First Anal Sex-Safe Condom Approval By FDA

The New York Times: F.D.A. Grants The First Condom Approval For Anal Sex
For the first time, U.S. regulators have officially authorized a condom to be used for anal sex, not just vaginal sex. The decision, announced by the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, has long been sought by sexual health experts, who said it could encourage more people who engage in anal sex to use condoms to protect themselves against H.I.V. and other sexually transmitted infections. The risk of sexually transmitted diseases is “significantly higher” during anal sex than vaginal sex, an F.D.A. official said Wednesday. But until now, there has not been enough data to show that condoms are safe and effective during anal sex. (Belluck, 2/23)

On pregnancy news —

Axios: CDC Says Maternal Mortality Disparities Have Worsened
The maternal mortality rate in the U.S. for 2020 was 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births, up from a rate of 20.1 in 2019, newly released CDC data shows. The U.S. still has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world and previous research has largely attributed that to an outsized prevalence among Black mothers. The maternal mortality rate for Black women was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, nearly three times the rate for white women (19.1 per 100,000). That's also a significant increase over 2019, when Black mothers had a mortality rate of 44 deaths per 100,000 live births. (Reed, 2/23)

KHN: Why Pregnant People Were Left Behind While Vaccines Moved At ‘Warp Speed’ To Help The Masses
Kia Slade was seven months pregnant, unvaccinated, and fighting for breath, her oxygen levels plummeting, when her son came into the world last May. A severe case of covid pneumonia had left Slade delirious. When the intensive care team tried to place an oxygen mask on her face, she snatched it away, she recalled. Her baby’s heart rate began to drop. Slade’s doctor performed an emergency cesarean section at her bedside in the intensive care unit, delivering baby Tristan 10 weeks early. He weighed just 2 pounds, 14 ounces, about half the size of small full-term baby. (Szabo, 2/24)

Abortion matters in the news —

AP: Alabama Committee Advances Ban On Abortion Pill
An Alabama legislative committee on Wednesday advanced legislation seeking to outlaw the use of abortion pills to end unwanted pregnancies. The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill that would make it a felony to prescribe or dispense the medications, such as RU-486, to induce an abortion. The bill now moves to the full House of Representatives. Abortion pills are an increasingly common method of terminating early pregnancies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 42.3% of all abortions in 2019 were done by using medications. (2/24)

Health News Florida: A UNF Poll Finds That 57% Of Florida Voters Oppose Legislature's Push To Restrict Abortion 
A majority of Florida voters disagree with the Legislature's push to restrict abortion, according to a new poll from the University of North Florida. The Florida House passed a bill last week to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. But 57% of voters polled by the Public Opinion Research Lab at UNF oppose the bill either strongly or somewhat. Opposition was slightly higher when respondents were told that the bill does not include exceptions for rape or incest. (Roguski, 2/23)

AP: Missouri Senate Tries Again To 'Defund' Planned Parenthood
The GOP-led Missouri Senate on Wednesday passed a stopgap budget that attempts to strip funding for Planned Parenthood while paying for Medicaid health care for newly eligible patients and pumping billions of dollars in federal funding to schools. Senators voted 25-7 to pass the legislation, which budgets extra funding for state services through the end of the state fiscal year in June. Because senators amended the plan, it needs another vote of approval in the House before it can go to Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s desk. (Ballentine, 2/24)

Transgender issues in the news —

Politico: Abbott Orders Texas Probe Of Medical Procedures For Transgender Children
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott this week ordered the state’s youth protection agency to investigate the use of gender-transition procedures on children, in a directive that included calls to launch inquiries into parents and medical providers who allegedly violate the law. Such procedures, the state’s conservative attorney general declared earlier this month, amount to child abuse under Texas law. “Because the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is responsible for protecting children from abuse, I hereby direct your agency to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of any reported instances of these abusive procedures in the State of Texas,” Abbott wrote in a Feb. 22 memo to agency Commissioner Jaime Masters. (Perez Jr., 2/23)

AP: Alabama Bill Seeks To Ban Hormone Treatments For Trans Youth
The Alabama Senate on Wednesday approved legislation that would prohibit transgender minors from being given puberty-blockers, hormones or surgeries to affirm their gender identity — treatments that the legislative sponsor equated to child abuse. Senators voted 24-6 for the legislation that now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives. The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Shay Shelnutt of Trussville, would make it a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a doctor to prescribe puberty-blockers or hormones or perform surgery to aid in the gender transition of people 18 years old or younger. (Chandler, 2/24)

Also —

AP: San Francisco Police Stop Using Rape Victims' DNA To Investigate Other Crimes
The San Francisco Police Department is no longer using DNA from sexual assault survivors and other victims to investigate unrelated crimes, officials said Wednesday. The department’s crime lab stopped the practice shortly after receiving a complaint from the district attorney’s office and formally changed its operating procedure Friday, said Matt Dorsey, spokesman for San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott. (2/23)