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WATCH: Sickle cell gene therapy gets review from FDA advisory committee
By Laura Ungar On October 31, 2023 The only cure for painful sickle cell disease today is a bone marrow transplant. But soon there may be a new cure that attacks the disorder at its genetic source. On Tuesday, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will review a gene therapy for the inherited blood disorder, which…
Report points to rise in health care inequities in abortion-restricted states
By C.J. Keene On October 24, 2023 It’s been over a year since the Dobbs V. Jackson Supreme Court case overturned nationwide abortion protections. A new report suggests abortion bans like the one implemented in South Dakota are contributing to inequities in the health care system. The Washington Post reports maternal mortality rates in abortion-restricted…
U.S. Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Make it Easier for the Indian Health Service to Recruit and Retain Doctors
By Elyse Wild On October 25, 2023 Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) have introduced bipartisan legislation to bolster chronic staffing issues at the Indian Health Services (IHS). The legislation, called the IHS Workforce Parity Act of 2023, amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to allow Indian Health Service scholarship and…
Maybe Stealing Women’s Rights Wasn’t the Best Election Plan
Abortion initiatives have gone seven for seven at the ballot box since the Supreme Court killed Roe. Democrats are pressing the advantage By Tessa Stuart On November 8, 2023 It’s abortion, stupid. Across the country on Tuesday night, the fight to retain or regain reproductive rights remained the defining issue driving voters to the polls. In deep…
How Ohio’s Special Election Results Will Both Protect Abortion and Affect Maternal Mortality in the State
Ohio’s Issue 1 ballot initiative to codify the legal status of abortion in the state constitution affects both abortion access and maternal mortality rates. By Sabrina Talukder On November 8, 2023 On November 7, 2023, approximately 56.6 percent of voters in Ohio approved Issue 1, a ballot initiative for a constitutional amendment that codifies the legal status of abortion in…
Ohio voters enshrine abortion access in constitution in latest statewide win for reproductive rights
By Julie Carr Smyth On November 7, 2023 COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment on Tuesday that ensures access to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care, the latest victory for abortion rights supporters since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Ohio became the seventh state where voters…
Federal judge rules Galveston County commissioner maps violate Voting Rights Act
Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, a Trump appointee, found the county districts denied Black and Latino voters “the equal opportunity to participate in the political process.” By Caroline Wilburn On October 13, 2023 A U.S. District Judge ruled Friday that Galveston County violated the federal Voting Rights Act in 2021 when it drew new districts for…
Judge says Georgia’s congressional and legislative districts are discriminatory and must be redrawn
By Jeff Amy and Kate Brumback On October 26, 2023 ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge ruled Thursday that some of Georgia’s congressional, state Senate and state House districts were drawn in a racially discriminatory manner, ordering the state to draw an additional Black-majority congressional district. U.S. District Judge Steve Jones, in a 516-page order, also…
Supreme Court Declines to Review 5th Circuit’s Dismissal of Lawsuit Challenging Texas Voter Suppression Law
By Rachel Selzer On October 2, 2023 WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, Oct. 2, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a petition seeking review of a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to dismiss a federal lawsuit — which challenged Texas voter suppression law Senate Bill 1111 — for lack of standing. Texas State League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Voto Latino’s…