In one of its first acts this session, the GOP-controlled House passed a bill Wednesday geared toward ensuring steps are taken by health providers to protect infants born alive after an attempted <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/abortion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abortion</a>.
Republicans and their supporters championed the legislation as instrumental in guaranteeing life-saving care to newborns while Democrats and pro-abortion groups generally cast the bill as an <a href="https://twitter.com/NormaJTorres/status/1613177408667926531" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attack on women&#8217;s reproductive rights</a> and unnecessary because it is already illegal to kill infants who are born alive.
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&mdash; Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jim_Jordan/status/1613249160500899840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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One Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar (TX), joined all voting GOP lawmakers to support the legislation. <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202329" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The final tally was 220-210</a>, with Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) voting &#8220;present&#8221; and three Republicans not voting. Despite the victory for Republicans in the House, the legislation likely won&#8217;t get far in the Democrat-led Senate.
The bill, called the &#8220;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/26/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Born-Alive+Abortion+Survivors+Protection+Act%22%2C%22Born-Alive%22%2C%22Abortion%22%2C%22Survivors%22%2C%22Protection%22%2C%22Act%22%5D%7D&amp;r=1&amp;s=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act</a>,&#8221; establishes that health care practitioners who do not reasonably act to &#8220;preserve the life and health of the child&#8221; after an attempted abortion as they would any newborn face fines or up to five years imprisonment. The bill also outlines civil remedies for the mother of an abortion survivor.
&#8220;This reasonable legislation would protect a baby born alive following an abortion,&#8221; <a href="https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/wagner-scalise-cammack-introduce-born-alive-abortion-survivors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said Carol Tobias</a>, president of National Right to Life. &#8220;This bill isn’t about interfering with a so-called right to abortion. It is about stopping infanticide. Congress must act now to pass this legislation and protect these vulnerable babies.&#8221;
Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), who introduced the bill, celebrated its passing following a years-long effort. She touted how the <a href="https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/wagners-born-alive-legislation-passes-house-heads-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legislation will</a> &#8220;ensure that every single baby born in the United States receives lifesaving medical care at their most vulnerable moment.&#8221;
The lower chamber <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202330" target="_blank" rel="noopener">also adopted</a> on Wednesday a measure &#8220;condemning the recent attacks on pro-life facilities, groups, and churches.&#8221;
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks in opposition to GOP abortion legislation:
“We believe in Roe v. Wade. You wonder about our position? That’s it … What this bill is about today: a march towards criminalizing abortion care, a nationwide ban.” <a href="https://t.co/O0TUNddmT5">pic.twitter.com/O0TUNddmT5</a>
&mdash; The Recount (@therecount) <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1613253120183918592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Mini Timmaraju, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, <a href="https://www.prochoiceamerica.org/2023/01/11/naral-pro-choice-america-condemns-house-gops-passage-of-assault-on-abortion-as-democrats-close-rank-around-reproductive-freedom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released a statement</a> criticizing Republicans for &#8220;doubling down on their anti-choice extremist values&#8221; and &#8220;forcing votes on bills that make it harder for Americans to access the care they need.&#8221;
Alluding to how the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/united-states-supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade-leaves-abortion-restrictions-to-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">overturned Roe v. Wade last summer</a>, leaving abortion restrictions to the states, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) described Wagner&#8217;s bill as part of &#8220;a march towards criminalizing abortion care, a nationwide ban.&#8221;

eps. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., Ann Wagner, R-Mo., and Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

House Passes ‘Born-Alive’ Abortion Bill

House Passes 'Born-Alive' Abortion Bill

Abortion

Congress

Health Care

U.S.

