Latest news with #post-Dobbs
The Hill
7 days ago
- Health
- The Hill
On the Dobbs' abortion case's anniversary, celebrate life-affirming medical care
A full three years have passed since Roe v. Wade was overturned, yet abortion activists still refuse to acknowledge the overwhelmingly positive effect the decision is having on women and children. Instead, they continue to sow fear and misinformation to advance their abortion agenda, telling women the falsehood that they will be unable to get essential miscarriage treatment or lifesaving medical interventions. Indeed, the only thing preventing women from receiving the care they need is the very narrative promoted by these activists, who claim to seek protections for women's reproductive health. It's long past time for them to realize the truth: Pregnant women have the same access to the quality healthcare they need post-Roe as they did before. It's time to set the record straight. For example, despite rampant claims to the contrary, the number of obstetrician gynecologists in pro-life states is growing at a higher rate than in states without pro-life protections, according to a Journal of the American Medical Association article published this year. Yet the media continues shamelessly to rely on interviews with the same handful of doctors to spin their shortage narratives. Pregnant women and their families are also able to access ongoing compassionate care and support at our nation's network of nearly 3,000 pregnancy resource centers, which have served nearly 975,000 patients since 2022. We also have seen improvement in maternal mortality rates in states that have restricted abortion, despite fear-inducing claims that pro-life laws would do the opposite. Idaho, for example, has some of the strongest pro-life protections in the country and saw its maternal mortality numbers improve tremendously since Roe's overturn. CDC data also confirm that maternal mortality decreased by 17 percent nationally during the first full year (2023) after Roe was overturned. This echoed a range of international studies that show that induced abortion does not improve maternal mortality rates. Finally, FDA Commissioner Makary's recent comment committing to a thorough review of the safety of the chemical abortion drug mifepristone represents another important victory for women's health. While abortion proponents dangerously insist that chemical abortion pills are 'safer than Tylenol' — an oft quoted claim that has been thoroughly debunked — they ignore the real-world impact this drug is having among the women who are left without the medical oversight they deserve. A recently released report links mifepristone to serious adverse reactions at much higher rates than reported by the FDA — a finding consistent with what doctors like me are seeing in our practices. Continuing to propagate lies about induced abortion also serves to draw public attention away from making meaningful progress in the area of women's health. Doctors, lawmakers and movement leaders must work to make real strides for mothers and their unborn children, not score political points. In our post-Dobbs world, women need to know that they can continue to receive the excellent care they deserve. To ensure that they do, states should enact more medical education provisions to defend their pro-life protections against misinformation in the media and assure the public and expecting mothers that these laws are in their favor. So far, South Dakota and Texas have passed legislation funding an educational video on their abortion laws, clarifying doctors' ongoing ability to treat women suffering from pregnancy complications. Likewise, in 2024, Florida issued clarification on the availability of life-saving care under its state laws. The medical association that I lead, is also doing its part to educate doctors on their roles and responsibilities to keep treating women in the post-Dobbs legal landscape — assuring them that if they weren't doing induced abortions before, nothing about their practice needs to change. I am able to provide lifesaving care for my patients at every step and stage of pregnancy in Indiana, just as I always have, and just as doctors across the country are able to do. When I care for patients, I ensure they have the best and most accurate information about their healthcare. Regardless of political differences, we must all work together to improve women's health and ensure that women have accurate information so they can make fully informed decisions. We have already made great strides for mothers in the three years post-Dobbs. The next three and beyond can be even more transformative for women and their children if we can all join together to advocate for real solutions to the obstacles that so many face to a healthy future. Christina Francis is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist practicing as an obstetric hospitalist. She also serves as CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Time Magazine
