<div>
Nonprofit <a href="https://www.becketlaw.org">Becket Fund for Religious Liberty</a> is sounding the alarm on a newly revised Biden <a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2022-16217.pdf">rule</a> that the group says would compel health care professionals to perform transgender surgeries and abortions against their medical judgment and religious conscience, under the threat of severe financial penalties.
The nonprofit is facing off against the Biden administration on Thursday at the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Becket, representing a Catholic health care network and a group of almost 19,000 health care professionals, is asking the court to uphold the decision in <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUc-2FOOUQLYGWGiQLSN2ynYGZfiwsARa-2B9-2BVx2cs5w5Otut7ASMaJv40SHKwb9DITlxr1m8618-2FGeTZnVZ8taLdsc-3D6h1M_DsNrQKfgI3wpLZw0QJ1EVKlDY5CtU7872sMvY-2FruSXG06DnGcCbD2ur6wM0tt4-2BMaqX5JB8l45-2BQKsE5TJUV61SIAdzVtztvNdNUN9bXCuNip14SosEZ5fQUqEK3oELhUY55Qt9yuLTS39fDcqUUo2fitkwq5gPgMmqKdc1pqWBj4MWNyQCddGfIj-2FtRozrAJKSX90umOez1jjAXospvjpmyiTG6PWBrB1k367f-2BH-2BtSBsnlnG6kwpgyWJ12kYSKz2lLaY6LJo-2B8v5fM-2FxPRVyJHnEM0M0XtqwdJo6Ge0xwy7Uf08xEtScyELh49LYNrGIn4e4-2FqpAtGsiSpGP8-2Fu3CZSXzKSatlcZWBen6FEZs-3D" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn%3D4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUc-2FOOUQLYGWGiQLSN2ynYGZfiwsARa-2B9-2BVx2cs5w5Otut7ASMaJv40SHKwb9DITlxr1m8618-2FGeTZnVZ8taLdsc-3D6h1M_DsNrQKfgI3wpLZw0QJ1EVKlDY5CtU7872sMvY-2FruSXG06DnGcCbD2ur6wM0tt4-2BMaqX5JB8l45-2BQKsE5TJUV61SIAdzVtztvNdNUN9bXCuNip14SosEZ5fQUqEK3oELhUY55Qt9yuLTS39fDcqUUo2fitkwq5gPgMmqKdc1pqWBj4MWNyQCddGfIj-2FtRozrAJKSX90umOez1jjAXospvjpmyiTG6PWBrB1k367f-2BH-2BtSBsnlnG6kwpgyWJ12kYSKz2lLaY6LJo-2B8v5fM-2FxPRVyJHnEM0M0XtqwdJo6Ge0xwy7Uf08xEtScyELh49LYNrGIn4e4-2FqpAtGsiSpGP8-2Fu3CZSXzKSatlcZWBen6FEZs-3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1659664905437000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0rgK4109ATwjNEZ0PqfB82">Franciscan Alliance v. Becerra</a>, fending off the new Biden rule.
</div>
Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel for Becket, warned this week that the rule, dubbed the transgender mandate, could be used to compel hospitals and doctors receiving federal funds to conduct controversial transgender procedures and abortions, <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/would-proposed-biden-rule-force-doctors-to-perform-transgender-surgeries-and-abortions">according</a> to the National Catholic Register.
“A hospital that would perform a hysterectomy for a woman with uterine cancer would also have to perform a hysterectomy for a woman who wants to transition to living as a man,&#8221; Goodrich said. &#8220;If not, [it would be] guilty of sex discrimination and subject to multi-million-dollar penalties.”
The legal expert said doctors who provide care to women who miscarry, which sometimes includes a dilation and curettage (D&amp;C), could be compelled to perform the procedure on a living baby, which is an abortion. Doctors who refuse, Goodrich said, could risk charges of discrimination and face massive fines.
Religious exemption is effectively at the discretion of the Biden administration, Goodrich warned, emphasizing that the revised rule does not provide a blanket exemption.
Such a mandate has already been blocked multiple times before, the expert noted. Goodrich argued that the administration is still going forward with the revised rule, even if the court again rejects it, so “that others might just be cowed into submission [out of] fear of massive penalties.”
“It seems like HHS is willing to treat these court losses in the injunctions as the price to pay for trying to change the norms in the medical profession,&#8221; the expert said, adding, “What they’re really trying to do is change the norms in the medical profession to include gender transition and abortion.”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has already come out against the revised rule, too, echoing Becket&#8217;s warning.
&#8220;Health and Human Services (HHS) issued proposed revisions to its regulations implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which would force health care workers to perform gender transition procedures, require health insurance issuers to cover them, and entertain a mandate to perform elective abortions,&#8221; <a href="https://www.usccb.org/news/2022/bishop-chairmen-condemn-harmful-regulations-forcing-gender-ideology-and-potentially">said</a> a press release from USCCB.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-BIDEN-AFL-CIO

Religious Liberty Group Warns Biden Rule Would Force Trans Surgeries, Abortions. They’re Fighting It In Court.

