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A proposed abortion ban in South Carolina would have allowed the criminal prosecution of women who obtain the procedure. It鈥檚 unlikely to become law, but this bill and other proposals across the country show how some conservative lawmakers are embracing increasingly punitive abortion restrictions.
Abortion bans like Iowa鈥檚 have put OB-GYNs under increasing strain and surveillance, complicating the standard medical treatments for miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, premature membrane rupture, and other pregnancy problems. As many rural areas face worsening maternity care deserts, some physicians fear these laws could drive much-needed doctors out of state and dissuade others from moving in and establishing a practice.
Some patients who had liposuction or other surgeries later required emergency hospital care 鈥 and some died, court records show.
Participants in an FDA panel discussion warned the public about risks from using antidepressants in pregnancy. But mental health issues, including suicide and overdoses, are the leading cause of maternal death in the United States. Antidepressants are a safe, well-studied way to help prevent those deaths, medical experts say.
Genesis HealthCare鈥檚 bankruptcy case in Dallas will allow the nursing home chain to avoid paying millions of dollars it promised for residents who were injured or died while in its care. Families say bankruptcy nullifies one of the main ways to hold nursing home owners accountable for poor care.
The administration鈥檚 embrace of the pronatalist movement often doesn鈥檛 include support for programs traditionally associated with the health and well-being of women, children, and families.
A CDC panel is reconsidering the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Renewed doubt could lead to fewer kids getting vaccinated, leaving them vulnerable to an incurable, preventable virus that can be acquired by indirect contact with infected blood.
Republicans are solidifying their opposition to extending pandemic-era subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans and seem to be coalescing around giving money directly to consumers to spend on health care. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to leave his mark on the agency, with the CDC altering its website to suggest childhood vaccines could play a role in causing autism. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Avik Roy.
The study sought to answer questions about how breast cancer risk differs by type of hormonal contraceptive. Doctors say the results won鈥檛 change how they counsel patients.
The record-long federal shutdown is over after a small group of Democrats agreed to a deal with most Republicans that funds the government through January 鈥 but, notably, does not extend more generous Affordable Care Act tax credits. Plus, new details are emerging about how the Trump administration is using the Medicaid program to advance its policy goals. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner interviews 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Appleby, who wrote the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature.
Massachusetts researchers examine how growth and learning are subtly shaped among children whose mothers had covid while pregnant.
A standoff in Congress is keeping much of the government shut down as open enrollment begins in most states for Affordable Care Act plans. Democrats are demanding Republicans agree to extend ACA tax credits, but there has been little negotiating 鈥 even as customers are learning what they鈥檒l pay for coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is telling states they can鈥檛 pass their own laws to keep medical debt off consumers鈥 credit reports. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.
The HHS office that administers the Title X family planning program has been effectively shut down. And with cuts to federal funding for other family health programs, expected Medicaid cuts, and the potential lapse of ACA subsidies, health leaders fear they are seeing the biggest setback to U.S. reproductive care in half a century.
Two major nutrition programs 鈥 SNAP and WIC 鈥 are likely to exhaust their funding in November, and the furloughs and firings at the CDC have left the agency unable to perform some of its major functions. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump鈥檚 new IVF policy is being met with dissatisfaction from both sides. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Katheryn Houghton, who wrote the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature.
Democrats and Republicans remain stalled over funding the federal government as Republicans launch a new attack on the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is taking advantage of the shutdown to lay off workers from programs supported mostly by Democrats. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews health insurance analyst Louise Norris about Medicare open enrollment.
The government shutdown continues with no end in sight, and while it theoretically should not affect entitlement programs, the lapse of some related authorizations 鈥 like for Medicare telehealth programs 鈥 is leaving some doctors and patients high and dry. Meanwhile, the FDA quietly approved a new generic abortion pill. Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Sarah Grusin of the National Health Law Program.
Barbara Kingsolver won a Pulitzer Prize for her bestselling novel about Appalachia鈥檚 drug crisis. She invested some of the proceeds into a home for women trying to beat substance use disorders.
In a rambling news conference that shocked public health experts, President Donald Trump 鈥 without scientific evidence 鈥 blamed the over-the-counter drug acetaminophen, and too many childhood vaccines, for the increase in autism diagnoses in the U.S. That came days after a key immunization advisory panel, newly reconstituted with vaccine doubters, changed several long-standing recommendations. Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official Demetre Daskalakis joins 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss those stories. Meanwhile, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join Rovner with the rest of the news, including a threat by the Trump administration to fire rather than furlough federal workers if Congress fails to fund the government beyond the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year.
Doctors say acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, is safe to take during pregnancy. Other over-the-counter pain relievers such as aspirin and ibuprofen aren鈥檛 recommended because they can harm fetal development. Untreated fever in pregnancy can pose maternal and fetal health risks.
The White House鈥檚 autism announcement exaggerates links to Tylenol, misleads on vaccines, and sets back the field by ignoring decades of research, scientists say.
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