All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

(24) Harris says SCOTUS decision is a “health care crisis”

Harris said the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade today could also affect other “rights that we thought were settled” — including same-sex marriage.

“This opinion also says when you read it, that abortion is not deeply rooted in our nation’s history. They offer that in the opinion as a foundation for the decision they rendered today. In holding that it is not deeply rooted in our history, today’s decision on that theory, then, calls into question other rights that we thought were settled, such as the right to use birth control, the right to same-sex marriage, the right to interracial marriage,” the vice president said, speaking in Illinois.

“The great aspiration of our nation has been to expand freedom. But the expansion of freedom clearly is not inevitable. It is not something that just happens — not unless we defend our most fundamental principles. Not unless we elect leaders who stand up for those principles,” Harris said.

“You have the power to elect leaders who will defend and protect your rights. And as the president said earlier today, with your vote, you can act, and you have the final word. So this is not over,” she said.

Source: (24) Harris says SCOTUS decision is a “health care crisis”

Inside a Texas abortion clinic after the Supreme Court overturns Roe – Los Angeles Times

Man sits in his office.

At 77, he is old enough to remember what abortion was like before the Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade in 1973. He treated women for infections from illegal abortions, including a 16-year-old who arrived with her vagina stuffed with rags whom he could not save.

Now, with the court striking down the right to abortion, Braid feared a return to those days.

“I’ve got to figure out what I’m going to do with these patients now,” he said before stepping into the hallway. “Never thought I’d see this day.”

 

Source: Inside a Texas abortion clinic after the Supreme Court overturns Roe – Los Angeles Times

Mississippi has highest infant mortality rate, Oklahoma 2x national average

Infant Mortality Rates high in “pro-life” states

According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Infant mortality is the death of an infant before his or her first birthday. The infant mortality rate is the number of infant deaths for every 1,000 live births.”

The five leading causes of infant death include: birth defects, preterm birth, sudden infant death syndrome, injuries and maternal pregnancy complications.

Notably, Black newborns are three times more likely to die in the hospital when being cared for by a White doctor as opposed to a Black doctor, according to a 2020 study from George Mason University researchers that analyzed 1.8 million births in Florida hospitals from 1992 to 2015. And as many in the Black community are already painfully aware, Black woman are several times more likely to die from childbirth as White woman in the U.S.

In Mississippi, the state with the highest infant mortality rate, there were 615 infant deaths out of 72,114 live births in 2020, or 8.5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the most recent report from Mississippi State Department of Health.

When broken down by race, the disparity becomes even worse. In 2020, even though there were over 2,000 more White births than Black births in Mississippi, Black babies died at nearly double the rate (179) of White babies (100).

During a Friday press conference, the owner of Jackson Women’s Health Organization, nicknamed the Pink House, said they’d be opening a new location in Las Cruces, New Mexico that would be ready in a few weeks, according to Reuters. New Mexico’s legislature has taken legislative action to ensure it remains legal, unlike neighboring states of Texas, Oklahoma, Utah and Arizona, which did the opposite.

Source: Mississippi has highest infant mortality rate, Oklahoma 2x national average

Pfizer says its tweaked COVID-19 shots boost omicron protection : NPR

Pfizer announced Saturday that tweaking its COVID-19 vaccine to better target the omicron variant is safe and works — just days before regulators debate whether to offer Americans updated booster shots this fall.

The vaccines currently used in the U.S. still offer strong protection against severe COVID-19 disease and death — especially if people have gotten a booster dose. But those vaccines target the original coronavirus strain and their effectiveness against any infection dropped markedly when the super-contagious omicron mutant emerged.

 

Source: Pfizer says its tweaked COVID-19 shots boost omicron protection : NPR