Perspectives: US Needs To Seriously Prepare For Genome Editing; Activist Health Agenda From Older People Needed Again

Stat: Heavy Lifting Ahead If The U.S. Is To Do Heritable Genome Editing 
Countries contemplating giving the green light to heritable genome editing received specific guidance from an international commission this week on how to prepare for a future in which the technology is safe and effective enough to use in human reproduction. The commission was created in response to the news almost two years ago that a scientist in China had edited the genomes of two babies when they were single-cell embryos. (It subsequently emerged that a third baby with an edited genome had been born.) (Josephine Johnston, 9/4)

The New York Times: The Forgotten History Of The Radical ‘Elders Of The Tribe’ 
So why have she (Maggie Kuhn) and the Panthers been mostly forgotten? In part, it’s because Kuhn was such a charismatic leader that once she died, the organization began to drift. In the decades since, there’s been a shift away from activism on the part of older people and toward more institutionalized forms of political power; these, in turn, have certainly seen some success. Starting in the 1980s, the American Association of Retired Persons expanded and built up its lobbying activities. Now called simply AARP, it focuses almost exclusively on issues affecting older people, like ageism and preserving their safety net. Its magazine combats stereotypes but emphasizes self-actualization, not activism, a safer and often more comfortable message. It does not seek to unite old and young in the name of broader social justice efforts. Today we’re seeing the limitations of that narrower agenda. (Susan J. Douglas, 9/8)

The Hill: New Dietary Guidelines On Alcohol Consumption Undercut Sound Science 
If you’re a man thinking about ordering that second beer or glass of wine with your pizza, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) recommends you reconsider. This group of nanny-state bureaucrats has suddenly decreed that the definition of what constitutes “moderate” alcohol consumption for both men and women should top out at one drink per day, a rather extreme conclusion. (Gerard Scimeca, 9/7)

Stat: Health Care Conferences Should Embrace Patients As Collaborators 
Health care conferences like the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference are as much professional events and critical evaluators of progress as they are times to connect with old friends and make new ones. Almost universally, they are missing one thing: patients. Health care conferences without patients are like birthday parties without the birthday girl or graduation parties without the graduates. (Gunnar Esiason and Emma D'Agostino, 9/8)

Modern Healthcare: Give Providers A Break And Pause Federal Info-Blocking Deadlines
Healthcare IT teams raced to provide telehealth, remote care, predictive analytics and other tools to help monitor patients and manage what remains a public health emergency in the U.S. The pandemic continues to place demands on healthcare organizations that innovative IT teams are trying to meet.The last thing IT leaders need right now is another disruption, but that is what they face with a looming federal policy deadline. (Andrew Tomlinson, 9/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Bill Would Enhance The Role Of Nurse-Midwives
Despite population increases, the arrival of new obstetrician-gynecologists has remained flat since 1980, worsening “maternity deserts” and health provider shortage areas. Now, at least nine counties have no OB/GYN doctors at all and 19 other counties have five or fewer. A critical shortfall of obstetrical care is projected in less than five years.Fortunately, our state’s cadre of well-trained midwives is ready to step up. A bill I co-wrote with my Los Angeles colleagues, Sen. Holly Mitchell and Assemblymember Autumn Burke, would allow midwives to practice with more independence, freeing them to attend routine cases now requiring the supervision of a sometimes-elusive doctor. (Bill Dodd, 9/4)