Religious Liberty Group Warns Biden Rule Would Force Trans Surgeries, Abortions. They’re Fighting It In Court

Abortion

Biden Administration

Health Care

Religious Freedom

Transgender

The secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) told CNN on Sunday that the department is looking at ways to provide abortions in states that have banned it.
During an interview, host Jake Tapper asked about a letter from Senate Democrats and cited an analysis by the <a href="https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/economic-justice/reports/state-abortion-bans-harm-woc.html">National Partnership for Women &amp; Families,</a> showing that 389,600 women veterans live in states where abortion is banned. &#8220;Will the VA take this measure and allow abortion services at VA hospitals even in states where abortion is banned?&#8221; Tapper asked.
&#8220;There are 300,000 women veterans of childbearing age who rely on us for their reproductive health care, for all their health care,&#8221; VA Secretary Denis McDonough responded. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to make sure that they have access to the full slate of that care, because that&#8217;s what we owe them.&#8221;
&#8220;In those states?&#8221; Tapper asked.
&#8220;We&#8217;re looking expressly at these questions about how we guarantee the life and the health of our women veterans, those 300,000 who rely on us for their care,&#8221; McDonough responded. &#8220;I don&#8217;t have any announcements to make on that this morning, Jake. But we&#8217;re looking very closely at that to ensure that there&#8217;s no diminution and no reduction of services to them and no risk to their &#8212; to their lives as a result of these decisions.&#8221;
Tapper also asked if McDonough would prefer to have abortions take place in VA clinics within those states.
&#8220;My preference is that those 300,000 women veterans &#8212; and that&#8217;s the fastest growing cohort of veterans that we have in our care, women veterans &#8212; my preference is that they not face risks to their lives as a result of this decision from the court,&#8221; McDonough said. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to make sure that we&#8217;re in a position to take care of that.&#8221;
McDonough&#8217;s comments came in response to a <a href="https://www.hirono.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/07.28.2022_MKH_Letter%20to%20VA%20re_%20Abortion_Final.pdf">letter from 24 Democratic senators</a>, led by Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono, demanding that the VA amend or create regulations allowing VA to provide abortion and related services to veterans, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. &#8220;We contend that the VA has the statutory authority and discretion to provide abortions and abortion-related services and resources,&#8221; the senators wrote. &#8220;Importantly, the VA has used its authority under the Veterans Health Care Eligibility Reform Act of 1996 to provide reproductive care such as pregnancy care and infertility services.&#8221;
&#8220;The VA must do everything in its power to provide critical reproductive care to veterans and their dependents across the country,&#8221; the senators added.
The secretary&#8217;s comments add to a series of attempts by Democrats and the Biden administration to end-run states that have banned abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court&#8217;s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women&#8217;s Health Organization, which sent abortion laws back to the states.
Just a few days after the Dobbs decision, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said his department was looking at using <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-wants-to-pick-up-travel-tab-for-women-seeking-abortions-in-wake-of-scotus-roe-ruling">taxpayer funds</a> to provide transportation across state lines for women seeking abortions. Far-left members of Congress, like Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aoc-wants-abortion-clinics-on-federal-lands-which-include-national-parks">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez</a> and Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elizabeth-warren-wants-planned-parenthood-to-put-up-tents-inside-national-parks">Elizabeth Warren,</a> have called for abortion clinics to be set up on federal lands.

VA Secretary McDonough Testifies At Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Hearing

Biden’s VA Secretary: ‘Looking Very Closely’ At Options To Provide Abortions For Vets In Pro-Life States

Biden's VA Secretary: 'Looking Very Closely' At Options To Provide Abortions For Vets In Pro-Life States

Democratic Party

Department of Veterans Affairs

Lawyers for 500 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/health-care">health care</a> workers who sued a hospital system over a COVID <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vaccine-mandate">vaccine mandate</a> said Friday that the workers had settled for over $10 million. 
The workers, who alleged discrimination, had been denied religious exemptions from the NorthShore University Health Care System vaccine mandate. 
“As a result of the settlement, NorthShore will pay $10,337,500 to compensate these health care employees who were victims of religious discrimination, and who were punished for their religious beliefs against taking an injection associated with aborted fetal cells,” Liberty Counsel, which represented the former and current workers, <a href="https://lc.org/newsroom/details/072922-health-care-workers-settle-covid-shot-mandate-for-dollar103-million-1">announced</a>.
According to Liberty Counsel, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/illinois">Illinois</a>-based hospital system will also change its policy regarding religious exemptions and “provide religious accommodations in every position across its numerous facilities.”
The Christian and conservative legal group also said that if employees had been fired because of a refusal to get the COVID vaccine and had been denied a religious exemption, they could be rehired at their former position within 90 days of court approval of the settlement. 
NorthShore confirmed in a <a href="https://evanstonnow.com/report-northshore-to-pay-10-3m-in-covid-vaccine-settlement/">statement</a> to Evanston Now that the hospital would be changing its policy related to vaccination. 
“The settlement reflects implementation of a new system-wide vaccine policy which will include accommodation for team members with approved exemptions, including former employees who are rehired,” it <a href="https://evanstonnow.com/report-northshore-to-pay-10-3m-in-covid-vaccine-settlement/">said</a>. 
The system also said that it still supports, “system-wide, evidence-based vaccination requirements for everyone who works at NorthShore – Edward/Elmhurst Health and thank our team members for helping keep our communities safe.”
The settlement, which Liberty Counsel said was the first of its kind, does not mean an admission of guilt from the hospital system. 
&#8220;NorthShore continues to deny all claims as to wrongdoing, liability, damages, penalties, interest, fees, injunctive relief, and all other forms of relief, as well as the class allegations asserted in the action. This agreement cannot and will not be construed as an admission of liability on any claim or in any form against NorthShore,” it <a href="https://lc.org/072922NorthShoreSettlementAgreement(FILED).pdf">says</a>. 
Those workers who were fired or quit because of the mandate will get about $25,000 each, and those who asked for an exemption but ended up getting the shot will get $3,000. 
Matt Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, told Evanston Now that the settlement should be “a big wakeup call for employers” about “blanket dismissals” for religious exemptions to the vaccine. 
The Northern District Court of Illinois, a federal court, will still need to give final approval to the settlement.

