Welcome to a special afternoon edition of The Broadsheet! This is Paige McGlauflin, filling in for Emma. Ivana Trump has died, 550 women are suing Uber alleging sexual assault, and telehealth abortion startups discuss growth in a post-Roe world.
– Another legal battle. In December 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved sending mifepristone, a medication used to induce abortions, to patients through the mail.
The FDA’s green light to mail the pills soon sparked demand for telehealth abortions and has since attracted a crop of telehealth providers who saw a need and a money-making opportunity. With Roe v. Wade now overturned, states that have restricted or banned abortions entirely are setting their sights on mailed abortion pills—and the providers that send them.
It’s not surprising that the growth of telehealth abortion startups has picked up speed in recent years. Virtual abortion care has made accessing the procedure easier and safer for many, researchers at the University of British Columbia found. Patients can meet with doctors from the comfort and privacy of their homes and receive medications that induce an abortion through the mail within a matter of days.
Investors are also taking notice and directing funds to startups like Choix and Hey Jane, which have received a collective $4.6 million from investors as of 2021.
State lawmakers, however, are making an effort to limit if not fully restrict the use of telehealth for medication abortions. Nineteen states had already banned virtual access to abortions well before the end of Roe.
“Some of these state laws that frustrate tele-abortion have been on the books for some time. This isn’t new, this is how they’ve always operated,” Stacey Callaghan, a health law attorney at McDermott Will & Emery, told me in an article out this morning. “This will be a heavily litigated area.”
So what does this mean for telehealth providers in states that have banned abortion access?
For now, they’ll likely be limited geographically, helping to lighten the patient load at brick-and-mortar clinics by serving individuals who already live in states that permit abortions, or those who travel to permissible states seeking an abortion.
Some startups are looking to expand their business by partnering with employers. While still in its infancy, many virtual abortion providers acknowledge that an opportunity exists for such business deals because employers already have an established track record of partnering with reproductive benefits providers.
“We are looking into how to best expand our partnerships with consulting organizations, larger employers, and employer-based health plans to support patients,” says Choix CEO Cindy Adam.
Though the Supreme Court’s ruling creates a plethora of new challenges to navigate, antiabortion states have been throwing hurdles at abortion providers for years. Now, as employers move to protect abortion access for employees, these partnerships could provide more leverage for both parties to overcome such challenges.
“We are looking forward to working with employers who value the right to abortion care, and include the full spectrum of reproductive health care as part of their benefits, as opposed to just pregnancy care or postpartum care,” Adam says.
Read my full article on the future of telehealth abortion providers here.
Paige McGlauflin
[email protected]
@paidion
The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Subscribe here.
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- Family loss. Ivana Trump, the first wife of former President Donald Trump, died Thursday at the age of 73. The businesswoman and former model was married to the former president from 1977 until their divorce in 1992. They had three children together: Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka. Ivana worked for years as a senior executive within the Trump business empire and was appointed CEO of one of his hotel casinos in Atlantic City, Trump's Castle. ABC
- Growth over safety. Over 500 women are suing Uber, alleging they were subjected to various forms of violence by their drivers, including rape and sexual assault. Slater Slater Schulman, the firm that filed the civil suit in California on Wednesday, said it’s investigating at least 150 more claims. Uber said in a statement on Thursday that it takes “every single report” of sexual assault seriously, but lawyers claim the ridesharing app is more focused on growth than safety. Fortune
- Legal contentions. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit in a Texas federal court on Thursday, challenging the Biden administration’s requirement that hospitals provide abortions in medical emergencies. Following concern that physicians would have to delay abortions in order to get legal guidance, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said hospitals that wait could be penalized for violating the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. Paxton argued that the state’s abortion ban doesn’t fall under the law. CNBC
- Vatican history. Pope Francis appointed three women to the office that vets his global appointments for bishops. It is the first time a woman has been elected to the office. The three women—two nuns and a laywoman—will serve five-year terms and have a hand in the selection of more than 5,300 bishops worldwide. New York Times
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Jennifer Rumsey has been named the next CEO of Cummins Inc. Marna Ricker has been appointed as EY’s new global vice chair of tax. Gabrielle Rubenstein, cofounder and CEO of investment firm Manna Tree Partners, was recently appointed to the Alaska Permanent Fund Board of Trustees. Maricella Herrera was named CEO of Ellevate Network.
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- Conservatorship deposition. On Wednesday, Los Angeles Judge Brenda Penny ruled that Jamie Spears, the father of Britney Spears, must sit in court and provide documents for a deposition alleging he surveilled her. Britney’s team argues Jamie, who controlled the singer’s conservatorship for 13 years, hired a security team to surveil her by monitoring her phone and bugging her bedroom. Cosmopolitan
- Vax for all. Immunologist Patricia Neves was working on an mRNA vaccine for breast cancer when news broke in late 2020 that Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA COVID vaccines were effective. She partnered with her friend and biochemist Ana Paula Ano Bom to start working on their own COVID vaccine, available for use in low- and middle-income countries that can’t get access to the vaccines offered by Pfizer and Moderna. The two Brazilian scientists will make the patent and manufacturing process available to other vaccine makers around the world. NPR
- Presenting evidence. WNBA star Brittney Griner’s trial in Russia was adjourned for 11 days on Friday after her defense team asked for more time to prepare. Her team submitted several documents to the Moscow court, including several character references from charities and sporting organizations, medical records describing a history of severe chronic pain, and a medical cannabis prescription to manage her pain. Griner pleaded guilty to carrying a vape with cannabis oil in her luggage earlier this month, insisting she accidentally packed it. NBC
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Anita Hill: Business leaders must commit fully to diversity ‘for the sake of their own longevity’ Fortune
Janeane Garofalo never sold out. What a relief New York Times
Dr. Caitlin Bernard was meant to write this with me before she was attacked for doing her job New York Times
Constance Wu reveals she tried to take her own life after being bullied online Harper’s Bazaar
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