Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Reasons For Abortion Supporters To Look On The Bright Side; Insanity Of Focusing On Amyloid In Alzheimer's Disease Finally Ends
The Washington Post: Supporters Of Abortion Rights Should Be Energized, Not Demoralized
For supporters of abortion rights, these are anxious times. President Trump has filled the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, with judges thought to be hostile to legal abortion. And this year, state legislatures have passed a seemingly endless stream of anti-abortion laws. Yet abortion rights supporters shouldn’t feel defeated. In fact, even in the age of Trump, there are many reasons for celebration, as the abortion rights movement is working just as hard — and succeeding at times — to increase abortion access and protect reproductive rights. These promising developments should galvanize supporters and offer important lessons about how to preserve and even expand access to abortion. (David S. Cohen and Carole Joffe, 4/29)
The New York Times: Trump’s Anti-Abortion Incitement
As his (Trump's) raucous crowd booed and screamed, Trump described a hideous scenario that he insists Democrats approve of. “The baby is born,” said Trump. “The mother meets with the doctor, they take care of the baby, they wrap the baby beautifully” — at this, he seemed to mime rocking an infant — “and then the doctor and the mother determine whether or not they will execute the baby.” He made a chopping motion with his hand. (Michelle Goldberg, 4/29)
The Washington Post: Trump’s Slander Doesn’t Enlighten The Abortion Debate. It Obscures It.
For a conservative idea, few things are more dangerous and discrediting than the full-on, smothering embrace of President Trump. When he forces himself upon an issue — grabbing it, as it were, by the policy prescription — his approach is familiar. He seizes on a half-heard contention, simplifies it beyond recognition and delivers it with the subtlety and precision of a shotgun blast. This method is one thing when the topic is building a wall; it is another when accusing opponents of endorsing infanticide. (Gerson, 4/29)
Kansas City Star: Kansas Supreme Court Is Right In Landmark Abortion Ruling
The Kansas Supreme Court got it right.In a landmark case — one judge called it “the most significant and far-reaching decision this court has ever made” — a clear majority said Friday that the Kansas Constitution fundamentally protects the right to an abortion.“ This right allows a woman to make her own decisions regarding her body, health, family formation and family life — decisions that can include whether to continue a pregnancy,” the majority said. (4/28)
Stat: It's Time To Take A New Tack For Treating Alzheimer's
If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results, then the last decade or so of Alzheimer’s disease drug development has been insane. Three carefully designed, well-executed, and fully resourced trials targeting amyloid protein in the brain as the cause of Alzheimer’s disease have failed. It’s long past time to take a new approach to this mind-robbing disease. (Raymond J. Tesi, 4/30)
The Hill: Trump Now Agrees On Importance Of Vaccinations
President Trump, who has in the past expressed concerns about the possible negative effects of too many childhood vaccines being given over a short period of time, has now reversed course and praised vaccines as important. "They have to get the shots," Trump said Friday as he was departing the White House for a trip to Indiana. "The vaccinations are so important. This is really going around now. They have to get their shots." (Marc Siegel, 4/29)
The New York Times: The Best Thing Experienced Parents Can Do For New Parents
You forget that they have no neck muscles, that they can’t see beyond a couple of feet, that someone who is now the size of a summer squash may one day pivot and stuff a basketball over your head. You’ve already forgotten the sleepless nights that you had, the marital strife, your uneasy acquaintance with baby poop. You wanted grandkids. Now you’ve got identical twins — boys, born small and early and needy, but healthy enough when they’re finally released from the preemie ward that you start asking the questions you should have asked earlier. (Timothy Egan, 4/26)
Boston Globe: House Lawmakers Gut Effort To Control Drug Costs
House lawmakers succeeded in gutting what would have been Massachusetts’ first serious attempt to control prescription drug prices, which if successful would save the state tens of millions of Medicaid dollars. The state Senate, which will take up the budget rider this spring, simply must do better. (4/26)
