Abortion, CDC Booster Covid-19, Mental Health and more
A newly conservative Supreme Court is set to hear a case that could overturn the nationwide right to abortion. Meanwhile, a conservative federal judge in Texas is poised to order the FDA to rescind its 22-year-old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.
Almost half the nation’s population is insured through the Affordable Care Act, but the law is struggling to keep up with rising costs as it continues to enroll new people. And as the debt ceiling crisis looms, Medicare and other popular programs are under fire as GOP leaders push for spending cuts.
The Biden administration’s budget has some important provisions, but not all of them are likely to become law, particularly with Republicans in charge of the House. The president’s policy priorities are also being challenged by a lawsuit filed by five women who were denied abortions when their pregnancies threatened their lives.
Anti-abortion forces are pushing legislators to tighten restrictions on the procedure. But some of those restrictions are at odds with the court’s earlier decisions on the issue.
Meanwhile, a study that found that wearing a CDC-approved mask prevented an outbreak of the Zika virus has reopened debate on whether it was an accurate measure. And a politician who checked himself into the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment of depression is catching flak from disability advocates because he uses a computer device to translate his conversations into written language.