7 days ago
- Health
- Time Magazine
How the States We Govern Have Stepped Up Since Dobbs
Three years ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned nearly 50 years of constitutional protection for abortion, states became the last line of defense in the fight for reproductive freedom. As governors, we've stepped up to respond to this new national reality. The Dobbs decision didn't end abortion in America. Instead, it's been rerouted to a few states now bearing the weight of a national need. States like ours—Illinois and New Mexico—have become what many call 'surge states,' where Americans facing extreme abortion restrictions in neighboring states turn for abortion care in record numbers. According to the Guttmacher Institute, last year, more than 155,000 Americans traveled out of state to access an abortion. Illinois has become the nation's leading provider of out-of-state care, providing more than 35,000 abortions to patients. In New Mexico, more than 70% of all abortions were provided to out-of-state residents. This surge has major implications for both clinicians and patients, and we've done everything we can to rise to the challenge with urgency and purpose. In 2024, the Chicago Abortion Fund received over 16,000 calls from people in 41 states — and didn't turn a single person away. To alleviate the pressure on clinics and organizations, Illinois launched the Complex Abortion Regional Line for Access (CARLA), a provider-to-provider scheduling and triage system to coordinate care and reduce hospital strain, facilitating 898 patient referrals from individuals across 23 states. New Mexico is also investing millions to build brick-and-mortar reproductive health clinics along the Texas border—where nearly 8,000 patients traveled for abortion care in the past year—and bolster its health care provider workforce. These are only a handful of the measures governors, clinics, and non-profit organizations have taken to ensure our states truly uphold reproductive freedom in a post-Dobbs America. But still, our systems are stretched. Even with public-private partnerships, clinics are full, providers increasingly fear for their safety, and care coordination grows more complex by the day. Read More: Abortions Keep Increasing in the U.S., Data Show In the meantime, anti-abortion forces are shifting their tactics to erode the infrastructure we're building to keep legal abortion accessible through federal rollbacks that compound the strain on states trying to hold the line. Just this month, the Trump administration rescinded Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) guidelines that reaffirm federal protections for emergency abortion care when a patient's health or life is at risk. This guidance helped hospitals understand how to treat pregnant patients facing life-threatening complications, even in states with bans. Despite the fact that access to this care continues to be guaranteed in the law, revoking these guidelines creates dangerous confusion about how to treat medical emergencies, prompting hospitals to either wrongfully deny care or send pregnant patients across state lines, even in critical condition. That burden falls not just on our health systems, but on patients who may not survive the delay. Simultaneously, mifepristone—one of two medications used in medication abortion—is being politicized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is currently conducting a renewed review of its safety. This review follows years of coordinated attacks by anti-abortion activists who use junk science and political pressure to undermine public trust, despite mifepristone's decades-long safety record, as documented in more than 100 peer-reviewed studies. Medication abortion is a cornerstone of care, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all abortions in states without total bans. Losing access would require patients to rely on procedural abortions, necessitating more time, resources, and specialized care—further taxing our overburdened healthcare workforce and increasing wait times for patients who don't have the time to spare. We must recognize these attacks for what they are—a long-term strategy to chip away at reproductive rights across the U.S. If anti-abortion efforts targeting mifepristone and EMTALA succeed, the result won't just be increased suffering in states with bans— it will also undermine access in states where abortion is protected, stressing systems that are already struggling to meet overwhelming need. As 'surge states,' we know our role in this moment. The future of reproductive freedom in America will continue to be determined by state leaders who are prepared to do everything in their power to defend it. That means prioritizing reproductive health care in our policy agendas, defending it in our budgets, and building resilient legal and clinical infrastructure that can withstand the threats ahead. Dobbs didn't end the war on reproductive freedom; it just redrew the battle lines.
