Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Murky Ethics In Texas' Use Of Unclaimed Cadavers; Why Don't Pro-Lifers Advocate Birth Control?
Dallas Morning News: In Texas, The Cadavers Of The Poor Are Used To Advance Medical Science, Without Their Consent
Every spring in Fort Worth, the University of North Texas Health Science Center holds a Legacy of Life Ceremony honoring those who have donated their bodies to medical education and research. Faculty, staff and students gather to meet the families of the deceased and express their appreciation for their loved ones’ help in training the next generation of doctors. In a former age, American anatomy classrooms often procured bodies for their students through less than savory means, even resorting to outright grave-robbing when supply fell short of demand. (Eli Shupe, 12/14)
The New York Times: The Anti-Abortion Movement Could Reduce Abortions If It Wanted To
Often an abortion happens because a woman is pregnant when she didn’t intend to be. It is true that some women terminate wanted but doomed pregnancies and others face serious health complications. But if abortion opponents are serious about decreasing the need for abortion instead of simply punishing women and doctors, they should be rallying around contraception access. Instead, they’re largely standing in the way. As of 2019, researchers found that 45 percent of all pregnancies in the United States were unintended and roughly 40 percent of unintended pregnancies were terminated. This makes for very simple math: Decrease unintended pregnancies and you decrease abortions. (Jill Filipovic, 12/14)
Stat: FDA's Outdated Birth Control Guide Blocks Access To Contraception
Every day, women in the United States are routinely denied access to the latest birth control methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The reason for this may seem unfathomable in a nation so deeply reliant on instant access to the latest information: Health insurers deny covering new contraceptive methods because a single page on the FDA’s website — its Birth Control Guide — fails to include the new and innovative products the agency has spent time and energy reviewing and approving. (Kathleen "Cook" Uhl, 12/14)
The Baltimore Sun: Treatment Before Tragedy; Reform Maryland Involuntary Commitment Law
Involuntary psychiatric hospital treatment can help prevent homelessness and incarceration and is a potential lifesaver for those in the midst of a psychiatric crisis and people around them — people like Sara Alacote, Ismael Quintanilla and Sagar Ghimire, who were killed in Baltimore County in May by a neighbor with severe, untreated paranoid delusions. It is a safety net for those whose mental illness makes them unable to recognize their need for hospital treatment and can lead to successful community living. (Evelyn Burton, 12/13)
NBC News: The Health Of Asian Americans Depends On Not Grouping Communities Under The Catch-All Term
What do a Hmong service member, an Indian student and a Korean Midwesterner all have in common? From a public health perspective, they are all the same: Asian American. Health data have historically lumped all Asian American people together, obscuring distinct health disparities and leaving vulnerable communities neglected by researchers and policymakers. Asian American communities are essentially averaged-out into invisibility: Good health for some masks poor health for others. (Douglas Yeung and Lu Dong, 12/13)
The Washington Post: Trump Had A Scheme To Privatize Medicare. The Biden Administration Isn’t Stopping It.
Donald Trump claimed to be a staunch supporter of Medicare. Yet he repeatedly attempted to slash the program’s budget while promoting an increased role in Medicare for insurers and other private businesses. But President Biden isn’t turning out to be the champion of Medicare activists had hoped. (Helaine Olen, 12/13)
