Category: Law
Federal Judge Deems Trump Administration’s Termination of NIH Grants Illegal
In Monday’s ruling, the judge determined that the directives that led to the grant terminations were “arbitrary and capricious” and said they had “no force and effect.” The judge’s ruling ordered the funding of the grants to be restored. It only covers grants that have been identified by the plaintiffs in the cases.
Guns kill more US children than other causes, but state policies can help, study finds
More American children and teens die from firearms than any other cause, but there are more deaths — and wider racial disparities — in states with more permissive gun policies, according to a new study.
23andMe users’ genetic data is at risk, state AGs warn
The fate of more than 15 million customers’ genetic data remains in limbo after popular DNA testing company 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March.
The data is up for sale, stoking fears about how it might be used and prompting attorneys general from more than a dozen states to warn 23andMe users: Delete your data.
GOP lawmakers push to charge women with homicide for seeking abortions
‘Fetal personhood’ bills would grant fetuses, embryos the same rights as newborns.
Abortion Emerges as Most Important Election Issue for Young Women, Poll Finds
Nearly 4 in 10 women under 30 surveyed in September and early October told pollsters that abortion is the most important issue to their vote. Just 20% named abortion as their top issue when KFF conducted a similar survey in late May and early June.
200+ women faced criminal charges over pregnancy in year after Dobbs, report finds
In the year after the U.S. Supreme Court dismantled the federal right to abortion in June 2022, 210 pregnant women in a dozen states were criminally charged for conduct associated with their pregnancy, pregnancy loss or birth. Six states — Alabama, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi and Texas — accounted for most cases.
Will abortion swing the first post-Roe presidential election?
Throughout this election cycle, polls in the swing states have shown bipartisan support for abortion rights, especially when voters are educated about what abortion bans do. Voters in more than half of the states expected to determine the presidential winner have, to varying degrees, lost access to abortion. And abortion-rights activists across these states told States Newsroom they are determined to protect that access, or to get it back.
Since Fall of ‘Roe,’ Self-Managed Abortions Have Increased
Women who self-managed abortion attempts reported using a range of methods, including using drugs or alcohol, lifting heavy objects, and taking a hot bath. In addition, about 22% reported hitting themselves in the stomach. Nearly 4% reported inserting an object in their body.
Conservatives push to declare fetuses as people, with far-reaching consequences
Fetal personhood, a longtime cornerstone of the anti-abortion movement, is the idea that a fetus, embryo or fertilized egg has the same legal rights as a person who has been born. If the law considers fetuses to be people, the thinking goes, then abortion would legally be considered murder.
Data privacy after Dobbs: Is period tracking safe?
Information logged into these apps, or tracked via wearable devices like a Fitbit or an Oura Ring, have the potential to be used in prosecuting those who seek abortions in states which criminalize it.
Arizona’s now-repealed abortion ban serves as a cautionary tale for reproductive health care across the US
Medical students are less inclined to enter the specialty and more likely to avoid training positions, employment or both in states with restrictive or near-total bans. These states also have difficulty retaining existing OB-GYNs.
Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Aimed to Make Cops a Gateway to Rehab, Not Jail. State Leaders Failed to Make It Work.
Ballot Measure 110, approved by voters in 2020, created a new role for law enforcement in Oregon. While there’s evidence people living with addiction in the state are increasingly finding their way into treatment, the failure to turn police encounters into successful on-ramps to rehab has been cited by critics as prime evidence the measure isn’t working. Oregon lawmakers, noting an ongoing rise in overdose deaths, are now looking to restore jail time for drug possession.
But Oregon’s political leaders themselves played central roles in failing to deliver on the potential for law enforcement to connect people with lifesaving services under the new measure, documents and interviews with a wide array of people involved in the system indicate.
Act expands access to opioid use disorder treatment
Previously, providers were required to complete training and apply for a waiver from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to prescribe buprenorphine. Now, those with a current DEA registration that includes Schedule III authority can prescribe it.
Doctors Emerge as Political Force in Battle Over Abortion Laws in Ohio and Elsewhere
Doctors who previously never mixed work with politics are jumping into the abortion debate by lobbying state lawmakers, campaigning, forming political action committees and trying to get reproductive rights protected by state law.
States stiffen penalties for fentanyl, despite public health concerns
Critics argue that harsh penalties could deter those in need of help and worsen societal disparities.