Preparing injection with covid-19 vaccine

Health Care System To Pay Over $10 Million To Workers Who Sued Over Vaccine Mandate, Lawyers Announce

COVID-19 Vaccine

Illinois

Religious Liberty

Vaccine Mandate

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/amazon">Amazon</a> announced Thursday that it will <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/business">acquire</a> subscription <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/health-care">health care</a> company One Medical for $3.9 billion.
One Medical, which <a href="https://www.onemedical.com/">runs</a> a membership-based primary care practice accessible through a $199 annual subscription, would follow the $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods in 2017 and the $8.45 billion purchase of MGM earlier this year to mark Amazon’s third largest acquisition.
“We love inventing to make what should be easy easier and we want to be one of the companies that helps dramatically improve the health care experience over the next several years,” Amazon Health Services Senior Vice President Neil Lindsay said in a <a href="https://press.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/amazon-and-one-medical-sign-agreement-amazon-acquire-one-medical">press release</a>. “Together with One Medical’s human-centered and technology-powered approach to health care, we believe we can and will help more people get better care, when and how they need it.”
Amazon is slated to buy One Medical at $18 per share in an all-cash transaction, pending approval from shareholders and regulators. “The opportunity to transform health care and improve outcomes by combining One Medical’s human-centered and technology-powered model and exceptional team with Amazon’s customer obsession, history of invention, and willingness to invest in the long-term is so exciting,” One Medical CEO Amir Dan Rubin added.
In 2019, Amazon <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/23/amazon-acquires-digital-health-start-up-health-navigator.html">acquired</a> startup Health Navigator after unveiling Amazon Care, a virtual health care service designed as a medical benefit for employees. One year earlier, Amazon bought PillPack, an online pharmacy company, which paid the U.S. Department of Justice nearly $6 million in penalties this year for <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/03/amazon-pillpack-6m-settle-doj-fraud-suit">fraudulently overbilling</a> on insulin prescriptions.
Amazon maintained a 56.7% market share in the e-commerce sector as of 2021, according to data from <a href="https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2022/amazons-share-of-us-ecommerce-sales-hits-all-time-high-of-56-7-in-2021/">PYMTS</a>. The merger with One Medical comes as lawmakers scrutinize Amazon and other firms for alleged antitrust violations.
Earlier this year, the Senate Judiciary Committee <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/as-senate-weighs-antitrust-bills-apples-ceo-called-ted-cruz-with-significant-concerns">considered</a> bipartisan proposals such as the Open App Markets Act and the American Innovation and Choice Online Act — both of which are meant to curb technology companies’ ability to prefer their own services on platforms that they created.
In the wake of Amazon’s announcement, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) <a href="https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=54F73C9C-F713-44A9-B33E-07E61F551DF2">urged</a> Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan to “thoroughly investigate” the deal.
“Amazon has a history of engaging in business practices that raise serious anticompetitive concerns,” the letter said, “including forcing small businesses on its site to buy its logistics services as a condition of preferred platform placement, using small businesses’ non-public data to compete against them, and, as was recently disclosed in new documents from the House Judiciary Committee’s Big Tech investigation, potential restricting advertising by competitors who could offer lower prices and better service.”
Lawmakers have also scrutinized Amazon smart doorbell company Ring for providing user data to police. In response to a letter from Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) inquiring about the products’ privacy features, Ring — which Amazon <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-amazon-acquired-ring-2018-3">acquired</a> in 2018 for $1 billion — revealed that it had given law enforcement videos from user devices in emergency situations 11 times since the beginning of the year after making a “good-faith determination that there was an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury” to someone needing information on short notice.
Markey argued that the revelation justifies the passage of his <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2052?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Facial+Recognition+and+Biometric+Technology+Moratorium+Act+of+2021%22%5D%7D&amp;s=2&amp;r=1">Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act</a> — legislation that would bar state and federal entities from accessing Americans’ biometric data.

