Health
More states line up to serve free school meals to all kids
During his long career as a high school teacher, New York state Sen. John Mannion often reached into his own pocket to cover the cost of lunches for kids who didn’t have the funds. “I watched kids get to the end of the line and not have enough money on their cards,” the Democrat said […]
Births decline in most states, continuing a long-term trend
Fast-growing Texas and Florida had the biggest increases in the number of births last year, while a dozen other states — half of them in the South — continued to rebound from pandemic lows. In the United States as a whole, however, the number of births has plateaued after a modest increase following the worst […]
Indiana Medical Licensing Board rules Bernard violated patient privacy laws
The Indiana Medical Licensing Board ruled Thursday that Indianapolis OB-GYN Dr. Caitlin Bernard violated state and federal patient privacy laws when she publicly discussed a 10-year-old rape victim seeking an abortion in Indiana. The licensing board deemed Bernard did not improperly report child abuse, however, and is fit to practice medicine. Ultimately she was given […]
Fentanyl-related drugs permanently made criminal under bill passed by U.S. House
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers in the U.S. House passed bipartisan legislation Thursday in an effort to curb staggering overdose deaths from illegal fentanyl substances that are illicitly produced and up to 50 times stronger than heroin. The HALT Fentanyl Act, passed on a 289-133 vote with 74 Democratic votes and support from the Biden administration, would permanently categorize lab-made […]
A day after his presidential announcement, DeSantis signs millions in tax exemptions for Floridians
From baby and toddler products to back-to-school items, hygiene products, gas stoves and more, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed into law a long list of tax exemptions — sales, property and corporate income — adding up to tens of millions of dollars. The governor signed the bill a day after his presidential announcement on […]
GOP’s desired work requirements for federal aid would kick roughly 21M from anti-poverty programs
Congressional Republicans’ efforts to slash federal spending by tying work requirements to Medicaid and SNAP would have far-reaching consequences for people with mental health issues, chronic health problems, and some people with disabilities if enacted, policy experts on anti-poverty programs say. They say the work requirements as laid out by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s “Limit, […]
Appeals court judges embrace anti-abortion speculation
America’s major medical institutions and drug policy scholars have roundly denounced as “pseudoscience” many of the claims brought by anti-abortion groups in a high-profile federal lawsuit asking the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its 23-year-old approval of mifepristone, one half of a two-drug regimen that has become the most common form of pregnancy termination […]
Lawmakers debate violence against abortion clinics, anti-abortion pregnancy centers
WASHINGTON — Republicans at a U.S. House hearing aired frustration with the Department of Justice this week for what they contended is a lack of enforcement of a Clinton-era law that protects access to reproductive health care at anti-abortion pregnancy centers and abortion clinics. GOP lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee expressed anger the Federal […]
Whitmer signs into law ban on discrimination against employees getting an abortion
Employers in Michigan will now be barred from discriminating against their employees for getting an abortion, under legislation signed into law this week by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The legislation, Senate Bill 147, brings the state’s civil rights laws up to code with Proposal 3 of 2022, the constitutional amendment securing the right to an abortion and […]
Three-judge panel in U.S. appeals court hears arguments in abortion pill case
NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court panel quizzed lawyers during oral arguments Wednesday over a Texas judge’s decision that could end access to the abortion pill nationwide. Observers see the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals as a legal way station for the case, in which anti-abortion groups sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, […]
Attorney General Ashley Moody weighs in against legalizing recreational cannabis in FL
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has submitted ballot language to the Florida Supreme Court for a proposed 2024 constitutional amendment to legalize recreational cannabis in Florida. She also informed the court that she opposes the measure. Moody told the high court that she believes the proposed amendment “fails” to meet the requirements of Florida law, […]
Arguments on landmark abortion pill case to be heard Wednesday in appeals court
WASHINGTON — The lawsuit over access to the abortion pill goes before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Wednesday, the next step on a path that will likely end at the U.S. Supreme Court. The three-judge panel will decide whether to keep, overturn, or alter a ruling from U.S. District Court from […]