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EVERYTHING
More Details on Where the $100 Million Might Go in Women’s Health
What: A close read of First Lady Jill Biden’s speech yesterday announcing $100 million for women’s health research suggests a major focus for the ARPA-H funding will be existing discoveries that need capital to get off the ground:
“We’ve also heard that too many exciting discoveries for women’s health never leave the lab because they’re seen as ‘too risky’ to invest in,” Biden said. “…We are going to invest in your discoveries early, when private companies may not be willing to take the risk. We are going to give women’s health researchers and startups the funding they need to grow and help them bring ideas to market – and to the women who need them most.”
And a press release from ARPA-H said the group’s project managers would announce a “request for solutions” in the coming weeks on research and “opportunities to accelerate and scale tools, products, and platforms with potential for commercialization to improve women’s health outcomes.”
Source: White House, ARPA-H
FERTILITY
The Many Questions Facing Alabama Women
What: The New York Times talks to women in Alabama, including one who had her IVF procedure delayed after the state supreme court ruled that embryos are “extrauterine children.” They also cover more practical concerns – like whether couples with extra frozen embryos will have to “pay a significant amount of money to keep their embryos in permanent storage, even those with chromosomal abnormalities that would lead to a miscarriage if transplanted.”
Why it matters: The fall-out from the Alabama case will continue to grow, as more and more questions arise from this extreme decision. (For example, should embryos be claimed as dependents on tax forms?)
Source: New York Times
PREGNANCY
Why Are More Women Dying After Childbirth in the US? Mental Health.
What: A research team at Children’s National Hospital issued an urgent call to pay more attention to the mental health of new mothers, which they say is “an under-recognized contributor to the death of new mothers.” Based on their review, “overdose and other maternal mental health conditions are taking the lives of more than twice as many women as postpartum hemorrhage.”
Why it matters: The maternal mortality rate has been increasing in the United States, and it is 2.6 times higher for Black women than white women in America.
Source: Children’s National Hospital
BIRTH CONTROL
The History of Political Fights Over Contraception
What: Julie Rovner walks through the political history of birth control, pointing out that conflating abortion and contraception began in the late 90s and early 2000s, after the approval of the “morning after” pill and medication abortion pill known as mifepristone. While the drugs are different (the morning after pill can’t end an established pregnancy, it can only prevent one), the issues sometimes got mixed into one.
Why it matters: Understanding the past can help make (at least a little more) sense of current events.
Source: Washington Post/KFF Health News
ABORTION ACCESS
The Doctors and Nurses Prescribing Abortion Pills Across State Lines
What: The New York Times profiles health care professionals in states like Massachusetts, Washington, Colorado, Vermont, New York and California, prescribing the abortion pill in states where it is banned. They are operating under “shield laws” that say their home states will not cooperate with efforts to penalize the providers.
Why it matters: The abortion pills are getting tens of thousands of women the health care they need in states with bans, but the laws are not tested in courts.
Source: New York Times
MENOPAUSE
Menopause As Disability (Or Just Lacking Treatment?)
What: A British oversight agency said women who have menopause symptoms that cause a “long term and substantial impact” on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities could be considered a disability, which would require an employer to make “reasonable adjustments.”
Why it matters: Awareness of the severity of menopause symptoms for some (many?) women has been growing. Now if we could fully research and properly treat those symptoms…
Source: Washington Post
DERMATOLOGY
Dermatology Care for Darker Skin Tones
What: The Washington Post profiles dermatology clinics that focus specifically on patients with darker skin tones. There are 16 such clinics nationwide, treating “conditions common to dark-skinned individuals, such as hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation, when areas of skin are darker or lighter than the normal skin tone; keloids, or excessive scar tissue that develops once an injury has healed; and hair loss or other scalp disorders.”
Why it matters: These issues have been overlooked, and it’s time to change that.
Source: Washington Post
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