Surgeon adjusting glove in operating room

Amazon Makes Foray Into Health Care

Amazon Purchases Telehealth Company For $3.9 Billion

Amazon

Business

The first case of polio in the United States in nearly a decade was identified in New York Thursday.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-york">New York</a> State and Rockland County Departments of Health confirmed Thursday that a case of polio had been identified in Rockland County. State health officials said that the virus likely originated outside the U.S., as the particular strain of the virus they identified was transmitted by a person who received an oral polio vaccine, which is no longer used in the U.S.
&#8220;The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and the Rockland County Department of Health today alerted the public to a case of polio in a Rockland County resident,&#8221; officials wrote in a <a href="https://health.ny.gov/press/releases/2022/2022-07-21_polio_rockland_county.htm">statement</a> Thursday. &#8220;State and County health officials are advising medical practitioners and healthcare providers to be vigilant for additional cases.&#8221;
The statement notes that the polio virus typically spreads orally, usually through contact with fecal matter from an infected person, or hands contaminated by fecal matter. The disease can also spread through mouth-to-mouth contact or saliva. The disease itself, called poliomyelitis, attacks the nervous system. Symptoms can be mild and flu-like, including fatigue, muscle pain, muscle weakness, fever, and stiffness. In rare cases, it can also cause paralysis and even death. Symptoms do not typically appear for up to 30 days, during which time an infected person can still transmit the disease to others.
The disease became extremely rare with the advent of the polio <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vaccines">vaccine</a>. The vaccine was introduced in 1955, and a national vaccination program was conducted in the 1950s and 60s. The last naturally occurring case in the United States occurred in 1979, the statement noted. The last known case was recorded by the CDC in 2013. According to the <a href="https://polioeradication.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/weekly-polio-analyses-WPV-20220503.pdf">World Health Organization</a>, there were six cases of polio in three countries in 2021, and there have been just three cases between January and May of this year.
Officials said this case likely originated outside the U.S. in a country that uses an oral vaccine. &#8220;In this case, sequencing performed by the Wadsworth Center – NYSDOH&#8217;s public health laboratory – and confirmed by CDC showed revertant polio Sabin type 2 virus,&#8221; the statement reported. &#8220;This is indicative of a transmission chain from an individual who received the oral polio vaccine (OPV), which is no longer authorized or administered in the U.S., where only the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) has been given since 2000. This suggests that the virus may have originated in a location outside of the U.S. where OPV is administered, since revertant strains cannot emerge from inactivated vaccines.&#8221;
State health officials said they were cooperating with Rockland County and New York City Health Officials to continue investigating the case. They are also urging individuals to get vaccinated against polio. Rockland County announced in the statement that it would be opening a polio vaccination clinic Friday, July 22, and a second clinic on Monday, July 25.
&#8220;Based on what we know about this case, and polio in general, the Department of Health strongly recommends that unvaccinated individuals get vaccinated or boosted with the FDA-approved IPV polio vaccine as soon as possible,&#8221; New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said. &#8220;The polio vaccine is safe and effective, protecting against this potentially debilitating disease, and it has been part of the backbone of required, routine childhood immunizations recommended by health officials and public health agencies nationwide.&#8221;

1F7D0E13-2F26-4350-A886-94AA4A419BA9_1_201_a

Officials Identify First Case Of Polio In United States In Years

New York Officials Identify First Case Of Polio In United States Since 2013

Health

New York

United States

Vaccines

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker was rushed to the hospital on Tuesday for an undisclosed health issue.
<a href="https://people.com/music/travis-barker-hospitalized-in-los-angeles-wife-kourtney-kardashian-by-his-side/?utm_campaign=peoplemagazine&amp;utm_content=manual&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_term=62bba01ff8ab3500015d5336">Barker</a>, 46, was photographed outside Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, as Emergency Medical Technicians and hospital employees appeared to be transporting the musician from an ambulance into the hospital. Barker&#8217;s wife — Kourtney Kardashian, 43 — followed behind the stretcher wearing all black, with the hood of her sweatshirt pulled up over her head.
The musician could be seen in photos holding up his right arm, making a fist, with his skull tattoo.
TMZ <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2022/06/28/travis-barker-kourtney-kardashian-hospital-ambulance-hospitalized/">reported</a> that Barker and Kardashian had gone to West Hills hospital earlier Tuesday morning for a health issue, and doctors there apparently believed the situation to be serious enough that it warranted Barker making a trip to Cedars Sinai — via ambulance, no less.
According to a <a href="https://pagesix.com/2022/06/28/travis-barker-rushed-to-hospital-in-ambulance-with-kourtney-kardashian-by-his-side/">report</a> from Page Six, both the ambulance carrying Barker and the black Range Rover transporting the power couple&#8217;s security team accidentally pulled into the wrong entrance at first and had to be redirected by hospital staff.
Barker&#8217;s latest tweet, posted just hours before he was taken to the hospital, was a cryptic three-word missive: &#8220;God save me.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
God save me
&mdash; Travis Barker (@travisbarker) <a href="https://twitter.com/travisbarker/status/1541840254767771649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
And although &#8220;God Save Me&#8221; is the title of a song by the drummer&#8217;s good friend and fellow artist Machine Gun Kelly, fans looked at it in a different light once the news broke that he had been taken to the hospital.
&#8220;Dang. Hope Travis is aight,&#8221; comedian Marcus Monroe <a href="https://twitter.com/marcusmonroe/status/1541960936407318529">tweeted</a> in response.
Shortly after Barker was taken to the hospital, his 16-year-old daughter Alabama shared a brief message with her followers on Instagram: &#8220;Please send your prayers.&#8221;
Barker&#8217;s health emergency comes just one month after he and Kardashian tied the knot during a three-day celebration in Portofino, Italy. It also comes just a week after Kardashian revealed that she had just contracted and recovered from a second bout with COVID.
Kardashian made the most of her experience, <a href="https://poosh.com/kourtney-kardashian-barker-covid-tips/">sharing a series of tips and advice</a> — about dealing with both the symptoms and the stress of having COVID — to her fans on her lifestyle blog. She offered recommendations on everything from her favorite touch-free thermometer to her grandmother&#8217;s advice on how to manage a fever.