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
US abortion rates rise three years after Dobbs' new ruling on Roe vs Wade, here's why
Three years after the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade , the U.S. finds itself at the epicenter of a new abortion battle, one that's defying expectations and reshaping the strategies of both pro-life and pro-choice movements. Despite the pro-life victory in the courts, abortion rates have not dropped; instead, they've remained steady or even increased, raising provocative questions about the true impact of legal bans and the future of reproductive rights in America. The next big fight for abortion opponents is the organisation Planned Parenthood, the nation's leading provider and advocate of affordable sexual and reproductive health care, operates nearly 600 health centers across the country. The unexpected rise: Abortion rates defy pro-life predictions Contrary to pro-life hopes, the number of abortions in the U.S. has not declined post-Dobbs. Recent data from the Charlotte Lozier Institute shows over 1.1 million abortions occurred from July 2023 to June 2024, matching or exceeding pre-Dobbs levels. This estimate, based on the most comprehensive aggregation of clinic, hospital, and virtual provider data, highlights a resilient demand for abortion services even as legal landscapes shift. Researchers caution, however, that the true number may be even higher, as the U.S. lacks a federal abortion reporting mandate and medication abortions, especially those facilitated by international mail-order, are difficult to track with precision. The new battlefield: Pills, politics and laws The unexpected resilience of abortion rates is largely driven by the rise of medication abortion . With the FDA's approval for mail-order mifepristone, telehealth and shield laws have enabled access even in states with bans, and up to 20% of abortions in 2024 were provided via telehealth under such protections. This has allowed patients to bypass state restrictions, fueling what pro-life leaders call a "direct assault on the sovereignty of states." Live Events Pro-life advocates are now focusing on new priorities in response to these trends. Their big challenges, they say, include weakening Planned Parenthood, by targeting its funding streams. Restricting access to abortion pills remains a top objective, as does investing in supportive political candidates and ballot initiatives. Some pro-life lawmakers believe there is a strong chance of defunding Planned Parenthood through a broader reconciliation bill in Congress, which would block Medicaid funds for organizations performing abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or threats to the mother's life. Planned Parenthood, responding to these legislative moves, warned in a statement after the bill passed the Republican-led House in May that such provisions would cut off funding for a range of services beyond abortion, potentially forcing about 200 of its 600 locations to close. "If this bill passes, people will lose access to essential, often lifesaving care — cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing, and yes, abortion," the organization said. Meanwhile, other pro-choice groups are leveraging "shield laws" and ballot initiatives to protect and expand access, turning some states into abortion havens while others enforce near-total bans.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Key Biden agency dropped $60K on overseas conference with DEI workshop: 'Should never happen'
FIRST ON FOX: A government watchdog has uncovered that former President Joe Biden's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars sending top officials to a conference in Scotland that included diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) workshops. The Functional Government Initiative (FGI), via a FOIA request, discovered that the Biden FDA spent an estimated $60,000 on a dozen staffers, including Senior Advisor for Health Equity Dr. Charlene Le Fauve, to attend the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco's (SRNT's) conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, in March 2024. While at the conference, members of the team attended a workshop that focused on the "stigma" facing LGBTQ+ people in the field of tobacco research. Topics included in that workshop, according to the FDA's own report on the trip, included "how anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and discriminatory and stigmatizing environments toward LGBTQ+ populations impact tobacco use and tobacco control research" and "process to develop a community-based participatory research project to address smoking cessation among transgender individuals in Argentina." White House Highlights Over $2B In Savings From Dei Cuts During Trump Administration's First 100 Days Another topic discussed was "the challenges of conducting research on tobacco use in the high-stigma environment of pregnancy in a post-Dobbs era." Read On The Fox News App Le Fauve justified the trip, in part, by claiming "the knowledge gained at the meeting is critical to attendees' ability to understand emerging scientific issues that may impact their work and their ability to effectively move forward agency initiatives." "The formal SRNT conference included many sessions where health equity was an identified focus and I attended several which were highly relevant, well done, and informative including the Presidential Symposium that included three presenters supporting the premise that in order to have a global impact on the tobacco smoking pandemic, nicotine and tobacco research must broaden its vision beyond wealthy countries to include research and researchers in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), where the vast majority of the world's people who smoke live," Le Fauve added. 