With midterms approaching, new polling shows a national abortion ban is a top deal-breaker for nearly half of likely voters in key battleground House districts. We dig into how this is already reshaping races, from Tom Tiffany scrubbing his no-exceptions ban stance from his campaign website in Wisconsin, to the closely watched Georgia Senate race between John Ossoff (whose wife is an OBGYN) and his opponent.
We also unpack a new study linking state-level abortion restrictions to rising rates of suicidal ideation among teen girls. It’s a trend not mirrored in teen boys, and one that appears independent of whether the girls themselves are pregnant. States with greater reproductive freedom saw declines in these rates over the same period.
There is a disturbing story out of North Dakota, where a longtime OBGYN has been accused of secretly using his own sperm to inseminate fertility patients for years without their knowledge or consent, reportedly defending the practice as standard for the era. We discuss the scope of his influence in the state's maternal health system, questions about who else may have known, and what a formal investigation could uncover.
Finally, we dismantle a bogus "study" claiming mifepristone is contaminating wastewater (spoiler: it's propaganda dressed up as science) and debunk the resurfaced myth that COVID vaccines contain fetal body parts.
LINKS
POLITICO: Poll: Trump’s MAGA voters would stick by a candidate through the most serious of scandals
STAT: A sloppy report on mifepristone is being used to undermine the FDA — and the biotech industry
POLITICO: Activists ‘throwing everything’ they can against abortion turn to wastewater data
ABORTION, EVERY DAY: No, They Didn’t Find Mifepristone in the Water
MAGA Congressman John McGuire on Instagram
FactCheck.org: COVID-19 Vaccines Don’t Contain Fetal Tissue
Reproductive Freedom for All: ICYMI: New Research Finds a National Abortion Ban is a Top Dealbreaker for Battleground Voters
The 19th: Abortion bans may be fueling a ‘concerning increase’ in suicidal thoughts among teen girls
The Guardian: Lindsay Clancy’s ex-husband testifies about day she killed their three children
FOLLOW THE DOCS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Dr Kristin Lyerly (@drkristinlyerly)
Dr Erin Stevens (@erinstevensmdobgyn)
Dr Chris Ford (@doc_4ord)
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