Ohio law prohibits abortion coverage by insurers in state exchanges; Pa. measure would step up abortion clinic regulation

Also in the news, a Boston Medical Center study explores teens' access to the Plan B contraceptive.

Reuters: Ohio Law Bans Funding Abortions In Insurance Exchanges
Ohio Governor John Kasich on Wednesday signed a law that would prohibit abortion coverage from the state insurance exchange Ohio must create under the federal health care law. ... The law bans Ohio citizens from being able to purchase insurance through the exchange that includes abortion coverage, even if they pay for it with their own money, said Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, who criticized the bill (12/21).

The Associated Press: Pa. Clinics Brace For New Standards For Abortions
Operators of women's health clinics that perform abortions in Pennsylvania are bracing for new regulations that they say could mean expensive facility expansions and staff additions. The requirements are in a bill that Gov. Tom Corbett is expected to sign this week following a bitter fight in the state Legislature over the regulation of abortion providers. The debate was spurred by a case in which prosecutors say newborn babies were routinely killed in illegal, late-term abortions performed inside a filthy, now-shuttered West Philadelphia clinic that employed workers who weren't properly trained (Levy, 12/21).

Boston Globe: Some Teens Denied Legal Access To Plan B, Boston Medical Center Study Finds
In a study published online as a research letter in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association, [Dr. Tracey] Wilkinson and her colleagues called 943 pharmacies in five big cities across the country and found that 80 percent of the stores kept the drug in stock -- which is a higher percentage than in older studies -- but that callers posing as teens were often given misinformation. Some 19 percent of the time, callers who said they were 17 and wanted to get Plan B were told briskly by pharmacy employees that they couldn't have it (Kotz, 12/21).