Good morning, Broadsheet readers! The National Portrait Gallery unveils an Oprah portrait, South Korean internet giant Kakao taps Shina Chung as CEO, and business should pay attention to SCOTUS’s next major abortion case. Have a thoughtful Thursday!
– One to watch. In early 2023, the post-Roe political fight over abortion rights expanded to mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortion. Mifepristone, used in half of all pregnancy terminations in the U.S., was allowed to stay on the market as these legal challenges progressed.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that challenges the availability of mifepristone. A ruling is expected this summer.
This case takes up a narrower issue than the challenges that wound through the legal system earlier this year. Another case, which the court declined to hear, challenged the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug in 2000. The case the Supreme Court agreed to consider asks it to reverse a lower court ruling imposing restrictions on access to the drug. The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to hear the case.
The challenge to mifepristone’s approval rallied the pharmaceutical industry, which recognized the risks to its multibillion-dollar business if partisan judges could reverse science-driven drug approvals. While the current case is less existential, pharma companies are still closely watching these restrictions on the drug and have joined the Biden administration in asking the court to hear this case.
While the question SCOTUS will consider in 2024 is narrower, it should still concern the business community. As the end of Roe has allowed near-total bans on abortion in 14 states, telehealth services have become even more critical to abortion access. Employers responded to the end of Roe by agreeing to cover travel costs for workers who must leave the state to terminate pregnancies, but medication abortion is, for many people, a more accessible option—even in states where abortion remains available.
Limiting the availability of mifepristone further restricts abortion and harms employees—issues that should continue to matter to employers.
Emma Hinchliffe
[email protected]
@_emmahinchliffe
The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.
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Check out this year's Impact 20 list |
These startups are making a difference for people and the planet. Fortune highlights 20 venture- and private equity-backed companies that are relying on the profit motive to solve social problems. Powered by the TPG Rise Fund. See the full list here |
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- Chung called up. Internet giant Kakao announced it is promoting Shina Chung to chief executive officer. Chung, who's spent years running the South Korean corporation’s venture capital branch, will step into the role following the arrest of Kakao’s previous CEO for alleged stock price manipulation and other possible infractions. Chung has promised “responsible” leadership and company change. Bloomberg
- Cashing out. Gambling behemoth Entain announced that CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen, one of few female CEOs in the U.K.'s FTSE 100, is stepping down immediately. No direct reason was given for Nygaard-Anderson’s exit, but the announcement came amid reports of investor dissatisfaction and legal troubles surrounding Entain's Turkish business. Stella Davis will step in as interim CEO. Reuters
- Getting a lifeline. Saundra Pelletier’s women’s health startup Evofem Biosciences agreed to sell itself in a deal worth $100 million to biotech firm Aditxt, providing a much-needed lifeline to the developer of contraceptive gel Phexxi. Evofem's flagship drug proved a hit when it first launched three years ago, but the company has struggled because insurance companies are refusing to cover it. Fortune
- You get a portrait! A new portrait of Oprah Winfrey was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Artist Shawn Michael Warren first painted a mural of the mogul before being tapped for an official portrait. CNN
- Take three. theSkimm, founded by Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, cut 10% of its staff in its third round of layoffs this year. The newsletter business is being hit with many of the same challenges affecting the broader media industry. AdWeek
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: P&G added Ashley McEvoy, who recently left her executive role at J&J, to its board of directors. Grafana Labs named Lora Blum as chief legal officer.
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Beyoncé and Taylor Swift shared spotlights this year—and their legacies are still incomparable Rolling Stone
If this pregnancy screening could prevent 30% of stillbirths, why is no one using it? Romper
Mansur Gavriel's life after the bucket bag Puck
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"I got to choose who I marry and wait until I was in my late 30s...But many girls are not so lucky, and we want to play our part in making sure that more and more girls can have that freedom and that opportunity."
—Amal Clooney on her campaign with Michelle Obama and Melinda French Gates to end child marriage
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