from States Newsroom
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By Elisha Brown |
“Becoming a mother is a profound life change, and every parent deserves support — not just during pregnancy, but in the months that follow.”
— Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey
Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey holds up a hard copy of her fiscal year 2027 state budget proposal at a press conference on Jan. 28, 2026. Earlier this month following the Lindsay Clancy mistrial, Healey asked lawmakers for more than $2 million in the next budget to boost postpartum mental health programs. (Photo by Chris Lisinski/CommonWealth Beacon)
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.
The mistrial of Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts woman charged with murder after strangling her three young children, has spurred calls for legislation addressing postpartum mental health.
Clancy’s attorneys said she suffered from postpartum psychosis, a severe and rare mental health condition that can cause hallucinations, delusions and thoughts of self-harm or harm against newborns, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Postpartum depression is more common, affecting up to 1 in 7 women after childbirth. Symptoms can include anxiety, mood swings and constant worrying.
Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey said this month that she will ask the legislature for $2 million to expand a statewide home nurse visits initiative for new parents and $250,000 for a program that helps providers coordinate perinatal mental healthcare.
“Postpartum depression, anxiety and other maternal mental health conditions are real medical conditions, and no mother should feel ashamed to ask for help or feel like she has to navigate this journey alone,” Healey said in a statement.
Several other states took action this year to help new mothers navigate mental health, Stateline’s Sofia Resnick reported.
Illinois passed a law that aims to expand at-home postpartum mental health screenings. A new law in Maryland requires the state Medicaid program and other insurers to cover postpartum depression screenings. And a Virginia law requires all insurance plans to cover maternal mental health screenings.
Joy Burkhard, CEO of the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, told Resnick she expects more state policy proposals to address postpartum mental health this fall.
Burkhard said more bills that would require insurance reimbursement of mental health services and access to therapists and psychiatrists through a cohesive team of providers are key.
“The care coordination could have actually supported Lindsay Clancy,” she said. “Because she saw so many providers, and you know just sort of that through line and that continuity and having some support to say this is what we’ve already done, just really could have maybe, possibly led to different outcomes for her.”
THE POD
Next on our Stories From The States podcast: States take the lead on regulating AI as federal action lags
Anxiety over artificial intelligence is growing. Will it replace humans and take jobs? How will it change our privacy? Will it impact our elections? The list of existential questions about AI goes on.
The technology has not been regulated on a national level. Congress has struggled to pass federal legislation, while the Trump administration has pushed to limit state oversight efforts.
One expert says states have stepped up to the plate to create commonsense guardrails on AI.
In Episode 47, you’ll hear from Maddy Dwyer, a policy analyst on the Center for Democracy & Technology’s State Engagement team. She’ll break down how states are regulating AI and whether it's too out of control for the federal government to set limitations on what the technology can do.
THE BEAT
False birth control claims are proliferating, survey says
More than half of women of reproductive age have seen or heard the false claim that hormones in contraceptives are harmful, according to a new KFF survey. (Photo by Kelcie Moseley-Morris/Stateline)
By Sofia Resnick / Stateline
More than half of women of reproductive age have seen or heard the false claim that hormones in contraceptives are harmful, and about 4 in 10 have been exposed to the false idea that hormones in contraceptives limit your ability to get pregnant in the future, according to a new survey.
The survey by KFF, a nonprofit health research organization, also found that about a third of women between the ages of 18 and 49 have seen or heard the inaccurate assertion that natural family planning methods are just as effective as hormonal birth control, and a similar percentage have been exposed to the erroneous idea that emergency contraceptive pills cause abortions.
According to the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, long-acting reversible contraception and hormonal birth control are much more effective at preventing pregnancy than fertility awareness-based methods such as menstrual cycle tracking.
A large majority of reproductive age women said health care providers are their most trusted source for reliable health care information, with 85% saying they trust them a great deal or a fair amount. In contrast, only 26% said they trust U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for reliable health information, and 48% said they trust federal health agencies. About 25% said they trust AI tools and chatbots, and 14% said they trust social media and social media influencers.
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THE PULSE
TX: U.S. Supreme Court declines to give surrogate custody of baby she birthed in Dallas | The Texas Tribune
CA: California governor vetoes bill that would ban extraditions for abortion and gender-affirming care | Mother Jones
US: New maps reveal massive gaps in access to affordable birth control | NPR
US: American women seeking hormone-free IUDs come up short | The New York Times
ABORTION ACCESS IN THE U.S.
Track state-level developments on reproductive rights anytime at News From The States. Send tips and thoughts to ✉️ [email protected], and follow her on Bluesky @elishabrown.
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