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EVERYTHING
Supreme Court Allows Trump to Cut N.I.H. Grants for Now
What: The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could temporarily cancel over $780 million in NIH grants on topics like "gender ideology" and vaccine hesitancy. (Many of these grants affect research in women's health, as we chronicled here.) The ruling is a confusing one -- a majority also said the policy behind the cuts was potentially unlawful -- but the cancellations will go forward for now.
Key Line: "The forbidden research topics, the challengers said, were ill-defined and the policy of canceling grants inconsistently applied. The practical impact, they added, was devastating. 'To take just one example,' lawyers for the states told the justices, 'defendants’ terminations forced the University of Massachusetts’ medical school to lay off or furlough 209 employees and to cut the incoming fall 2025 graduate class by 86 percent, from 70 students to 10.'”
Source: New York Times
FERTILITY
Republicans Embrace Vibes-Based Approach to Infertility
What: The New York Times has a deep dive on "restorative reproductive medicine," a conservative approach to infertility that has cropped up in Trump 2.0. The approach essentially pushes women to lose weight and chart their menstrual cycles but does not often include IVF. While this seems more vibes based than science based, it is being taken seriously by the White House and HHS Sec. Kennedy / MAHA world.
Key Line: "And the approach has featured prominently in an intense series of conversations inside the White House, as top Trump aides have wrestled with what to recommend in a highly anticipated I.V.F. report. 'All of a sudden it has gotten into the discussion,' said Kaylen Silverberg, a leading I.V.F. doctor who has been consulting with the White House. While he has been in the infertility field for over three decades, he said he had never heard the term 'restorative reproductive medicine' until four months ago.'"
Source: New York Times
ABORTION ACCESS
Texas Bill Targets Abortion Medication
What: Abortions are increasing even after more than a dozen states have banned the procedure, thanks to abortion pills from states without a ban. In yet an effort to stop abortion pills coming into the state, Texas Republicans are pushing a bill that would allow citizens to sue the manufacturers and distributors of the abortion pill. But as the Houston Chronicle pointed out in an editorial, the abortion pill is also used to treat miscarriages, which can be life threatening.
Key Line: "While SB 7 technically states that litigation should not be utilized in emergency medical situations, many medical groups are worried that the broad nature of the bill means it will still have a distressing impact in a state with an already high maternal mortality rate, especially for Black women."
Source: Texas Signal
MENOPAUSE
Vaginal Estrogen Tablets Safe for Postmenopausal Women Who Have Had a Stroke
What: A study in the American Heart Association's journal found that vaginal estrogen tablets were *not* linked to an increased risk of recurrent stroke in postmenopausal women who had already experienced a stroke. The study is one of the first to investigate the risk of second strokes in postmenopausal women using vaginal estrogen tablets.
Key Line: "'We were cautiously hopeful about the findings, and it was reassuring to discover that the use of vaginal estrogen did not raise the risk of recurrent stroke in this high-risk population,' Haddadan said. 'U.S.-based studies, such as the Women’s Health Initiative and the Nurses’ Health Study, have shown no increased stroke risk with vaginal estrogen in healthy women. Our study extends this reassurance to women with a history of stroke.'"
Source: American Heart Association
METABOLISM + WEIGHT LOSS
Serena Williams Loses 31 lbs. with Weight-Loss Medication
What: Serena Williams gave an exclusive interview to People on how she successfully lost over 31 lbs. using a GLP-1 medication to assist with weight loss after struggling with her postpartum body. She is (not shockingly) doing this as a new spokesperson for Ro, a company that sends GLP-1 medications direct to consumers. But having an elite athlete like Williams say she has taken the medication could change some minds.
Key Line: “'I never was able to get to the weight I needed to be no matter what I did, no matter how much I trained,' she explains. 'It was crazy because I'd never been in a place like that in my life where I worked so hard, ate so healthy and could never get down to where I needed to be at. I had never taken shortcuts in my career and always worked really hard. I know what it takes to be the best,' the 23-time Grand Slam champion says. 'So it was very frustrating to do all the same things and never be able to change that number on the scale or the way my body looked.'”
Source: People
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