Celebrity Sightings In Portofino

Blink-182 Drummer Rushed To Hospital With Mystery Ailment

Blink-182 Drummer Travis Barker Rushed To Hospital With Undisclosed Health Issue

Celebrities

Khloe Kardashian

Music

Reality TV

The United States government has ordered 13 million monkeypox vaccines from a European pharmaceutical company after a Massachusetts man became the first American diagnosed with the virus in the pox family in 2022.
On Thursday, Newsweek <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/monkeypox-cased-uk-massachusetts-case-vaccine-ordered-us-1708075">reported</a> that the U.S. government bought $119 million of Jynneos vaccines from biotechnology company Bavarian Nordic, which makes the vaccine, on Wednesday.
Bavarian Nordic announced in a press release on Wednesday that &#8220;the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has exercised the first options under the contract to supply a freeze-dried version of JYNNEOS® smallpox vaccine, thus allowing for the first doses of this version to be manufactured and invoiced in 2023 and 2024.&#8221;
On Wednesday, the Massachusetts Department of Health <a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/massachusetts-public-health-officials-confirm-case-of-monkeypox">stated</a> that &#8220;Monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious viral illness that typically begins with flu-like illness and swelling of the lymph nodes and progresses to a rash on the face and body.&#8221;
&#8220;Most infections last 2-to-4 weeks. In parts of central and west Africa where monkeypox occurs, people can be exposed through bites or scratches from rodents and small mammals, preparing wild game, or having contact with an infected animal or possibly animal products,&#8221; the government agency <a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/massachusetts-public-health-officials-confirm-case-of-monkeypox">added</a>.
The virus does not easily spread between people, according to the data.
&#8220;Transmission can occur through contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores, items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores (clothing, bedding, etc.), or through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-face contact,&#8221; MDH said.
While this is the first case of monkeypox in the U.S. in 2022, in the United Kingdom, nine men were diagnosed last month alone. The virus appears to be, in part, sexually transmitted.
&#8220;Based on findings of the Massachusetts case and the recent cases in the UK, clinicians should consider a diagnosis of monkeypox in people who present with an otherwise unexplained rash and 1) traveled, in the last 30 days, to a country that has recently had confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox 2) report contact with a person or people with confirmed or suspected monkeypox, or 3) is a man who reports sexual contact with other men,&#8221; MDH <a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/massachusetts-public-health-officials-confirm-case-of-monkeypox">explained</a>.

Pox Virus

U.S. Buys $119 Million Worth Of Monkeypox Vaccines After First Case Diagnosed In Massachusetts

U.S. Government Buys 13 Million Monkeypox Vaccines Amid Global Outbreak

Federal Government

Massachusetts

A hospital in Missouri is going to experience an incoming baby boom as 11 members of its staff — ten nurses and one doctor — are pregnant at the same time. 
Most of the pregnant employees are nurses at Liberty Hospital’s Birthing Center and they noted they are hoping to give birth at that location when they go into labor, per <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/11-staffers-missouri-hospital-pregnant-time/story?id=84589251">ABC News</a>, which also reported that the simultaneous pregnancies were not planned.
&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of nurses saying they won&#8217;t drink the water,&#8221; Hannah Miller, a postpartum nurse expecting her first kid, told &#8220;Good Morning America.&#8221; 
&#8220;One of the nurses actually brought her own water bottle the other night and I was joking with her. I was like, ‘Oh, you&#8217;re really not drinking the water,'&#8221; Miller added. 
Dr. Anna Gorman, of Northland Obstetrics and Gynecology said it wasn’t probable that all 11 of the staffers would be expecting at the same time. Gorman is expecting her second kid. 
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s really unique because it&#8217;s all in the same unit … and especially like our population ratio, I think is quite high. So sure it happens, but it&#8217;s pretty exciting when it&#8217;s this big,” the OB-GYN said.
&#8220;This is definitely a great experience and it&#8217;s something that I feel like we&#8217;ll probably bond over for a lifetime, having the babies due around the same time,&#8221; Alex Atcheson, a labor and delivery nurse, told “GMA.” “It&#8217;s been great to have each other for support and go through pregnancy together.”
Atcheson and her coworker Alison Harrell are 37 weeks pregnant and will give birth in the next two weeks, as both of them have the same due date of May 27. Their labor and delivery colleague, Katie Bestgen, is also due soon — on July 20.
“Alex and I figured out pretty early that we were due the same day,&#8221; Harrell said. &#8220;And then we started making a list of everyone and people just kept adding to the list as time went on.”
Christen Burns, 26, said she “was one of the last ones to tell everybody that I was pregnant,” and is expecting her first kid. She said, &#8220;I think it was just more exciting to add to the group and have everybody right there with me.”
The nurses and colleagues have been discussing their personal experiences, as well as taking part in celebrating the joyful news. 
&#8220;It&#8217;s been really helpful. Just like getting advice and tips from my coworkers and especially the ones that have had babies before and just relating and like, ‘Oh, do you have problems with your hips too, or different pains or that kind of thing?'&#8221; Cheyenne Beaty said. 
The 26-year-old labor and delivery nurse has enjoyed having people at work who can help give her support. “It’s just nice that there&#8217;s people around me going through the same thing for sure,&#8221; she said.
Therese Byrum is 27 years old, and said that recently there have been a minimum of two pregnant employees working together on a shift and they’ve also had situations where everybody was pregnant on a shift. The obstetric float nurse goes between labor and delivery, the NICU, and in postpartum, and she will be one of the last employees to deliver her child, expecting her fourth kid on Thanksgiving Day.

