Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Popular Reusable Period Products Found To Contain 'Forever Chemicals'
The Hill: Toxic PFAS Found In Reusable Menstrual Products
Many reusable menstrual products that have gained increasing popularity among teens are packed with toxic “forever chemicals,” a new study has found. Among the biggest repeat offenders are washable pads and underwear, according to the study, published on Tuesday in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. And as more consumers opt for multi-use products over their disposable counterparts, the study authors expressed cause for concern. (Udasin, 7/22)
On abortion and birth control —
Tennessee Lookout: Federal Judge Blocks Tennessee Law Making It Crime To Aid Minors Seeking Out-Of-State Abortions
A Tennessee law that bars adults from giving information to minors about legal, out-of-state abortions violates the First Amendment and cannot be enforced, a federal judge ruled Friday. Senior United States Circuit Judge Julia Gibbons called the 2024 law “impermissible viewpoint discrimination,” writing that it criminalizes only one side of the speech about abortion. But, the ultimate fate of the law remains unsettled. (Wadhwani, 7/22)
Courthouse News Service: Texas Man Sues California Doctor Over Medication Abortion
A Texas man filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against a California doctor, claiming the doctor mailed abortion medication to his girlfriend. In the lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Texas on Sunday, plaintiff Jerry Rodriguez seeks civil damages from a California doctor named Remy Coeytaux over what he says are violations of state and federal laws regarding the mailing of abortion medications. (Thompson, 7/22)
The 19th: The New Strategy To Restrict Abortion Nationwide — Without Saying 'Ban'
When President Donald Trump signed into law a massive spending bill that bans Planned Parenthood from receiving federal Medicaid funds for a year, the influential anti-abortion group SBA Pro-Life America called it “the greatest pro-life victory” since the end of Roe v. Wade. (Luthra, 7/22)
WBEZ and Open Campus: Student Group Banned By DePaul Continues To Run Birth Control Delivery Service
Maya Roman steps out of a building on DePaul University’s campus onto a public sidewalk. She pulls a brown paper bag out of a black tote and, without opening it, hands it to a classmate with bright red hair. “As long as the distribution happens on public property, it doesn’t violate DePaul’s guidelines,” Roman said on a spring day in the middle of finals week. (Philip, 7/22)
Also —
Los Angeles Times: Is Baby Getting Enough Breastmilk? New Device Helps Moms Learn
A group of university researchers at Northwestern — including a nursing mother — have come up with a way to ease one of the most anxiety-producing dilemmas of early breastfeeding: How much milk is the baby consuming? The new device — the result of a collaboration between pediatricians and engineers — is a small wireless set of electrodes worn on the mother’s breast that measures the amount of milk expressed during a feeding. (Gold, 7/22)
The New York Times: Sarah Morlok Cotton, Quadruplet Who Knew Fame And Suffering, Dies At 95
Sarah Morlok Cotton, the last surviving member of a set of identical quadruplets who charmed Depression-era America with song-and-dance performances, and then took part in a landmark psychological study after being diagnosed with schizophrenia, died on July 7 in Belleville, Mich. She was 95. The Morlok Quads, as they came to be known, were a medical marvel and attracted crowds of people to Edward W. Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Mich., shortly after they were born there on May 19, 1930. (Rosenwal, 7/22)
