Sarah Varney

Sarah Varney was a senior correspondent for KFF Health News until August 2023.

@SarahVarney4

The US Remains a Grim Leader in Preterm Births. Why? And Can We Fix It?

KFF Health News Original

American women are more likely to deliver their babies prematurely than women in most developed countries. It’s a distinction that coincides with high rates of maternal and infant death, billions of dollars in costs, and even lifelong disabilities for the children who survive.

Adolescentes en Texas podían obtener control de la natalidad en clínicas federales, hasta que un padre cristiano lo objetó

KFF Health News Original

Una sorprendente decisión judicial emitida en diciembre, un juez federal dictaminó que estas clínicas violan la ley estatal de Texas y los derechos constitucionales federales, cortando de raíz una fuente vital de atención médica para mujeres jóvenes en el estado.

One Texas Judge Will Decide Fate of Abortion Pill Used by Millions of American Women

KFF Health News Original

“What happens in Texas doesn’t stay in Texas,” warns an abortion rights advocate bracing for a district judge’s ruling on whether the abortion pill mifepristone was properly authorized by the FDA. His decision could force the medication off the U.S. market.

Post-‘Roe,’ Contraceptive Failures Carry Bigger Stakes

KFF Health News Original

Science Friday and KHN ran the numbers on birth control failure. Depending on the contraception method, typical-use error rates can add up to hundreds of thousands of unplanned pregnancies each year.

Listen: Why Childbirth Is So Dangerous for Many Young Teens

KFF Health News Original

KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney talks with NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” about how the abortion bans proliferating in many U.S. states will affect teenage birth rates and the physical risks that trend poses for girls.

Abortion Bans Skirt a Medical Reality: For Many Teens, Childbirth Is a Dangerous Undertaking

KFF Health News Original

The laws criminalizing abortion in many conservative U.S. states are expected to boost birth rates among teens, whose bodies often aren’t built for safe childbirth. For adolescents, the emotional and physical challenges of carrying a pregnancy to term can be daunting.

‘Science Friday’ and KHN: Examining Medicine’s Definition of Death Informs the Abortion Debate

KFF Health News Original

Why is it so hard to agree when life begins? As state abortion laws define it, science, politics, and religion are clashing. KHN’s Sarah Varney shared her reporting with the “Science Friday” radio program.

When Does Life Begin? As State Laws Define It, Science, Politics, and Religion Clash

KFF Health News Original

For decades, the U.S. medical establishment has adhered to a legally recognized standard for brain death, one embraced by most states. Why is a uniform clinical standard for the inception of human life proving so elusive?

Misinformation Clouds America’s Most Popular Emergency Contraception

KFF Health News Original

At a moment when half of U.S. states stand poised to outlaw or sharply curtail abortion services, the nation’s most popular emergency contraception brand rests in the unlikely stewardship of two private equity firms.

What’s Next if ‘Roe v. Wade’ Falls? More Than Half of States Expected to Ban or Restrict Abortion

KFF Health News Original

If the Supreme Court affirms the leaked draft decision and overturns abortion rights, the effects would be sweeping in states where Republican-led legislatures have been eagerly awaiting the repudiation of a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy.

As States Impose Abortion Bans, Young Doctors Struggle — And Travel Far — To Learn the Procedure

KFF Health News Original

The number of medical schools and residency programs where aspiring physicians can learn to perform abortion procedures continues to shrink, a byproduct of the anti-abortion legislation being enacted in multiple states.

Which Companies Aren’t Exiting Russia? Big Pharma

KFF Health News Original

U.S. and global drug manufacturers invested in Russia’s sizable pharmaceutical industry contend international humanitarian law requires they continue manufacturing and selling their products there, even while condemning the Ukraine invasion. Not everyone agrees.

HIV Preventive Care Is Supposed to Be Free in the US. So, Why Are Some Patients Still Paying?

KFF Health News Original

The Department of Labor issued rules in July clarifying that health plans need to cover the costs of prescription drugs proven to prevent HIV infection, along with related lab tests and medical appointments, at no cost to patients. More than half a year later, the erroneous billing continues.