EVERYTHING
A Look at How NIH Layoffs Hit Just One Promising Study
What: The Washington Post explains how, on the same day researchers published findings that showed promising success in using immunotherapy to shrink gastrointestinal cancer tumors, they also faced "devastating layoffs" at NIH.
Key Line: "But the progress arrives at a sad time for science — and for patients, said the leader of the work, NIH immunotherapy pioneer Steven Rosenberg. Two patients’ treatments using the experimental therapy had to be delayed because NIH’s capacity to make personalized cell therapies has been slowed by the firing of highly skilled staff and by purchasing slowdowns. Those occurred even before major layoffs took place Tuesday. ...'Everything I try to do, I try to do at warp speed. These are people with desperate illnesses and nowhere to go,' Rosenberg said. 'Right now, assuming things don’t get any worse, it would be a month [delay]. These are not patients that have very many months left.'”
Source: The Washington Post
Trump Administration Decimates Maternal and Child Health Programs
What: The Guardian digs into the specific cuts made by HHS Sec. Kennedy and Elon Musk to maternal and children's health programs. They found some of the hardest hit divisions included the Health Resources and Services Administration, which was in HHS and contained the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The CDC division of reproductive health also seems to have been eliminated. And Dr. Diana Bianchi, director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, was forced out.
Key Line: “'It certainly appears there was a particular focus on parts of HHS that dealt with women’s or reproductive health,' said Sean Tipton, chief policy officer at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, about the cuts. He added: 'How in the world you can justify the CDC eliminating the division of maternal mortality is beyond me.'”
Source: The Guardian
How DOGE Cuts Will Change Women’s Health
What: Politico digs in to how federal funding cuts under Elon Musk's DOGE are also hitting research grants that focus on women's health, including a study on maternal mortality in New York state.
Key Line: "'Women’s health research is already underfunded, under-researched and under-prioritized,' Lindsey Miltenberger, chief advocacy officer at the Society for Women’s Health Research, tells Women Rule. In the midst of these funding cuts, 'women’s health research is at a major disadvantage.' The “loss of institutional knowledge … having fewer staff available to review drugs and medical devices,' as a result of the layoffs, 'will limit federal agencies’ abilities to address gaps, including women’s health gaps,' Miltenberger adds."
Source: Politico
ABORTION ACCESS
California Woman Sues Catholic Hospital Chain Over Emergency Abortion Denial
What: Catholic hospital systems are located throughout the country--including states without abortion bans. But a woman in California is suing a Catholic hospital chain for denying her emergency abortion care while she was miscarrying twins, leading her to almost bleed to death. The hospital is accused of violating state law.
Key Line: "Yet, despite clear signs Nusslock’s life was in peril and her twins could not survive, the ER’s attending physician told her she was not 'sufficiently close to death,' to receive emergency abortion care, according to court papers. 'I remember saying to somebody, ‘But this is California!’' Nusslock recalled. 'But it’s a technicality when the only hospital you can have a baby at won’t help you.'”
Source: LA Times
WELLNESS + BEAUTY
Trump's Tariffs Threaten America's K-Beauty Obsession
What: The Atlantic's Nancy Walecki breaks down how Trump's tariff regime could mean American beauty enthusiasts having to say goodbye to their beloved Korean skin care products. The tariffs could significantly increase the cost of popular K-beauty items, like snail mucin serums and high-quality sunscreens.
Key Line: "Yesterday, the founder of the Korean company KraveBeauty announced on TikTok that the tariff will hit their next shipment to the U.S. and will have to be passed on to customers. 'We’re still calculating what the implications of this new trade policy would be to our business, but this will change pretty much everything,' she said—for her company and others. She said the tariffs could upend her brand’s long-standing policy of keeping all their products under $28; those responding in the comments already spoke of K-beauty in the past tense; many included crying-face emoji."
Source: The Atlantic
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