Baby cupcakes

Baby Boom!: 11 Workers At One Hospital Are All Pregnant At The Same Time

11 Employees At Liberty Hospital In Missouri Are All Pregnant

hospital

Missouri

Nursing

Pregnant

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in an interview that he would be willing to pass a law in Florida banning sex-change surgeries for minors.
In an interview with political commentator Lisa Boothe on her podcast, &#8220;<a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-truth-with-lisa-booth-79779946/episode/in-depth-with-gov-ron-desantis-96335400/">The Truth with Lisa Boothe</a>,&#8221; DeSantis spoke about Florida&#8217;s role in taking on the progressive &#8220;woke&#8221; agenda in his state. During the interview, Boothe asked him whether he would take action to ban gender transition surgeries on minors, after members of the Biden administration said such surgeries are &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-early-trans-surgeries-hormones-are-crucial-for-kids-teens-who-identify-as-trans">crucial</a>&#8221; and a &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-psaki-insists-gender-affirming-health-care-for-kids-is-a-best-practice">best practice</a>,&#8221; and have claimed that “there is no argument among <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-highest-ranking-transgender-official-says-medical-professionals-unanimously-agree-about-value-of-gender-affirming-care">medical professionals</a> … about the value and the importance of gender-affirming care.”
&#8220;So, the Florida Department of Health has issued guidelines for treating gender dysmorphia, recommending against gender transition, puberty blockers, and hormones, but would you support a state law banning any of those medical interventions for children?&#8221; Boothe asked.
&#8220;I would ban the — yeah I would ban the sex change, the operations,&#8221; DeSantis responded. &#8220;I think that it&#8217;s something that — you can&#8217;t get a tattoo if you&#8217;re 12 years old. When they say &#8216;gender-affirming care,&#8217; what they mean, a lot of times is, you are really, you&#8217;re castrating a young boy, you&#8217;re sterilizing a young girl, you&#8217;re doing mastectomies for these very young girls. And, here&#8217;s the thing, what our guidance pointed to, and [Surgeon General Joseph Ladopo] did a great job, for these young kids, 80% of the cases resolve themselves as they grow up, and so you&#8217;re doing things that are permanently altering them, and then they&#8217;re not gonna be able to reverse that, and so I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s appropriate for kids at all, I think the guidance is right, but I think that there should be additional protections. &#8216;Cause, you know, when you&#8217;re growing up, there are things that, you know, it&#8217;s an awkward time, and it seems like there&#8217;s a concerted effort in society to push these kids in to do some type of medical intervention, and in our judgement that&#8217;s not healthy.&#8221;
The Florida Department of Health <a href="https://www.floridahealth.gov/_documents/newsroom/press-releases/2022/04/20220420-gender-dysphoria-guidance.pdf?utm_source=floridahealth.gov&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=newsroom&amp;utm_content=article&amp;url_trace_7f2r5y6=https://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2022/04/20220420-gender-dysphoria-press-release.pr.html">released guidance</a> on April 20 opposing transgender treatments for children. &#8220;Systematic reviews on hormonal treatment for young people show a trend of low-quality evidence, small sample sizes, and medium to high risk of bias,&#8221; the guidance said. &#8220;A paper published in the International Review of Psychiatry states that 80% of those seeking clinical care will lose their desire to identify with the nonbirth sex. One review concludes that &#8216;hormonal treatments for transgender adolescents can achieve their intended physical effects, but evidence regarding their psychosocial and cognitive impact is generally lacking.&#8217; The Department recommended against &#8216;social gender transition,&#8217; i.e. changing a child&#8217;s name, pronouns, and clothing, as a treatment option for children; opposed prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to children and adolescents; and opposed gender reassignment surgeries as a treatment option. Based on the currently available evidence, &#8216;encouraging mastectomy, ovariectomy, uterine extirpation, penile disablement, tracheal shave, the prescription of hormones which are out of line with the genetic make-up of the child, or puberty blockers, are all clinical practices which run an unacceptably high risk of doing harm,'&#8221; the guidance concluded.
In addition to Florida&#8217;s guidance, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has proposed investigating parents and medical professionals who participate in gender transition surgeries on a child, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-to-potentially-prosecute-sex-change-surgeries-on-minors-as-child-abuse">potentially prosecuting</a> them for child abuse. The state of <a href="https://legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sessioninfo/2022/legislation/H0675.pdf">Idaho</a> has also introduced legislation that would ban gender transition surgeries for children.

