could negatively affect everything from border security to health insurance.
Regardless of how or when those emergencies end, we may be getting another one declared soon. Biden is a supporter of abortion rights, and Axios reports that his department of health and human services secretary Xavier Becerra is weighing announcing a public health emergency aimed at ensuring Americans can continue obtaining abortions, even after the supreme court allowed states to ban the procedure entirely last year. Such a declaration could ensure people are able to receive abortion medication no matter where they are, but may not hold up in court.
Key events
Some would go so far as to say police violence is a public health emergency, and on that topic, the Guardian’s Adam Gabbatt and Edwin Rios report a seventh Memphis police officer has been taken off the streets over the death of Tyre Nichols:
Two more Memphis police officers have been disciplined and three emergency responders fired in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols, officials said on Monday. That brings the total number of officers who have been disciplined to seven, including the five Black officers who were fired and charged last week with second-degree murder and other offenses in Nichols’s beating and 10 January death.
Officer Preston Hemphill, who is white, was relieved of duty and put on what is known as administrative leave, the Memphis police major Karen Rudolph said on Monday, according to multiple reports.
Later in the day it said another officer had also been relieved, but without naming the person or specifying what role they played in the incident.
As America comes to grips with the consequences of ending Roe v Wade, the Guardian’s Gloria Oladipo reports that experts are warning less access to reproductive healthcare will be felt in doctors offices and emergency rooms nationwide:
Top doctors in the US warn that surgeons should be prepared to treat more patients with complications from self-managed abortions and forced pregnancy after the overturning of Roe v Wade.
In a recent opinion piece published in the BMJ, 17 experts from medical centers and universities including the University of Chicago, Duke Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania urged surgeons to be prepared to treat medical consequences related to a person’s inability to access an abortion.
“In the aftermath of the supreme court’s Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health decision, acute care surgeons face an increased likelihood of seeing patients with complications from both self-managed abortions and forced pregnancy in underserved areas of reproductive and maternity care throughout the USA,” read the op-ed.
The Dobbs v Jackson case eliminated the nationwide abortion rights established by Roe v Wade in 1972. While many states still provide access to abortions, many others now generally prohibit the termination of pregnancies.
Physicians noted that self-managed abortions with pills such as mifepristone are extremely safe and used across the country to help provide access to abortion services.
When it comes to Washington and emergencies, it’s out with the old, in with the new.
The old, of course, are the national and public health emergencies declared by Donald Trump to fight Covid-19 as it began its disastrous spread across the country in 2020. Republicans were always uneasy with the idea of restricting what Americans could do in a bid to halt transmission of the virus, and the House GOP will today introduce two bills that would end the emergencies. But the Biden White House took some wind out of their sails by announcing they plan to let both expire on 11 May, while warning that a sudden termination could negatively affect everything from border security to health insurance.
Regardless of how or when those emergencies end, we may be getting another one declared soon. Biden is a supporter of abortion rights, and Axios reports that his department of health and human services secretary Xavier Becerra is weighing announcing a public health emergency aimed at ensuring Americans can continue obtaining abortions, even after the supreme court allowed states to ban the procedure entirely last year. Such a declaration could ensure people are able to receive abortion medication no matter where they are, but may not hold up in court.
White House to end Covid emergency, eyes declaring reproductive health crisis
Good morning, US politics blog readers. It’s been three years since Covid-19 broke out across the United States and the government took extraordinary measures to stop it from spreading. Now, it appears one of those steps is coming to an end, with the White House announcing it will allow the national emergencies declared to fight the pandemic to lapse on 11 May, a statement it made in response to Republican legislation to force their hand on the matter. Much has changed in the country since the anxious early days of Covid-19, including the end of the nationwide right to abortion, and there are reports that Joe Biden is also considering declaring a separate public health emergency aimed at ensuring access to reproductive healthcare.
Here’s what we can expect to happen in the world of politics today:
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It’s day two of Biden’s infrastructure blitz, with the president traveling to New York City to promote his 2021 overhaul of the country’s public works, and attend a Democratic National Committee reception. He was doing much the same in Baltimore yesterday.
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The House of Representatives convenes at 10am to consider the GOP’s bills to force an end to the Covid-19 national emergencies. The Senate convenes at the same time, where lawmakers will be making speeches and generally getting their ducks in a row to start the chamber’s work.
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Donald Trump sued journalist Bob Woodward and his publishers for releasing recordings of their interviews. The former president is seeking just a hair under $50m.
