• Arizona: The Arizona House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to repeal an 1864 law barring all abortions except in cases when "it is necessary to save" a pregnant person's life. Even though the state's Supreme Court recently ruled to enforce the old law, the bill passed with a vote of 32-28, supported by every Democrat in the House, as well as three Republicans. Rep. Matt Gress (R), one of the Republicans to vote for the repeal, said in a statement posted to X, "As someone who is both Pro-Life and the product of strong women in my life, I refuse to buy into the false notion pushed by the extremes on both sides of this issue that we cannot respect and protect women and defend new life at the same time." (Gomez, Arizona Mirror, 4/24)
• Georgia: The U.S. fertility rate dropped to 1.62 births per woman in 2023. This marks a 2% decline from 2022 and the lowest fertility rate recorded since the government began tracking the data in the 1930s, according to a recent report from CDC. The data is based on over 99% of birth certificates issued in 2023 and is in line with the general average decline in fertility rate of 1-2% that has occurred over the past decade. According to Phillip Levine, an economics professor at Wellesley College, the dropping fertility rate could have long-term effects on the economy and programs like Social Security. "It has the ability to have a significant impact on the way we live for a long time to come," he said. (Calfas/DeBarros, Wall Street Journal, 4/25; Hart, Forbes, 4/25)
• New York: Lisa Pisano, a 54-year-old woman from New Jersey, became the second living person in the world to receive a kidney from a genetically modified pig transplant after her successful procedure at the NYU Langone Transplant Institute earlier this month. Pisano had both heart failure and kidney failure and received the organ eight days after also receiving a mechanical heart pump. "We are in a new universe in transplantation," Robert Montgomery, who runs the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, said. "This would be a sustainable, unlimited source of organs. This would be transformative." (Stein, NPR, "Shots," 4/24; Rabin, New York Times, 4/24; Nazzaro, The Hill, 4/24)

Maternal mortality rates are a growing concern, particularly among Black women. From expanding reimbursement for doulas and midwives to increasing postpartum coverage to embracing technology-based tools, learn how health plans are taking steps to drive better outcomes for pregnant people.