Governor Ron DeSantis signs Floridas 15-week abortion ban

DeSantis Says He’d Support A Law Banning Gender Transition Surgeries On Children: ‘There Should Be Additional Protections’

Florida

Ron DeSantis

transgender surgery

Amazon announced on Monday that it would pay up to $4,000 in travel expenses for employees who want to go out of state to get an abortion.
The announcement was made at a staff meeting on Monday, and includes a variety of medically related travel expenses as well as allowing abortions as qualified travel expenses, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazon-reimburse-us-employees-who-travel-treatments-including-abortions-2022-05-02/">according</a> to Reuters. 
With the new policy, if an employee could not get an abortion within 100 miles of her home, Amazon would cover up to $4,000 in travel expenses for the employee to go get one. Other things which would qualify for travel reimbursement include gaining access to cellular gene therapies and cardiology related services. 
American Principles Project President Terry Schilling told The Daily Wire that he was not surprised by the move.
&#8220;It&#8217;s sadly no surprise to see Amazon assisting in efforts to circumvent pro-life laws,&#8221; he said. &#8220;After all, they have been doing the woke Left&#8217;s bidding for years — from banning conservative books on their platform to partnering with the notoriously partisan Southern Poverty Law Center to block donations to right-leaning groups, among other activities.&#8221;
The travel expense benefit, including reimbursement for abortion related travel, would apply to &#8220;covered dependents&#8221; with Premera or Aetna plans, as well as U.S. workers according to Reuters. 
In general, Amazon employees tend to support liberal politicians, with 85% of <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/amazon-com/totals?id=D000023883">their</a> donations during the 2020 election cycle going to Democrats. MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mackenzie-scott-gives-record-breaking-275-million-to-planned-parenthood-will-be-used-to-help-black-women-get-abortions">donated</a> a record $275 million to Planned Parenthood, with money that at least in part came from her stake in Amazon. 
Schilling added that Amazon was pushing its &#8220;woke agenda even further, subsidizing the abortion industry even as they falsely categorize it as a &#8216;non-life threatening&#8217; procedure.&#8221;
&#8220;Conservatives by now should be thinking twice before doing business with Amazon, and at the very least, Republican leaders should stop providing any special benefits to a company that is clearly working against the interests of American families,&#8221; he stated.
Amazon, one of the largest private employer in the country, is not the first corporation to announce its funding of “abortion tourism,” a phrase used to describe traveling to obtain an abortion, which ends the life of an unborn child. Yelp and Citigroup both announced earlier this year that they would be paying for their employees travel to get abortions. 
“The ability to control your reproductive health, and whether or when you want to extend your family, is absolutely fundamental to being able to be successful in the workplace,” Yelp’s Chief Diversity Officer Miriam Warren <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/12/business/yelp-abortion-employees.html">said</a> earlier this month. 
Back in March, Citigroup <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/investment-bank-will-pay-travel-expenses-so-employees-can-get-abortions-more-easily">revised</a> its policies to pay for employees of the investment bank to travel to get abortions. The bank explained in a filing that “in response to changes in reproductive healthcare laws in certain states in the U.S., beginning in 2022 we provide travel benefits to facilitate access to adequate resources.”

‘Subsidizing The Abortion Industry’: Amazon To Fund Abortion Tourism For Its Employees

Amazon Announces Reimbursements For Employees Traveling To Get An Abortion

Planned Parenthood

Former professional race car driver Danica Patrick opened up about why she initially decided to get breast implants — and the fact that she opted to have them taken out after revealing a series of health issues she attributed to them.
The 40-year-old driver took Friday to her <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc8HQGNruIJ/">Instagram</a> where she admitted she wasn&#8217;t even sure she was &#8220;ready to share this&#8221; news but then she said she &#8220;remembered that true vulnerability is sharing something you&#8217;re not really ready to&#8221; as she broke down all the changes she noticed happening to her body in the years after she got them.
&#8220;I got breast implants November of 2014,&#8221; Patrick explained. &#8220;I got them because I want to have it all. I was really fit, but I didn&#8217;t have boobs. So I got them. Everything went well, and I was happy with them. Fast forward about 3 years to early 2018, and I noticed that my hair was not as healthy and was breaking off. I also gained a few pounds and had no luck losing it.&#8221;
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Danica Patrick Removes Breast Implants Amid Health Concerns <a href="https://t.co/9CditubPeN">https://t.co/9CditubPeN</a>
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&#8220;Then fast forward to late 2020&#8230;. and the wheels came off,&#8221; she added. &#8220;I had [menstrual] cycle irregularity, gained more weight, my hair wasn&#8217;t looking healthy at all and my face was a different shape (weird I know). So, I went down the rabbit hole to figure it out. I did every test that could be done.&#8221;
The most successful <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-03-09/danica-patrick-nascar-indycar-racing">female race car driver in history</a> in an open-wheel series then provided a list of &#8220;symptoms and out of range medical tests&#8221; she underwent over the last few years to figure out what was happening. Some of those things included &#8220;hypothyroidism,&#8221; &#8220;low estrogen,&#8221; &#8220;adrenal fatigue,&#8221; &#8220;dry scalp/skin,&#8221; &#8220;face swelling,&#8221; &#8220;weight gain,&#8221; and &#8220;hair loss,&#8221; among so many others.
&#8220;I had them removed on Wednesday,&#8221; Patrick revealed. &#8220;The picture is a snap shot of a couple hours before and a couple hours after. Within hours after surgery this is what I noticed &#8211; my face had more color and less dark circles (no food before the second pic), my face started producing oil again, I could take a 30% deeper breath into my chest already, and I had so much energy when I woke up (and surgery was at 230pm).&#8221;
Her post included two photos — one taken before she had the implants removed and one she said was taken just a couple of hours after and the differences are definitely visible.
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Patrick said she believed the condition known as &#8220;breast implant illness&#8221; is what affected her as she slammed the &#8220;good folks at these drug companies who are selling them to say they are safe.&#8221;
&#8220;There are a host of issues that women have dealt with and I have many, but not all,&#8221; Patrick shared. &#8220;After watching over 100 stories on YouTube&#8230;. my belief is, it&#8217;s not if but when you develop symptoms. Some are right away, others are over 15 years later. Silicone is a foreign object and leaches chemicals (look up that huge list!) that&#8217;s why the body produces a capsule around it. If this post helps just one get to the root of their issues, it did its job. I will share my progress as I go along.&#8221;
Reading through the comments, a lot people showed their support to the former driver speaking out about her experience.
TV personality Catt Sadler called Patrick&#8217;s post &#8220;important&#8221; and wrote, &#8220;so happy you are free. And thank you for sharing this story.&#8221;
Another person, Celebrity Chef Serena Poon, wrote that she was &#8220;so proud of you and so excited for this next chapter of health and vitality.&#8221;

