Missouri Supreme Court Allows Abortion Rights Amendment On Ballot
Anti-abortion activists had been pushing to block a November vote on enshrining a right to abortion in the state constitution, but the Missouri Supreme Court ruled against this challenge. Seperately, a group of Republican-led states have renewed their effort to limit abortion pill access.
Kansas City Star:
Missouri Abortion Rights Amendment Stays On November Ballot
Missouri voters will decide on Nov. 5 whether to overturn the state’s abortion ban after the state Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared away a final effort by anti-abortion activists to block a vote on a landmark proposal enshrining a right to abortion in the state constitution. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the proposed amendment to the state constitution – called Amendment 3 – will remain on the general election ballot. The decision came less than three hours before a 5 p.m. deadline to finalize the ballot. (Shorman and Bayless, 9/10)
Reuters:
Republican States Ask 9th Circuit To Revive Their Bid To Limit Abortion Pill Access
A group of Republican-led states have asked the full 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to consider their effort to impose restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone, including a ban on prescribing it by telemedicine and dispensing it by mail. The states, led by Idaho, in a petition for en banc rehearing on Monday urged the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit to rehear their motion to intervene in, and oppose, a lawsuit by Democratic states that seeks to preserve and expand access to the drug. A three-judge panel of the court ruled in July that they do not have standing to join the case because they have not shown how they are harmed by mifepristone’s availability, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded in 2021 by allowing it to be dispensed by mail. (Pierson, 9/10)
The Hill:
Advocacy Groups Urge Schumer To Hold Vote On Repealing Comstock Abortion Law
A coalition of advocacy organizations sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) this week urging him to hold a vote on a proposal aimed at guarding against a future Trump administration from reviving a long-dormant law to effectively ban abortion. The letter, which was shared exclusively with The Hill, was signed by various abortion-rights and court-reform groups. (Schonfeld, 9/10)
NBC News:
Anguish, Gratitude And Fear Of Violence At A Colorado Clinic For Late Abortions
Behind bullet-proof doors in a generic office park is one of only five clinics in the country where women can access the rarest — and most controversial — abortion procedures. Women come here desperate, says Dr. Warren Hern, who has run the Boulder Abortion Clinic since 1975. “It ranges from the 12-year-old kid who’s pregnant from her stepfather to the 45-year-old woman who desperately wants to have a baby and finds out that she has a fatal illness that is incompatible with being pregnant,” he says. (Burns, Brooks and Kane, 9/10)
Report: Black Women More Likely To Receive Unnecessary C-Sections
The New York Times reports on the new study, which found Black women to be 25% more likely to have cesarean sections than white women. In other women’s health news: a dearth of obstetric doctors, maternal home visit programs, toxic metals in tampons, PCOS, and more.
The New York Times:
Doctors Give Black Women Unneeded C-Sections To Fill Operating Rooms, Study Suggests
Obstetricians are more likely to give Black women unnecessary cesarean sections, putting those women at higher risk for serious complications like ruptured surgical wounds. That’s the conclusion of a new report of nearly one million births in 68 hospitals in New Jersey, one of the largest studies to tackle the subject. The additional operations on Black patients were more likely to happen when hospitals had no scheduled C-sections, meaning their operating rooms were sitting empty. (Kliff, 9/10)
In other news about maternal health care —
CNN:
First On CNN: US Faces Maternity Care Crisis, With 1 In 3 Counties Lacking Obstetric Doctors To Provide Care, Report Warns
The United States is facing an ongoing maternity health crisis in which 1 in every 3 counties does not have a single obstetric clinician, affecting women’s access to care, according to a new report. The report, released Tuesday by the infant and maternal health nonprofit March of Dimes, says that in many parts of the country, obstetrician/gynecologists and family physicians who deliver babies are leaving the workforce, which worsens access to care. (Howard, 9/10)
Wyoming Public Radio:
Some Western States Are Expanding Maternal Home Visit Programs
Some Mountain West states are expanding their home visit programs for pregnant people and new parents after receiving a boost in federal funding. A total of $40 million will go to the region — an increase of $9 million from the previous year. It’s part of a 2022 congressional funding package aimed at doubling funding for the program over five years. (Merzbach, 9/10)
On puberty, PCOS, and tampon safety —
The Hill:
Girls May Be Starting Puberty Earlier Due To Chemical Exposure: Study
Girls exposed to certain chemicals that are common ingredients in household products may be starting puberty comparatively early, a new study has found. Substances of particular concern include musk ambrette — a fragrance used in some detergents, perfumes and personal care products — and a group of medications called cholinergic agonists, according to the study, published on Tuesday in Endocrinology. (Udasin, 9/10)
USA Today:
‘Just Lose Weight’: Women With PCOS Are Going Untreated Due To ‘Weight-Centric Health Care’
As a teenager, Pamela Everland suffered from irregular and excessively heavy periods that lasted for six to eight weeks. At 19-years-old, a gynecologist finally placed her on birth control to regulate her periods, but new symptoms arrived; Everland experienced rapid weight gain throughout her 20s despite committing to various diets, including Weight Watchers and the low-carb Atkins diet, and suffered from acne well into her 30s. But at every doctor’s visit, she was just told to lose weight. (Goldberg, 9/10)
NBC News:
Are The Toxic Metals In Tampons Harmful? FDA Launches Research To Learn Risk
The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it has begun a research project examining the possible effects of toxic metals in tampons and that it is launching an independent review. … “Although toxic metals are ubiquitous and we are exposed to low levels at any given time, our study clearly shows that metals are also present in menstrual products, and that women might be at higher risk for exposure using these products,” study co-author Kathrin Schilling, an assistant professor at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, wrote in a news release. Researchers from UC Berkeley School of Public Health were also involved. (Edwards, 9/10)
Also —
The Washington Post:
No Sex Drive After Menopause? A Unique Talk Therapy May Help, Study Finds.
After surgery thrust her into menopause at age 40, Stephanie Scott of Hamilton, Ontario, said she had “zero sex drive.” Hormone treatments helped with hot flashes and insomnia, but they didn’t increase her desire for sex. So she signed up for a research study that was testing a unique type of therapy for menopausal women with low desire because of menopause. The result: a noticeable improvement in her sex life. “The focus was on reshaping your thoughts about your own body, your own needs and desires and desirability,” said Scott, now 49, who entered early menopause after having a hysterectomy and one ovary removed. (Zimmerman, 9/10)
KFF Health News:
Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the KFF Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week. (9/10)
