Biden is in housing campaign mode, and Florida is set to ban abortion after 6 weeks
+ Why IVF looks different in the US than in the rest of the world
The presidential election is on, and Biden knows that people feeling badly about housing costs is affecting the otherwise positive economic message he wants to sell. I have a new story looking at how Biden is ramping up his focus on housing affordability — ranging from both Yes-in-my-backyard calls to “build build build” to more populist appeals to take on rent-gouging landlords and expand housing vouchers for veterans.
Housing isn’t an issue presidents (or members of Congress) typically get very involved in but given the scale of the crisis, the federal government is realizing they have to, at least sort of. My piece looks what’s new, and what’s likely to come in the next year.
You can read that here.
Also, if you’re in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area in May and want to come to an event where I’ll be talking more about these housing election issues, can sign up here!
Last week I published a story looking at debates over whether IVF in the US is sufficiently “regulated.” I tried to bring some clarity to a debate that gets really confused, since there’s all different kinds of regulations. (Regulations for patient safety! Regulation for “embryo dignity”! Regulations to protect the idea of heterosexual marriage! Regulations over more divisive ethical issues like gender selection!)
IVF looks different in the US than the rest of the world, but that’s in large part because our anti-abortion movement looks different than the rest of the world, as does our health care system. You can read that story here.
Yesterday afternoon the Florida Supreme Court issued a long-awaited ruling on the constitutionality of the state’s 15-week abortion ban. The court said it was legal, and in doing so, also effectively authorized a separate six week ban Republicans passed last year to take effect in 30 days (or May 1.)
I covered that ban at the time, and we updated our piece today with new information about what this will mean for Floridians and people across the South. It’s a travesty that it’s going into effect. The glimmer of good news is that there will also be a ballot measure in Florida this November, where voters might be able to overturn it. But it will require at least 60 percent of voters to approve it, a threshold no other red or purple state that has approved abortion rights ballot measures has been able to reach since Dobbs. It’s going to be a tough, expensive fight.
I will say, the fact that Republicans passed a 15-week ban in Florida in 2022, only to turn around and pass a 6 week ban in Florida in 2023, is a pretty good example of why voters do not believe Republicans when they say they would stop at some “moderate” compromise position. The end goal for anti-abortion activists has long been clear, they just wait for the right windows of opportunity to push for it. This is likely one factor in why voters have been souring on the idea of 15-week bans in polling, too. They don’t believe Republicans are serious about stopping at that limit, and certainly Florida’s GOP wasn’t.
Thanks for reading,