They Came for Abortion, But They Took Away Your Insulin

The team is back at full strength! This week, Dr. Kristin Lyerly, Dr. Erin Stevens, Dr. Chris Ford, and Dr. Chelsea Daniels break down the whirlwind of reproductive health news.

We begin by tackling the recent expiration of the federal defunding of Planned Parenthood. Dr. Daniels shares her firsthand experience and exposes the reality of these cuts: they didn’t stop abortions; instead, they stripped away essential primary care, leaving thousands of patients without access to life-saving insulin, inhalers, and cancer screenings.

Then, we head to Iowa, where Governor Kim Reynolds’ newly enacted laws are targeting both telehealth abortion access and minors’ ability to consent to the cancer-preventing HPV vaccine. The hosts look at a striking new study from the UK showing zero cervical cancer deaths in vaccinated young women, contrasting true evidence-based science with the dangerous rhetoric of “parental rights” and “terminal mansplaining.”

Finally, Dr. Ford leads a powerful history lesson on the 14th Amendment following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold birthright citizenship, exposing the escalating, authoritarian anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from the far right.

From HHS slashing teen pregnancy prevention grants to the critical need for young poll workers this November, the team covers why your vote is the ultimate prescription for protecting our democracy.

• The Hill: Planned Parenthood set to regain federal funding as GOP ban expires

• Iowa Capital Dispatch: Gov. Kim Reynolds signs laws restricting access to abortion pills, HPV vaccine

• The Lancet: Cervical cancer mortality trends following HPV vaccination in England, 2001–24: an analysis of population-based mortality data

• National Center for Biotechnology Information: Cervical Cancer Elimination in Australia and the Asia Pacific: Progress and Barriers

• Stateline: Federal health agency cancels most of its teen pregnancy prevention grants

• The Mirror US (via AOL.com): DHS boss wildly claims Chinese women come to US with ‘one week’ left in their pregnancy to give birth

• Rolling Stone: Right-Wingers Throw Ethnonationalist Fit Over Birthright Citizenship Ruling

FOLLOW THE DOCS ONLINE

• Dr Kristin Lyerly

• Dr Erin Stevens

• Dr Chris Ford

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