Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Politicians Are Not Doctors; Harms Caused By Anti-Abortion Laws Are Leading To Lawsuits
Last week, Florida lawmakers filed a dystopian bill that would ban abortions after six weeks and threatens to steal that currency from us. House Bill 7 has its first hearing Thursday, Healthcare Regulation subcommittee. (Monica Skoko Rodriguez, 3/16)
What I needed was an abortion, a standard medical procedure. An abortion would have prevented the unnecessary harm and suffering that I endured. Not only the psychological trauma that came with three days of waiting, but the physical harm my body suffered, the extent of which is still being determined. I needed an abortion to protect my life, and to protect the lives of my future babies that I hope and dream I can still have one day. (Amanda Zurawski, 3/16)
The abortion pill decision by Walgreens reflects the right鈥檚 success in using corporations to affect public policy. (Mary Ziegler, 3/17)
Also 鈥�
On Dec. 15, nurses walked out and began the largest nurses鈥� strike in the history of Britain鈥檚 National Health Service. They were protesting working conditions that have left them burned out and stretched thin 鈥� and compromised patient safety 鈥� and wages that fell in the last decade in real terms. (Allyson Pollock and Peter Roderick, 3/17)
Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death across the nation and the second among young people, according to Mental Health Minnesota, a nonprofit advocacy group. A connection during a crisis can be the difference between life and death. (3/16)
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially designated the novel coronavirus as a pandemic. Two days later, then-President Donald Trump declared a national emergency. (Leana S. Wen, 3/16)
The already beleaguered U.S. health care system is facing a new and costly threat that will affect patient care and ultimately may lead to hospital closures: paying for and processing a torrent of medical record requests. (Angie Comfort, 3/17)