U.S. House of Representatives

Women

President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> announced that <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/health-insurance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">health insurance</a> signups via HealthCare.Gov surged to a new record this year.
Created by the Affordable Care Act, a signature Obama administration legislative package often referred to as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/obamacare" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ObamaCare</a>, the website facilitated more than 11.5 million Americans seeking insurance between November 1 and December 15, marking an 18% increase since the same period last year. Enrollment for the website, which serves as a private health insurance marketplace and offers subsidies for Americans who earn between one and four times the federal poverty line, remains open.
“I promised to lower costs for families and ensure that all Americans have access to quality affordable health care,” Biden remarked in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/12/27/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-record-2022-healthcare-gov-enrollment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> from the White House. “In recent days, we received further proof that our efforts are delivering record results and bringing families the peace of mind that comes with health insurance.”
Biden added that four in five Americans who obtain health insurance through the Affordable Care Act can expect to pay less than $10 per month; the Inflation Reduction Act extended benefits that were slated to expire by the end of the year.
The number of non-elderly Americans who did not have health insurance amounted to 27.5 million last year, according to an <a href="https://www.kff.org/uninsured/issue-brief/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Biden added that his administration is “working to make health care a right, not a privilege.” While many leftists believe that health coverage is one of many positive rights, under which others are obligated to take an action on behalf of another individual, many conservatives contend that no such right exists and favor a negative rights framework, under which the government or other individuals cannot infringe upon specific liberties.
The report from the White House comes as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/medicaid-enrollment-to-hit-100-million-include-nearly-one-third-of-americans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enrollment</a> for Medicaid, which provides health care to low-income families, approaches 100 million people, or nearly one-third of the population, according to an analysis from the Foundation for Government Accountability.
“Our research and data show as welfare enrollment increases, workforce participation decreases,” Foundation for Government Accountability Data and Analytics Director Hayden Dublois remarked in a <a href="https://thefga.org/press/fga-launches-countdown-clock-to-100-million-on-medicaid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “We’re in the midst of a nationwide workforce crisis, yet the Biden administration is pushing policies to entice people into government dependency at record levels while limiting opportunities to achieve the American Dream.”
National healthcare expenditures were equivalent to approximately 18% of economic output last year, according to a <a href="https://www.cms.gov/research-statistics-data-and-systems/statistics-trends-and-reports/nationalhealthexpenddata/nhe-fact-sheet#:~:text=NHE%20grew%202.7%25%20to%20%244.3,17%20percent%20of%20total%20NHE." target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, while the two programs respectively cost $901 billion and $734 billion.
A recent <a href="https://committeetounleashprosperity.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Paying-Americans-Not-to-Work.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> from the Committee to Unleash Prosperity likewise found that unemployment insurance and the “dramatic recent expansion of ObamaCare subsidies” can <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/some-families-with-no-one-working-can-receive-up-to-six-figures-of-welfare-in-three-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exceed</a> the national median income in 24 states for families with two parents and two children, even with the end of supplemental programs originally passed during the lockdown-induced recession. Such families in Washington can receive more than $122,000, while families in Massachusetts and New Jersey can reap more than $117,000 and $108,000 in annualized benefits respectively.
“The federal government and the states offer a wide array of more than two dozen programs that provide cash assistance or in-kind benefits to low-income families. These ‘safety net programs’ are designed to keep families out of poverty,” the authors wrote. “But the expansion of assistance, especially in subsidized health insurance to families with children and no parents working, can mean that families can earn as much or more income from receiving government assistance than the median household does from working.”

