Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FTC Sues Leading Transgender Care Group, Alleging 'Deceptive Claims'
Politico: FTC Sues Transgender Care Group, Arguing It Deceived Parents And Patients
The Federal Trade Commission is suing the leading transgender health care group in federal court. The agency argued on Wednesday that the World Professional Association for Transgender Health made “deceptive claims” in its health care guidelines for transgender children. The group’s members include psychiatrists, surgeons, pediatricians, endocrinologists and primary care doctors who work with transgender patients. The FTC, like the Health Department, has been on a monthslong legal tear to clamp down on providers and hospitals that offer gender-affirming care. Gender-affirming care refers to medical interventions for minors experiencing distress that their bodies do not align with their gender identity. (Levien, 6/17)
The New York Times: Federal Prisons Must Provide Hormones Sought By Trans Inmates
A federal judge ordered the Bureau of Prisons on Wednesday to continue providing hormone medications to transgender inmates, rejecting, at least for now, the Trump administration’s decision to no longer provide such medical treatment for prisoners. Judge Royce C. Lamberth, of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, issued a preliminary injunction, finding that doubts the government has raised about hormone therapy were unlikely to satisfy a legal requirement that federal agencies offer a reasoned explanation for reversing existing policies. (Harmon, 6/17)
In mental health news —
KFF Health News: Arrests Of Immigrant Parents Create Mental Health Crisis For Children
Damian Zermeño, 15, sensed something was wrong the moment he got home from school. His aunt sat at the dining table, sobbing. His father, who’d walked him to the bus stop that morning and promised to take him to dinner when he got back, wasn’t there. Saúl Zermeño, a 45-year-old single dad, had gone to a routine check-in appointment at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office that morning, a requirement he’d complied with for years. (Boyd-Barrett, 6/18)
The New York Times: Mental Health Can Complicate Family Planning
Deciding whether to have a child is one of the most consequential choices that someone will make. In many ways, it’s a leap of faith: Nobody can know ahead of time exactly what parenthood will look or feel like. Prospective parents often worry about problems like economic uncertainty, global crises or the difficulty of balancing parenting responsibilities with career. And for those with mental illness, there are additional considerations that can make the choice feel especially fraught. (Caron, 6/17)
AP: Mangione To Assert Psychiatric Defense At Insurance CEO Murder Trial
— Luigi Mangione plans to assert a psychiatric defense at his state murder trial, claiming he was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance when he gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a judge said Wednesday. It wouldn’t absolve him of the Dec. 4, 2024, killing, but could free him from prison sooner. If a jury accepts that defense, the panel would convict Mangione of manslaughter and he would face up to 25 years in prison. Alternatively, the jury could reject the extreme emotional disturbance defense and convict him of murder, which carries a potential life sentence. That defense isn’t available in his federal case. (Sisak, 6/17)
Tech's effects on health —
Bloomberg: Online Cyberbullying Group 764 Torments Teenage Girls As Blood Sport
Sam was 15 when a friend he’d met playing Call of Duty invited him to join a private Discord forum where girls his age were sharing nude selfies and teens were trading violent images better than any horror movie. To get in, Sam needed to prove he could find someone to carve his username on their body. His friend said he had a girl who could help. Once inside, Sam says, he discovered hundreds of girls, many of them being manipulated into posting graphic clips. (Murphy, 6/17)
NBC News: Why Smartphones Aren’t To Blame For The Falling Fertility Rate
Too many Americans are “under-babied,” Dr. Mehmet Oz has said. He and other Trump administration officials frame the falling fertility rate as a crisis, fueling debates about what’s causing the decline. One argument gaining traction recently is that smartphones have made people less social and therefore less likely to have sex. (Bendix, 6/18)
