Health Care
Mississippi doctors fear new abortion laws will tie their hands as patients suffer
Dr. Nina Ragunanthan wonders exactly how long she’s supposed to watch a miscarrying woman bleed before Mississippi law permits her to perform an abortion. The OB/GYN in the Delta worries that the state’s new laws — banning abortion “except in the case where necessary for the preservation of the mother’s life or where the pregnancy […]
Louisiana prioritizes men who recently had sex with multiple men for monkeypox vaccine
The Louisiana Department of Health is making its limited supply of monkeypox vaccine available to men who have had sex with at least two men in the past 14 days or who have had sex with an anonymous male partner. Men who have “intimate” contact with men in a social venue or sex club as […]
Judge finds Louisiana abortion laws vague; enforcement still on hold
Judge Don Johnson ruled Thursday that Louisiana’s abortion laws are vague and therefore cannot be enforced. His decision puts a preliminary injunction on the state’s “trigger” law that keeps Attorney General Jeff Landry and the state health department from shutting down the state’s three abortion clinics for now. Kathaleen Pittman of Hope Medical Group for […]
Fighting monkeypox, sexual health clinics are underfunded and ill-equipped
Clinics that treat sexually transmitted diseases — already struggling to contain an explosive increase in infections such as syphilis and gonorrhea — now find themselves on the front lines in the nation’s fight to control the rapidly growing monkeypox outbreak. After decades of underfunding and 2½ years into a pandemic that severely disrupted care, clinic […]
Restraining order blocking Louisiana abortion ban to stay in place, judge decides
A state district judge in Baton Rouge will keep a temporary restraining order in effect while the court considers whether Louisiana’s abortion ban is legal. Judge Donald Johnson issued his ruling Tuesday that prevents Attorney General Jeff Landry and the state health department from enforcing the state’s abortion prohibition. The judge extended the temporary restraining […]
Louisiana abortion ban blocked once again by judge pending Monday hearing
Louisiana officials have once again been restrained from enforcing the state’s stringent abortion ban, this time by a state judge in Baton Rouge. Judge Don Johnson issued the temporary restraining order Tuesday in 19th Judicial District Court, prohibiting Attorney General Jeff Landry and Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Courtney Phillips from enforcing the state’s abortion […]
Florida surpasses 100 monkeypox cases amid expansion of screening
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — A second major commercial laboratory is offering monkeypox testing, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday as Florida cases of the monkeypox virus surpassed 100. The CDC had announced that Labcorp began testing last week for monkeypox, a disease spreading across the nation and worldwide that can cause a […]
Clergy who back abortion rights prepare for new role
Anti-abortion protestors toting Christian iconography outside an abortion clinic are a common sight. While they garner a lot of attention, their vocal stance is far from the only religious view on abortion. Clergy with a pro-abortion rights stance want to remedy that. Rabbi Sarah Smiley, who leads the United Jewish Congregation of Baton Rouge, said […]
Legal organization warns of crisis centers preying on people seeking abortions
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — It’s a nice storefront sandwiched between an insurance office and massage parlor. Two double-sided signs on the sidewalk in front of the building off San Mateo in southeast Albuquerque advertise free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds. Their website has resources for social services, housing and adoption care. One thing these places won’t […]
Doctors spell out their opposition to Louisiana’s abortion law
More than a dozen Louisiana physicians, including the former leader of the state health department under Gov. John Bel Edwards, have filed sworn affidavits in support of the preliminary injunction that would block Louisiana’s strict abortion laws from going into effect. The physicians detailed their concerns that the trigger laws would lead to significant increase […]
Louisiana OB-GYN residents train at an abortion clinic. Now where will they go?
Most obstetrics and gynecology medical residents in Louisiana train at a Shreveport abortion clinic. Now, it’s not clear where they will get that surgical instruction when most abortions likely become illegal in Louisiana and the clinic is shut down. “We are looking to set up another opportunity for this training somewhere, whatever that is or […]
Baton Rouge abortion clinic resumes appointments, drawing the ire of protestors
Granted a brief reprieve from Louisiana’s strict abortion ban, Delta Clinic in Baton Rouge, one of three abortion clinics in the state, resumed providing abortions Tuesday. Nearly a dozen clinic escorts, clad in rainbow striped vests, paced the parking lot outside the clinic. The small lot was flanked on either side by anti-abortion protestors. Despite […]