Joe Biden, Barack Obama

ObamaCare Website Signups Soar To New Record Under Biden

ObamaCare Website Signups Up Under Biden

Biden Administration

Executive

Health

Health Insurance

Obamacare

A federal judge approved a class action settlement of more than $10 million for workers at an Illinois healthcare system whose religious exemptions against taking the COVID vaccine were rejected.
Judge John Kness granted approval on Monday, with the final judgment provided by next week, according to Liberty Counsel.
“After many months and long hours, we are pleased to finally get the court’s final approval of this classwide settlement for these health care workers who were unlawfully discriminated against and denied religious exemptions from the COVID shot mandate,&#8221; Liberty Counsel Vice President of Legal Affairs and Chief Litigation Counsel Harry Mihet, whose organization represented the health care workers, said in a <a href="https://lc.org/newsroom/details/121922-court-grants-final-approval-in-dollar103-million-settlement-for-health-care-workers-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
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Christmas came early for our NorthShore plaintiffs! Today, the court granted FINAL APPROVAL in the $10.3 MILLION CLASS-ACTION SETTLEMENT for health care workers who were discriminated against and denied religious exemptions from the COVID shot mandate.
&mdash; Liberty Counsel (@libertycounsel) <a href="https://twitter.com/libertycounsel/status/1604886655038590982?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;This case should set a precedent for other employers who have violated the law by denying religious exemptions for their employees,&#8221; he added.
The first-of-its-kind class action settlement against a private employer in the case of Jane Doe 1, et al. v. Northshore University Healthsystem arose after the healthcare system denied hundreds of religious exemption requests for COVID vaccines. NorthShore will pay $10,337,500 to compensate the impacted healthcare employees who were denied exemptions.
The settlement includes various responses based on the treatment of individual employees. Settlement checks to those terminated or resigned because of their religious refusal of the COVID vaccine will receive approximately $24,000 each, according to the settlement.
Employees forced to accept a COVID vaccine against their religious beliefs to keep their jobs will receive approximately $3,700 each.
In addition, staff members terminated because of their religious refusal will be eligible for rehire if they apply within 90 days of the final settlement approved by the court and will retain their previous seniority level. Liberty Counsel noted that many previously terminated employees have already been rehired, and others will continue to be reinstated at NorthShore.
The settlement will also require the health care provider to change its religious accommodation policy to be consistent with the law, offering legal religious accommodations across all its locations.
The <a href="https://lc.org/102521NorthshoreVerifiedComplaint.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> was filed in October 2021, along with a motion for a temporary restraining order against the Illinois-based company. The effort sought to stop the healthcare provider from firing employees who had requested a religious accommodation policy to the COVID vaccine that was initially scheduled to occur on November 1, 2021.
NorthShore previously granted exemptions for some employees but then rejected them in mid-September of 2021, according to Liberty Counsel. After denying these employees, NorthShore also <a href="https://lc.org/newsroom/details/102521-health-care-employees-sue-northshore-university-healthsystem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">changed</a> its exemption form to include a warning that all religious objections based on “aborted fetal cell lines, stem cells, tissue or derivative materials will result in denials.”
The lawsuit focused on the state&#8217;s Health Care Right of Conscience Act. The policy states, in part, that employees cannot be compelled &#8220;to receive, obtain, accept or participate in any way in any particular form of health care services contrary to his or her conscience.”
Judge Kness issued a 27-page <a href="https://lc.org/PDFs/Attachments2PRsLAs/113021_Northshore_Order.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decision</a> in November of 2021 that found NorthShore employees who were discriminated against would be able to recover monetary damages. The case was filed as a class action lawsuit and later approved in Monday&#8217;s settlement.

vaccination

Court Grants $10.3 Million Settlement To Health Care Workers Denied Religious Exemptions For COVID Vaccine

