September 12, 2025
A New Edition of The New England Journal of Medicine Is Now Available
The New England Journal of Medicine (vol. 393, no. 8, 2025) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
Public Policy
September 11, 2025
California Passes Bill Allowing Omission of Patients’ Names From Abortion Pill Bottles
(New York Times) – The intent is to protect health care providers who send the pills to patients in states with abortion bans, and to reassure patients who fear they could be identified. California legislators have passed one of the … Read More
September 11, 2025
A California bill that would regulate AI companion chatbots is close to becoming law
(TechCrunch) – California has taken a big step toward regulating AI. SB 243 — a bill that would regulate AI companion chatbots in order to protect minors and vulnerable users — passed both the State Assembly and Senate with bipartisan … Read More
September 10, 2025
Governor Abbott signs bills to boost rural healthcare in Texas
(News 4 San Antonio) – Governor Greg Abbott addressed the Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals fall conference in Austin, where he ceremonially signed House Bill 18 and House Bill 3000 into law. These bills aim to enhance healthcare … Read More
September 5, 2025
In Canada, ‘medical aid in dying’ has become a leading cause of death
(Boston Globe) – When assisted suicide is legalized, safeguards collapse. Thus when New York’s Legislature recently passed a bill authorizing physicians to help patients end their lives, state Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the measure’s chief sponsor, praised its “state‑of‑the‑art safeguards” and … Read More
September 3, 2025
Almost Every State Has Its Own Deepfakes Law Now
(404 Media) – Michigan just became the 48th state to enact a law addressing deepfakes, imposing jail time and penalties up to the felony level for people who make AI-generated nonconsensual abuse imagery of a real person. It’s now illegal … Read More
August 28, 2025
CDC Crisis Triggered by Upcoming Vaccine Meeting, Leading to Director’s Firing and Resignations
(NBC News) – An escalating conflict over an influential vaccine committee was one of the final straws that led to the firing of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez and the exodus of other highly regarded top … Read More
August 28, 2025
The Men Suing Over Their Partners’ Abortions
(Wall Street Journal) – The antiabortion movement has found an unlikely new ally to target abortion providers: husbands, boyfriends and exes. Men have filed several recent lawsuits stemming from abortions obtained by their partners or ex-partners. The strategy is part … Read More
August 26, 2025
Attorneys General To AI Chatbot Companies: You Will ‘Answer For It’ If You Harm Children
(404 Media) – Forty-four attorneys general signed an open letter to 11 chatbot and social media companies on Monday, warning them that they will “answer for it” if they knowingly harm children and urging the companies to see their products … Read More
August 25, 2025
Silicon Valley Launches Pro-AI PACs to Defend Industry in Midterm Elections
(Wall Street Journal) – Silicon Valley is putting more than $100 million into a network of political-action committees and organizations to advocate against strict artificial-intelligence regulations, a signal that tech executives will be active in next year’s midterm elections. Venture-capital … Read More
August 22, 2025
A New Edition of The New England Journal of Medicine Is Now Available
The New England Journal of Medicine (vol. 393, no. 5, 2025) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
August 21, 2025
A look at arguments around Colorado’s medical assistance in dying law
(NPR) – As more states adopt laws allowing terminally ill patients to end their own lives, some groups representing disabled people are suing to stop them. In June, New York became the 11th state to pass legislation allowing terminally ill … Read More
August 11, 2025
Canada Is Killing Itself
(The Atlantic) – When Canada’s Parliament in 2016 legalized the practice of euthanasia—Medical Assistance in Dying, or MAID, as it’s formally called—it launched an open-ended medical experiment. One day, administering a lethal injection to a patient was against the law; … Read More
August 8, 2025
A little-known approach to infertility is complicating the White House’s IVF push
(NBC News) – Conservatives, anti-abortion groups and members of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement have pushed for a method known as “restorative reproductive medicine” instead. Since he campaigned on the issue last year, Trump’s push to support IVF has … Read More
August 8, 2025
A New Edition of The New England Journal of Medicine Is Now Available
The New England Journal of Medicine (vol. 393, no. 3, 2025) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
August 6, 2025
Tech firms, states look to rein in AI chatbots’ mental health advice
(Axios) – Concerns over Americans turning to AI chatbots to solve mental health problems are prompting new guardrails so people don’t become too dependent on unvetted technology. Why it matters: AI’s booming popularity, the bots’ reputation for delivering emotionally validating … Read More
August 4, 2025
A Cancer Patient Chose Assisted Death. That Wasn’t the Last Hard Choice.
(New York Times) – Tatiana Andia knew Colombia would permit her a medically assisted death. She took her country with her on the journey to dying. Colombia has allowed physician-assisted death — known there as euthanasia — for a decade. … Read More
August 4, 2025
White House backs away from IVF mandate despite Trump’s campaign pledge, Washington Post
(USA Today) – The White House has no current plans to mandate insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization, despite President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to expand access to fertility treatments, The Washington Post reported on Saturday. Trump signed an executive … Read More
July 31, 2025
Without Federal Funding, Antibiotics Research May Lag
(Undark) – In May, U.S. officials terminated all NIH applications for grants with foreign subawards — the type of grant that applies to Wright’s work. The agency previously approved some 3,600 grants that awarded about $400 million to support researchers … Read More
July 30, 2025
A Brain-Dead Pregnant Woman Was Kept Alive in Georgia. It’s Unclear if State Law Required It.
(KFF Health News) – Nineteen states now ban abortion at or before 19 weeks of gestation; 13 of those have a near-total ban on all abortions with very limited exceptions, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonpartisan research group that … Read More
July 29, 2025
FTC probes trans care claims and risks
(Axios) – The Federal Trade Commission on Monday launched an inquiry into whether health providers are failing to disclose risks connected with gender-affirming care or are making false claims about its benefits. Why it matters: The action could help make … Read More
July 28, 2025
Man sues over girlfriend’s abortion in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit
(Washington Post) – The first-of-its-kind wrongful-death lawsuit tests the laws blue states passed to protect abortion access after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. A Texas man whose girlfriend used abortion pills to end her pregnancy is suing a … Read More
July 28, 2025
The U.S. is destroying $9.7 million in contraceptives. Is there another option?
(NPR) – A stockpile of family planning products — including IUDs, implants and pills — worth $9.7 million has been stuck at a warehouse in Belgium since the administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and froze foreign … Read More
July 25, 2025
The Age-Checked Internet Has Arrived
(Wired) – Starting today, UK adults will have to prove their age to access porn online. Experts warn that a global wave of age-check laws threatens to chill speech and ultimately harm children and adults alike. Ultimately, though, it’s not … Read More
July 25, 2025
NH is the first state to require doctors to follow patients’ wishes on sterilization
(NHPR) – The new law specifically addresses people with medical conditions who want to get sterilized for their reproductive health. New Hampshire is the first state to legally require doctors and medical staff to follow a patient’s desires to seek … Read More
