Happy Friday! Yours truly is back from beautiful Vietnam and it seems I missed one or two 鈥� ahem 鈥� minor news events while traipsing around.
I come bearing no souvenirs but rather two health reminders (one via Sen. Bernie Sanders). Firstly, don鈥檛 forget your flu shot 鈥斅� which rarely bodes well for our own. The second comes in the form of a hard-earned lesson from a 2020 candidate: ! (This is especially directed at women, )
Now enough mother-henning. (You missed me, didn鈥檛 you?) On to the news of the week!
The Supremes are back in action, and a look at the high court鈥檚 docket reveals a potentially doozy of a politically charged term (with rulings expected to land as the general election heats up in 2020).
In the health care sphere, a big case to watch is the Louisiana abortion suit. An essentially identical Texas law 鈥� which requires doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals 鈥� was ruled unconstitutional by the court in 2016, but that means little with two new justices appointed by President Donald Trump weighing in.
Oral arguments in two other health-related cases were held this week. The justices grappled with the moral and legal complexities of the insanity defense. The case prompted questions such as this one from Justice Stephen Breyer: One defendant kills a victim he thinks is a dog. 鈥淭he second defendant knows it鈥檚 a person but thinks the dog told him to do it,鈥� Breyer said. 鈥淭hey are both crazy. And why does Kansas say one is guilty, the other is not guilty?鈥�
Tuesday was all about LGBTQ rights. Although most of the justices were divided along ideological lines on whether federal civil rights legislation applies to sexual orientation and gender identification, Justice Neil Gorsuch hinted his vote might be in play. As an avowed believer in textualism, he suggested that the words of Title VII are 鈥渞eally close, really close鈥� to barring employment discrimination for those workers. But don鈥檛 go placing bets on the outcome yet. He also noted that he was worried about 鈥渢he massive social upheaval鈥� that would follow such a Supreme Court ruling.
On that note, the 2020 Democratic candidates participated in an LGBTQ forum on the eve of National Coming Out Day. There were a handful of notable moments through the night (including that was met with loud applause), but much of the spotlight was on protesters who demanded the candidates pay attention to violence against black transgender women. 鈥淲e are hunted,鈥� said one member of the audience.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail this week, controversy over a pregnancy discrimination talking point from Warren鈥檚 stump speech prompted women 鈥� including Warren rival Sen. Amy Klobuchar 鈥� to speak out on social media about their own and their mothers鈥� experiences.
Sanders鈥� campaign confirmed that the health scare from last week was indeed a heart attack. The 2020 candidate 鈥� who promised to return 鈥渇ull blast鈥� to the race 鈥� said he hopes people learn from his 鈥渄umb鈥� mistake of ignoring the warning signs. In true politician-running-for-office style, he also was able to use the scare as a way to emphasize the importance of his signature policy proposal, 鈥淢edicare for All.鈥�
In a sign of what鈥檚 to come for Big Pharma, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, one of the field鈥檚 more moderate candidates, released a drug pricing plan that is decidedly not moderate. The move falls in line with a broader sense that there鈥檚 an ever-growing appetite among even middle-ground Dems for action to rein in drugmakers.
And for you political wonks out there, this was an interesting read on the shifting political dynamics of doctors, who once used to be a sure thing for the GOP.
A key ruling on the health law is expected in the next few weeks, but officials (on condition of anonymity,聽 mind you) said that if the ruling is against the ACA, the Trump administration will ask the court to put any changes on hold 鈥� possibly until after the election. The reports further support the idea that the law, which has been, uh, politically fraught (to say the very least) over its entire life span, is at the moment viewed as an Achilles鈥� heel for Republicans.
Two other major news items out of the administration this week to pay attention to:
The first teenager鈥檚 death in the outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses drove home this week public health officials鈥� message that young people are 鈥減laying with their lives鈥� when they partake. The number of cases jumped to 1,299 as of Oct. 8, with the number of deaths rising to 26.
Although Juul is facing a barrage of lawsuits, one filed this week was notable. It was believed to be the first from school districts, which claim that fighting the vaping epidemic has been a drag on their resources. While some legal experts are dubious about whether the school districts can establish their standing, others aren鈥檛 ruling it out.
And the ripple effect of the crisis is spreading to life insurance prices.
Time for you to flex your ethical muscles for the week: Should there be boundaries to highly personalized medicine? A pricey drug designed 鈥� and named for! 鈥� just one patient sparked questions this week about how far researchers should go in the name of curing a single person. Especially when there are thousands of patients out there with rare diseases. Would only the wealthiest subset be given cures? Who would decide which patients deserve limited research hours over others?
And ProPublica shines a light on the practice of drug companies using flashy Facebook ads, cash incentives and other marketing techniques to woo Mexican residents over the border to donate plasma. It鈥檚 not as innocuous as it might seem 鈥� donating too much plasma can compromise the immune system. (Selling plasma has been banned in Mexico since 1987.)
In the miscellaneous file for the week:
- An Ohio doctor is being charged in 25 fentanyl-related deaths. How on earth was such a lapse allowed to occur? The New York Times peels back the curtain on years of lapses and missed warnings in one Columbus intensive care unit.
- During the week of World Mental Health Day, research finds that Americans are starting to internalize all the political rhetoric (and myths) about the connection between mental health and violence. 鈥淧eople want simple solutions: They want to be able to neatly explain things,鈥� said one expert.
- There鈥檚 more than one way to keep a community healthy, and that goes beyond doctor鈥檚 offices, clinics and hospitals. A growing number of medical professionals are embracing the notion that steady paychecks, stable housing and good food are crucial to supporting their patients before they get sick.
- In a sad sign of the times, a muppet on 鈥淪esame Street鈥� is going to have a mother struggling with addiction. The storyline is meant to help an ever-increasing number of children affected by the opioid crisis.
- High levels of uranium were found in the blood of Navajo women and babies in a study that underscored the real costs of America鈥檚 atomic development. Lawmakers are pushing for legislation that would compensate those who have been exposed.
- And the Nobel Prizes are given out this week: In medicine, scientists who worked with oxygen and cells were honored. Their work has the potential to be the building blocks for things like cancer treatments.
That鈥檚 it from me! It鈥檚 good to be back with you guys, and I hope you have a great weekend!