When states’ rights and health care access clash

From the COVID-19 response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the results of 50 states having individual approaches to public health, medical outcomes and health care access raise troubling questions. A husband-and-wife team of University of Utah professors dig into the ethics of the American health care system in States of Health: The Ethics and Consequences of Policy Variation in a Federal System.

May 15, 2024 4:40 PM CDT

Attorney general moves to reclassify marijuana as lower-risk drug

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday recommended loosening restrictions on marijuana, a historic shift in federal drug policy that could broaden access to the drug for medicinal use and boost cannabis industries in states where it is legal.

Apr 30, 2024 2:12 PM CDT

SCOTUS declines to stay Idaho ban on gender-affirming care for minors

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Idaho to broadly enforce a ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, the first time the justices have intervened on the contentious issue of transgender health treatments.

Apr 16, 2024 9:45 AM CDT

Do state abortion bans conflict with federal Medicare funding law? Delegates take a position

Resolution 507 opposes all legislation, regulations, administrative interpretations and litigation that restrict the right of health care providers or hospitals that receive Medicare funding to provide patients with abortions in emergency situations.

Feb 5, 2024 6:03 PM CST

California aims to expand mental health treatment with new conservatorship definition of ‘gravely disabled’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Tuesday that is intended to expand the categories of people who can be involuntarily detained for mental health treatment.

Oct 13, 2023 2:10 PM CDT

Lawyer’s ‘dogged efforts’ led to scientific discovery that could help with chronic fatigue

A lawyer who had to reduce her workload because of fatigue, neuropathy and muscular weakness embarked on a quest to discover what was wrong with her.

Sep 21, 2023 11:03 AM CDT

Family First: A group of Washington lawyers works to keep infants with their mothers

While family separations have long been the norm when treating babies born dependent on substances, recent research suggests allowing a mother to stay with and care for her infant significantly improves their health outcomes.

Sep 7, 2023 11:06 AM CDT

6th Circuit sides with OSHA over power to set workplace safety standards

Is Congress’ delegation to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to set workplace safety standards constitutional?

Aug 24, 2023 1:07 PM CDT

Alabama can enforce ban on transition treatment for transgender minors, 11th Circuit says

A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that Alabama can enforce a ban on puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender youths.

Aug 22, 2023 8:57 AM CDT

ABA supports right to travel for abortion services and other medical care

All government entities should enact laws and regulations that protect the right of any individual to travel across state lines to access medical care, the House of Delegates said at the 2023 ABA Midyear Meeting in New Orleans on Monday.

Feb 6, 2023 5:31 PM CST

Aftershocks: Navigating the morass of state abortion laws post-Roe

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports nearly 3 million women in the U.S. have experienced a rape-related pregnancy. Still, abortion opponents are making it increasingly difficult for women who are victimized by rape or incest and who may become pregnant as a result to access the medical care they need, when they need it.

Dec 1, 2022 3:30 AM CST

Weekly Briefs: Bias suit against Trump lawyer resolved; Montana no longer defies court order over birth certificates

Trump lawyer resolves rap-music bias suit

Alina Habba, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump, has resolved a race- and gender-bias lawsuit largely based on the rap music that she…

Sep 23, 2022 1:05 PM CDT

Montana defies judge’s order to allow transgender people to change birth certificates, at least for now

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services is refusing, for now, to go along with a judge’s order to allow transgender people to change their birth certificates.

Sep 16, 2022 11:25 AM CDT

Texas Supreme Court’s advisory committee supports rule allowing judicial approval of abortions for minors

An advisory committee for the Texas Supreme Court voted unanimously Friday to support a state rule that allows judges to authorize abortions for minors without their parents’ consent.

Aug 22, 2022 1:53 PM CDT

Patient who received negligent reproductive health care can recover all damages, state supreme court rules

The Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday that judges in Washington are permitted to award extraordinary damages in “wrongful life” cases.

Aug 22, 2022 1:05 PM CDT