Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Abortion Restriction Will Increase Maternal Mortality; Breast Milk Alternatives Are Not New
Scientific American: Pregnancy Is Far More Dangerous Than Abortion
In my medical practice, where I treat people with high-risk pregnancies, I recently treated a young woman with pulmonary hypertension. Unfortunately, this diagnosis was made late into her second trimester, well after most states allow pregnancy termination. We had to have the difficult conversation that, despite all modern medical advances, as many as one in three women with this condition will die during pregnancy. Based on that information, who should decide what level of pregnancy risk is acceptable for her? Should she? Should her government? Her case illustrates some of what’s at stake, should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. (Adebayo Adesomo, 5/30)
Bloomberg: Baby Formula Crisis: The History Of Hunting For Breast-Milk Substitutes
At first glance, the acute shortage of baby formula seems like an advertisement for breast-feeding. If only women did what came naturally, the thinking might go, maybe there wouldn’t be a problem at all. This argument would draw on evidence that multinational corporations like Nestle did much to persuade women to give up breast-feeding in favor of formula. Their 20th-century marketing campaigns ended in consumer boycotts and public disgrace for the formula makers and contributed to the deaths of infants. (Stephen Mihm, 5/29)
The Atlantic: Locking People Up Is No Way To Treat Mental Illness
Mental illness has touched nearly every family in America in one way or another. Recent reports suggest that the coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated this situation, particularly for young people and children, as well as for health-care workers. Despite the ubiquity of mental illness, our ability to help those who have behavioral disorders recoup lives interrupted by them is deeply inadequate. (Norm Ornstein, 5/30)
USA Today: Mental Health Clinics, Addiction Treatment Centers Aid Police Officers
President John F. Kennedy signed a revolutionary piece of legislation into law on Oct. 31, 1963. No longer would Americans with behavioral health issues be warehoused in asylums. Instead, the Community Mental Health Act would fund clinics so that people with mental health issues and addiction could receive help right in their own communities. Less than a month later, Kennedy was tragically assassinated in Dallas. And, sadly, his goal never came to pass. But thanks to our bipartisan work in the Senate, we're getting closer and closer to finally seeing Kennedy’s vision of comprehensive, community-based care become reality. (Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Roy Blunt, 5/28)
Chicago Tribune: I See Distressed Children Come Into My ER. I Wonder About Their Paths — And My Son’s
On the afternoon that the world found out about the brutal slayings of 19 elementary schoolchildren in Texas, I was trying to sleep. I work nights as a physician in a children’s emergency department, and I had a shift later that evening. When I awoke and checked my phone before starting the bedtime routine for my two young children, I saw the news. Fifteen dead. Later, that number ballooned to 19 children plus two beloved teachers. The weight of it was sickening, and I knew that soon, 19 little faces would begin to show up on my social media feeds, faces that would be reflected back to me in the kids I would see that night in the emergency department. I couldn’t bring myself to read more, and so I turned off my phone and turned up the music as I drove into work that night. (Sabreen Akhter, 5/30)
USA Today: Daniel Prude Death Shows Police Act Like Mental Illness Is A Crime
Two years ago, just months after George Floyd was murdered, body cam footage of Daniel Prude's gruesome death came to light and furthered demands for racial justice. He had been experiencing a mental health crisis and had gone missing in the middle of the night when his brother, Joe Prude, called 911 desperately seeking help. As a Black man, he had concerns about calling the police but didn't know where else to turn. (Mary Crowley and Christina Sparrock, 5/30)
Stat: Factoring In Patients' Experiences Is Essential To Eliminate Health Disparities
Three years ago, when cancer turned my life upside down, I never imagined I’d have to fight to receive high-quality care at one of the country’s best hospitals. But I did. From being butchered during a biopsy and then later receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer by email, my health care experience was a nightmare from start to finish. It led me, a Black person with broad multidisciplinary expertise in research and innovation, to pivot my career to improve cancer care for underserved patients by bringing their voices into research and design. (Sylvie Leotin, 5/31)
