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BIRTH CONTROL
Women Sharing Their IUD Pain
What: Duke University researchers looked at the top 100 TikTok videos with the tag #IUD and found “most of them focused on the pain and other side effects of the procedure.”
Why it matters: There are options to reduce pain during IUD placement, like local anesthetic, but “physicians said that determining the best pain control can be difficult because women’s preferences and experiences vary, and there are not enough effective options or guidelines on when to use them.”
Source: Washington Post
ABORTION ACCESS
The Basics on the Supreme Court Abortion Pill Case (Yes It Can Affect Blue States)
What: Arguments begin at the Supreme Court Tuesday over *nationwide* access to the abortion pill, which is used in 60% of abortions in the United States. The case—which was brought by extreme anti-abortion critics (more on that below)–questions the process the FDA used to make it easier to get a prescription, such as allowing providers to write scripts after virtual visits.
Why it matters: As the Washington Post reports, “many abortion rights advocates say they will continue to send abortion pills through the mail no matter how the Supreme Court rules. Some are ready to switch to a misoprostol-only protocol, a method of medication abortion that uses only the second drug in the current two-step regimen. That option is also highly effective but causes significantly more cramping and bleeding.”
Source: Washington Post
Doctors Bringing Abortion Pill Case Have Never Actually Faced Complications They Claim to Fear
What: Many Supreme Court cases are brought over hypothetical situations to prove a political point, and this excellent piece shows just how cynical and ideologically motivated the plaintiffs are. The case “has turned almost entirely on 11 anti-abortion doctors and advocates who say their work has been upended by patients experiencing complications from the drug.”
Why it matters: The problem with this argument? “Most of the doctors directly involved in the case, which will be heard by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, have long records advocating against abortion. None of the doctors who submitted declarations prescribe mifepristone and none have pointed to an instance when they personally were required to perform an abortion for a patient who had complications after taking the drug.”
Source: CNN
ONCOLOGY
The MRI That Comes After a High Breast Cancer Risk Score Can Have a 5-Figure Price Tag
What: A Bloomberg health reporter shares her own experience of having a breast cancer risk score that led her to get an MRI, similar to Olivia Munn’s story. But despite clinic staff getting preauthorization AND screenshots of an online chat saying the procedure was covered, the reporter got stuck with a $10,250 bill after the MRI.
Why it matters: Eventually the reporter got the procedure covered, but it took four months and knowledge of how to navigate the health care industrial complex. If a Bloomberg health reporter faces this much trouble, imagine what it’s like for the average non-healthcare person.
Source: Bloomberg
ENDOMETRIOSIS
Princess Kate’s Cancer Diagnosis During Abdominal Surgery Echoes Endometriosis
What: England’s queen-to-be, Kate Middleton, dominated the news last Friday after she announced she had cancer, which was found during a surgery on her abdomen for another cause. The New York Times talked to a gynecologic oncologist about how this can be common for women, notably those getting treatment for endometriosis.
Why it matters: “Often, Dr. Ratner says, the assumption is that the endometriosis has appeared on an ovary and caused a benign ovarian cyst. But one to two weeks later, when the supposedly benign tissue has been studied, pathologists report that they found cancer.”
Source: New York Times
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