Everyone’s asking whether Lindsay Clancy is a monster or a victim, but Drs. Kristin Lyerly, Erin Stevens, and Chris Ford argue that’s the wrong question entirely. This week, they dig into the real crisis behind the headlines: undertreated, over-medicated, and unsupported mothers navigating a broken system for peripartum mental health care.
From there,we tackles a packed week of reproductive health news: Trump’s pick to lead the FDA, Dr. Heidi Overton, and what her anti-abortion record means for patients nationwide. Can she be confirmed? Will outgoing Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) grow a spine and put a stop to the medical nonsense from Trump’s WH?
In a case of missing maternal data, Texas’s maternal mortality review board conveniently skipped the two years right after the state’s abortion ban was put into place. Given the obvious public interest in those numbers, we have to wonder why Texas is hiding behind incomplete data.
New Jersey’s bold new law shielding abortion and trans care providers from out-of-state prosecution. Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed the law that clarifies both abortion and gender-affirming care for transgender people are "legally protected" reproductive care.
Plus, we have sobering new data from The March of Dimes showing that over a third of U.S. counties are now maternity care deserts. This means there are no birthing facilities and no obstetric clinicians for those counties. That is a population of more than 2.4 million women of reproductive age, who gave birth to nearly 149,000 infants in those counties. And those numbers will only get worse.
LINKS
The New York Times:Trump Nominates Heidi Overton, a Top Domestic Policy Aide, for F.D.A. CommissionerSenate Democrats:
TRANSCRIPT: President Trump Signs an Executive Order on Vaccination Schedules, 8.10.26America First Policy Institute:
SCOTUS Statements on Roe v. WadeAmerica First Policy Institute:
Who Are the Real Abortion Radicals? A Comparative PerspectiveAmerica First Policy Institute:
Risking Two lives—The Dangerous Rise of Chemical abortionPOLITICO:Judge halts Trump’s abstinence-only overhaul of teen sex ed programIndy Star:Federal court: Indiana cannot punish doctors who tell minors about out-of-state abortionsNew Jersey Monitor:Gov. Sherrill signs shield law aimed at protecting reproductive, transgender healthcareTIME:More Than One Third of U.S. Counties Are Maternity Care Deserts
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Dr Kristin Lyerly(@drkristinlyerly)Dr Erin Stevens(@erinstevensmdobgyn)Dr Chris Ford(@doc_4ord)
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