Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Kacsmaryk's Ruling Feels Like He Is Sure Of Supreme Court Win
Los Angeles Times: Will The Texas Judge’s Abortion Overreach Be Matched By The Supreme Court?
The Kacsmaryk ruling is a reminder that far-right federal judges are increasingly unconstrained, with little fear of being reversed by the Supreme Court and no sense of accountability. If the decision reads more like an antiabortion pamphlet than a legal ruling, it also sends a clear message: The judge and others like him believe that there is nothing anyone will do about it. (Mary Ziegler, 4/10)
The Washington Post: Judge Kacsmaryk Relied On Ideology, Not Law, To Block Abortion Drug
Two opposing rulings by federal judges late last week have set the country up for a possible Supreme Court showdown over the abortion pill mifepristone. But first things first: Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk’s effective injunction invalidating the medication’s approval nationwide needs to be put on pause. (4/10)
The Boston Globe: How To Retain Access To Abortion Pills, Thanks To The Right Wing
The most obvious way to protect access to pharmaceutical abortion may be something many conservatives especially love and promote — off-label prescribing. Off-label use refers to the practice of physicians prescribing an FDA-approved drug for an unapproved indication. For example, off-label prescribing is frequently used for pediatric patients, since many drugs approved for adults are not tested in, and thus are not approved specifically for, children. Physicians in the United States are free to prescribe whatever approved medicines they believe to serve the best interests of their patients. Since mifepristone and its companion drug misoprostol have been approved, they can be prescribed for other reasons. (Lisa Kearns and Arthur L. Caplan, 4/11)
Also —
The Atlantic: My Childhood Best Friend And America’s Failure To Help The Mentally Ill
Thousands of people with severe mental illness have been failed by a dysfunctional system. My friend Michael was one of them. Twenty-five years ago, he killed the person he loved most. (Jonathan Rosen, 4/11)
USA Today: Black Patients Are More Likely To Die Of Heart Failure. Why?
Heart failure stubbornly remains a leading cause of death in this country. Moreover, our own failures to do something about it are disproportionately impacting the Black community. (Dr. Alanna Morris and Robert Blum, 4/10)
The Washington Post: Why Decriminalizing Drugs Is A Bad Idea
If addiction is a disease, then why don’t we treat it like one, instead of prosecuting it like a crime? (Michael W. Clune, 4/10)
USA Today: How UW Scientists Tried To Avoid Reporting A Virus Research Accident
Inside the high-security Influenza Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, two experienced scientists were pulling ferrets out of their HEPA-filtered cages on a Monday in December 2019. Another researcher, still in training, was also in the room to watch and learn. (Alison Young, 4/11)
Stat: The U.S. Needs Stronger Extreme-Heat Warning Systems
I’ve spent a decade studying the health impacts of extreme heat. In the communities I’ve studied, people don’t care to debate the origins of climate change or whether it’s even real. They care about how many times they have to choose between buying food or medicine and running their air conditioner. They think about paying their water bill or their power bill, because they can’t afford both. (Ashley Ward, 4/11)