Danica Patrick-2

Danica Patrick Explains Why She Got Breast Implants And Has Since Taken Them Out After Suffering Health Issues

Danica Patrick Removes Breast Implants After Suffering Health Issues

NASCAR

WASHINGTON — Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy reacted Wednesday to news that the Food and Drug Administration had admitted many prenatal screening tests have been giving false results.
“Yesterday’s admission by the FDA regarding the inherent risks of NIPT screenings marks another step towards protecting life by the most pro-abortion administration in American history,&#8221; Roy told The Daily Wire.
&#8220;Parents deserve complete information when making complicated medical decisions for their children &#8211; especially when these tests can be a matter of life or death,&#8221; he continued.
Roy shared with The Daily Wire that his godson was recommended for abortion following a prenatal screening, saying that he cannot &#8220;help but pray for those not as lucky as my godson.&#8221;
&#8220;His parents chose life,&#8221; Roy said. &#8220;The test was wrong. He was born perfectly healthy, and to this day, we are all grateful for the joy he has brought with him into this world.&#8221;
The congressman&#8217;s remarks come after the FDA warned Tuesday of &#8220;the risk of false results, inappropriate use and inappropriate interpretation of results with non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) tests, also called cell-free DNA tests or non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPT).&#8221;
These tests, which the FDA says have been increasingly used as of late, look for genetic abnormalities in an unborn baby by testing a blood sample from the mother.
The FDA stressed in a press release that these tests provide information about the possibility that a child will be born with a &#8220;serious health condition,&#8221; noting that these are merely screening tests, and that additional information is needed to confirm whether the baby is affected.
“While genetic non-invasive prenatal screening tests are widely used today, these tests have not been reviewed by the FDA and may be making claims about their performance and use that are not based on sound science,” Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement.
“Without proper understanding of how these tests should be used, people may make inappropriate health care decisions regarding their pregnancy,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;We strongly urge patients to discuss the benefits and risks of these tests with a genetic counselor or other health care provider prior to making decisions based on the results of these tests.”
These &#8220;inappropriate health care decisions&#8221; that he referred to may include abortion, according to a damning January <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/01/upshot/pregnancy-birth-genetic-testing.html">New York Times report</a>.
In January, Roy <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/01/20/gop-fda-prenatal-tests-chip-roy-fischbach-daines-abortion-pregnancy/">led lawmakers</a> in calling on acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock to address the Times report exposing that competing companies promising expectant mothers that their tests are “highly” accurate failed to publish data on how accurate their testing is.
And since the tests they provide were usually wrong, the Times reported (analysis by the publication found that the tests are incorrect about 85 percent of the time), many families have been given an inaccurate diagnosis of abnormalities or irregularities that may have led them to abort their unborn baby.
“While these tests can help parents prepare for the arrival of their child, we are concerned that they could be a predatory financial windfall for manufacturers and directly result in the termination of innocent human life,” the lawmakers wrote to the FDA.
The Republicans asked how the FDA reviews the <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2021/11/18/exclusive-students-for-life-beg-lawmakers-to-block-biden-administration-from-stealthily-easing-access-to-death-by-mail-abortion-drugs/">safety</a> and efficacy of the tests, asking, “If FDA is aware of a safety concern regarding tests currently on the market, what authority, if any, allows FDA to take action on such tests?”
“Is the FDA considering evaluating the accuracy of claims made by the manufacturers of noninvasive prenatal tests?” the lawmakers continued, “What data, if any, is the FDA examining or collecting related to noninvasive prenatal tests?”

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FDA Admits Prenatal Screening Tests Are Often Wrong, Leading Parents To Make ‘Inappropriate Health Care Decisions’ Like Abortion

Chip Roy

Pro-Life Movement

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