Viewpoints: Congenital Syphilis Cases Rise; Texas Anti-Abortion Policies Harmful To Public Health

Stat: Congenital Syphilis Is Back. Newborn Babies Are Its Tragic Victims 
Some diseases fade away. Others seem to do that, but then come roaring back. That’s what has happened with syphilis, especially congenital syphilis, a sexually transmitted infection passed from mother to child. When I became a public health physician in 2007, congenital syphilis was something I had read about but never seen. Today, consulting on cases of it has become routine; my colleagues and I at the California Prevention Training Center received more than 100 requests for consultations about congenital syphilis in 2019 and 2020. (Ina Park, 5/20)

Houston Chronicle: Anti-Abortion Policies Waste Resources, Hurt Texans' Health
Opponents of abortion are trying to pass increasingly extreme measures to prevent Texans from accessing abortion care, seemingly emboldened by a more conservative Supreme Court. Just recently, Lubbock joined dozens of other cities in Texas that have passed local ordinances banning abortion and declaring their city to be a “sanctuary for the unborn. ”Texas Gov. Greg Abbott just signed into law Senate Bill 8 — one of dozens of anti-abortion bills filed this session. This particular bill enacts a six-week ban on abortion, before many people know they are pregnant, and is widely opposed by physicians. Both Lubbock’s ordinance and SB8 also allow almost anyone to sue someone who performs an abortion or who “aids and abets” an abortion by driving someone to an appointment or helping cover costs. (Kari White and Shetal Vohra-Gupta, 5/20)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly Needs A Permanent Eviction Diversion Program To Keep Kids Healthy 
Eviction is a crisis in Philadelphia, but not everyone knows about the devastating impact it has on children. Studies have shown that evictions can have negative psychological, medical, and social consequences. Mothers who are evicted are more likely to report depression, parenting stress, and a child in poor health. The trauma associated with forced moves and residential instability can result in children having lower school achievement, greater health risks, increased adolescent violence, and increased rates of depression. Additionally, housing loss increases the probability of experiencing job loss, compounding the household’s hardship. Evictions also mean school instability, harming a child’s ability to concentrate in school, or making parents more vulnerable to involvement in the child welfare system. (Tyra Bryant-Stephens and Alonzo South, 5/19)

Dallas Morning News: Don’t Look Now, But A Bipartisan Health-Care Package Is Moving In Austin
The Texas Legislature, despite its proclivity to consider at least one issue each session that draws an international ruckus, is managing to move forward on some significant health care reforms even while avoiding the debate over expanding Medicaid. Instead, House Speaker Dade Phelan has deftly guided the House toward a bipartisan slate of bills that, collectively, would make health care better in Texas. These bills are not going to solve our health care cost and delivery problems. Texas still has too many uninsured residents, health care is still unaffordable even for many people who have insurance, and people in rural Texas will still struggle to get to their doctors. (5/20)

Stat: Restore A Better Balance To Biomedical Research Funding 
The pharmaceutical industry says that if the U.S. reduces the astronomical drug prices paid by U.S. consumers, lifesaving innovation will be devastated. That’s not true. There are ways for the U.S. to reduce drug prices while maintaining and perhaps even accelerating its innovation engine. (David Blumenthal, 5/20)