health
Oklahoma AG clarifies exceptions for abortion patients and medical providers
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s attorney general said Tuesday that although state law prohibits most abortions, pregnant women cannot be punished for seeking out the procedure. In response to a request from six GOP lawmakers, Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a formal opinion clarifying that state law does not allow for pregnant women — even those […]
Most Americans want health exceptions in abortion bans. Political infighting keeps blocking them.
In early October, an Idaho woman 20 weeks into her pregnancy went to the emergency room after her water broke about five months early. When the water breaks prematurely, an infection can develop and infect the fetus, placenta and other fluids. At that stage of pregnancy, the threat of infection becomes a ticking clock for […]
New technology helps Oklahoma officers, clinicians provide mental health care
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Deputy Gene Bradley stared down the reality that an armed man who threatened to end his life might die like so many others experiencing a mental health crisis. But on that fall day in 2021, Bradley had a tool that would make a difference – an iPad that quickly […]
Oklahoma doesn’t mandate sex ed, so some churches are trying to fill the gaps
Margo Starr grew up going to All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa. When she was in middle school, the church offered classes on Sunday afternoons, and one of them was a sex education course. Her friends signed up for it and, in classic middle school fashion, she joined in on what her friends were doing. […]
Clinic opening highlights growing need for Oklahoma veteran mental health services
OKLAHOMA CITY — For U.S. Army combat veteran Ryan Pitts asking for mental health treatment was the hardest thing he ever had to do. “My biggest regret is that I didn’t get help sooner,” he said. Pitts told his story to a crowd gathered under a rain-soaked tent outside the new Steven A. Cohen Military […]
A new COVID booster is here. Will those at greatest risk get it?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends new COVID-19 booster vaccines for all — but many who need them most won’t get them. About 75% of people in the United States appear to have skipped last year’s bivalent booster, and nothing suggests uptake will be better this time around. “Urging people to get boosters […]
After being denied life-saving abortion, Oklahoma woman files hospital complaint
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma woman who says she was turned away from a local hospital system when seeking an abortion due to life-threatening pregnancy complications has filed a federal complaint against OU Health. Just a few months into her pregnancy, Jaci Statton, of Meeker, found herself suffering from vaginal bleeding and nearly fainting due […]
U.S. Justice Department asks Supreme Court to take up abortion pill case
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday asked the Supreme Court to decide whether the abortion pill should remain on the market after two lower courts issued differing opinions about its use. The case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will likely be the second time the conservative-leaning Supreme […]
Death rates for people under 40 have skyrocketed. Blame fentanyl.
A new Stateline analysis shows that U.S. residents under 40 were relatively unscathed by COVID-19 in the pandemic but fell victim to another killer: accidental drug overdose deaths. Death rates in the age group were up by nearly a third in 2021 over 2018, and last year were still 21% higher. COVID-19 was a small […]
Nursing home industry concerned about new staffing rules proposed by Biden administration
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahomans are divided over new nursing home rules that the Biden administration says will bolster safety for residents by increasing the amount of direct care patients receive each day. Opponents argue that the rules would punish long-term care facilities and exacerbate an already existing health care worker shortage, while supporters contend nursing […]
Tribal health workers aren’t paid like their peers. See why Nevada changed that.
FALLON, Nev. — Linda Noneo turned up the heat in her van to ward off the early morning chill that persists in northern Nevada’s high desert even in late June. As the first rays of daylight broke over a Christian cross on the top a hill near the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone colony, she drove toward her […]
Hospitals block much-needed birth centers in the South
When Katie Chubb announced in 2021 she was planning to open a freestanding birth center in Augusta, Georgia, it seemed like everybody in town was excited about it. She met with local physicians and nurses who said they would welcome her Augusta Birth Center as a provider of midwifery services for low-risk pregnancies. Hundreds of […]