'New Sheriff In Town': State Finance Leader Rallies Around Key Trump Victory Saving 'Taxpayer Dollars' Also present on the trip was Center for Tobacco Products Director Brian King, who was recently relieved of his duty by the Trump administration in a move that a former agency official told Fox News Digital was a result of the FDA straying from its core mission under the Biden administration and focusing on issues like DEI. "There were many, many failures in the key core missions for the center that needed dramatic change in new leadership," David Oliveira, who recently left the FDA after six years, told Fox News Digital last month, explaining that the FDA was ceding responsibility to other departments and not doing enough to crackdown on China flooding the market with illicit vapes. FGI Communications Director Roderick Law told Fox News Digital in a statement that spending tens of thousands of dollars to send a dozen employees to a conference in Scotland is another example of the agency losing focus on its mission. "I, like anyone else in the world, would love to have a $60,000 vacation paid for by my employer," Law said. "Sadly, this dream became reality for 12 people on the taxpayer's back. How can a group of government officials spend $60,000 on an LGBTQ+ workshop? How is it possible that this trip helped the agency stop illegal Chinese-made products or process applications for new products that could provide for harm reduction? This kind of waste should never happen again." Fox News Digital reached out to the FDA for article source: Key Biden agency dropped $60K on overseas conference with DEI workshop: 'Should never happen'
Fox News
14-05-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Key Biden agency dropped $60K on overseas conference with DEI workshop: 'Should never happen'
FIRST ON FOX: A government watchdog has uncovered that former President Joe Biden's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars sending top officials to a conference in Scotland that included diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) workshops. The Functional Government Initiative (FGI), via a FOIA request, discovered that the Biden FDA spent an estimated $60,000 on a dozen staffers, including Senior Advisor for Health Equity Dr. Charlene Le Fauve, to attend the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco's (SRNT's) conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, in March 2024. While at the conference, members of the team attended a workshop that focused on the "stigma" facing LGBTQ+ people in the field of tobacco research. Topics included in that workshop, according to the FDA's own report on the trip, included "how anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and discriminatory and stigmatizing environments toward LGBTQ+ populations impact tobacco use and tobacco control research" and "process to develop a community-based participatory research project to address smoking cessation among transgender individuals in Argentina." Another topic discussed was "the challenges of conducting research on tobacco use in the high-stigma environment of pregnancy in a post-Dobbs era." Le Fauve justified the trip, in part, by claiming "the knowledge gained at the meeting is critical to attendees' ability to understand emerging scientific issues that may impact their work and their ability to effectively move forward agency initiatives." "The formal SRNT conference included many sessions where health equity was an identified focus and I attended several which were highly relevant, well done, and informative including the Presidential Symposium that included three presenters supporting the premise that in order to have a global impact on the tobacco smoking pandemic, nicotine and tobacco research must broaden its vision beyond wealthy countries to include research and researchers in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), where the vast majority of the world's people who smoke live," Le Fauve added. Also present on the trip was Center for Tobacco Products Director Brian King, who was recently relieved of his duty by the Trump administration in a move that a former agency official told Fox News Digital was a result of the FDA straying from its core mission under the Biden administration and focusing on issues like DEI. "There were many, many failures in the key core missions for the center that needed dramatic change in new leadership," David Oliveira, who recently left the FDA after six years, told Fox News Digital last month, explaining that the FDA was ceding responsibility to other departments and not doing enough to crackdown on China flooding the market with illicit vapes. FGI Communications Director Roderick Law told Fox News Digital in a statement that spending tens of thousands of dollars to send a dozen employees to a conference in Scotland is another example of the agency losing focus on its mission. "I, like anyone else in the world, would love to have a $60,000 vacation paid for by my employer," Law said. "Sadly, this dream became reality for 12 people on the taxpayer's back. How can a group of government officials spend $60,000 on an LGBTQ+ workshop? How is it possible that this trip helped the agency stop illegal Chinese-made products or process applications for new products that could provide for harm reduction? This kind of waste should never happen again." Fox News Digital reached out to the FDA for comment.