Courts

COVID-19 Vaccine

Religious Freedom

A Canadian man has changed his mind about ending his life through medically assisted suicide after an outpouring of support from good Samaritans.
Amir Farsoud said he is no longer considering euthanasia after strangers who were moved by his story donated more than $60,000 to help him, which will allow him to avoid <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/homelessness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">homelessness</a>.
“I’m a different person,” Farsoud <a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/11/16/ontario-medically-assisted-death-support/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Toronto-based CityNews, which first <a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/10/13/medical-assistance-death-maid-canada/">shared</a> his story. “The first time we spoke, I had nothing but darkness, misery, stress and hopelessness. Now I have all the opposite of those things.”
Farsoud, 54, lives with agonizing chronic back pain due to an accident several years ago. During the worst bouts of pain, he was “crying like a 5-year-old and not sleeping for days in a row,” he said. He also takes depression and anxiety medication.
He is unable to work and lives on checks from Ontario&#8217;s government disability assistance program. He felt there was no way to avoid homelessness after the St. Catharine&#8217;s, Ontario, rooming house he shares with two other people was listed for sale.
Farsoud had applied for Medical Aid in Dying (MAID), Canada&#8217;s legal euthanasia program. He had gotten one doctor to sign off on his application and needed one more doctor to approve it while he waited the mandatory 90-day waiting period. He expected to be eligible as early as this month.
&#8220;I don’t want to die but I don’t want to be homeless more than I don’t want to die,&#8221; Farsoud previously told CityNews. “I know, in my present health condition, I wouldn’t survive it anyway. It wouldn’t be at all dignified waiting, so if that becomes my two options, it’s pretty much a no-brainer.”
His story deeply moved a stranger, a Canadian woman named Effie, who set up a GoFundMe for him, hoping to raise enough money to convince him not to end his life. The fundraiser had <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/np76w-choosing-to-live?qid=488fbd8c769c687c460d682400888fd4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pulled in</a> $60,289 as of Wednesday afternoon.
Now, Farsoud is no longer seeking to move forward with his assisted suicide.
“I honestly thought by December I wouldn’t be here. So no, I certainly did not envision this by any stretch of the imagination,” Farsoud said.
Farsoud said he has also received more than just money.
“There has been this amazing outpouring of love and support, emotional support. There’s been therapists that have gotten in touch to do like online or on the phone therapy,” he said.
Farsoud said he hasn&#8217;t felt this grateful and happy since he was 12 when his family immigrated to France from Iran to escape the revolution.
“I have felt like this one time in my life. When we left Iran and got to France, we left the plane and I was a kid, but I fell to my knees and kissed the tarmac, because no one was going to shoot me, no demonstrations, no army, no burning buildings. I’m going to get up in the morning knowing I wouldn’t be dead that night,” explained Farsoud. “The way I feel or have been feeling since this happened, that’s the closest I’ve come [to that],” he said.
Still, Farsoud has not ruled out using MAID in the future, as he expects his chronic back pain to become too painful to bear at some point in the future. For now though, he is not planning for it.
“It’s amazing what an act of kindness can do,” he said. “I wouldn’t have thought it possible the kindness and humanity and compassion I saw, I didn’t think it existed anymore. It does.”

Illustration: Euthanasia On July 1998 In France

Canadian Man Changes Mind About Assisted Suicide After Good Samaritans Step In

Canada

Euthanasia

Homelessness

Medical

Poverty

Social Issues

Suicide

World

&#8220;Married With Children&#8221; alumna <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/im-never-going-to-accept-this-married-with-children-star-opens-up-about-ms-battle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christina Applegate</a> received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — and she explained how her ongoing battle with Multiple Sclerosis had led to her decision to attend the ceremony barefoot.
Applegate, who has been open about her 2021 diagnosis and the struggles that followed — including a long break from filming the final season of her Netflix show &#8220;Dead to Me&#8221; so that she could seek treatment — recently revealed that the disease has left her unable to walk without a cane.
&#8220;I’m never going to accept this,&#8221; she told The New York Times in a recent <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/arts/television/christina-applegate-dead-to-me.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a>. &#8220;I’m pissed.&#8221;
In that same interview, Applegate referenced an upcoming ceremony she was preparing for — and on Monday, she was in attendance as she was honored with her own star on the famed Walk.
&#8220;I remember going, ‘I want to have one of these!’&#8221; Applegate <a href="https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/christina-applegate-dead-to-me-final-season-after-ms-diagnosis-1235426998/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said of her star</a>. &#8220;My whole childhood was like that — wow, these stars.&#8221;
&#8220;It happened. Thank you everyone. Hollywood chamber of commerce. And ya know… everyone,&#8221; she tweeted, sharing photos from the event.
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It happened. Thank you everyone. Hollywood chamber of commerce. And ya know… everyone. <a href="https://t.co/GmHU9XTSbR">pic.twitter.com/GmHU9XTSbR</a>
&mdash; christina applegate (@1capplegate) <a href="https://twitter.com/1capplegate/status/1592374789569552384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
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She followed with a photo of her bare feet, standing on her newly-dedicated star, along with the comment, &#8220;Barefoot. For some with MS the feeling of shoes may hurt or make us feel off balance. So today I was me. Barefoot.&#8221;
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Barefoot. For some with MS the feeling of shoes may hurt or make us feel off balance. So today I was me. Barefoot <a href="https://t.co/eJBGg1Wyug">pic.twitter.com/eJBGg1Wyug</a>
&mdash; christina applegate (@1capplegate) <a href="https://twitter.com/1capplegate/status/1592413373324754946?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The &#8220;Anchorman&#8221; actress shared another photo, mentioning her bare feet again. &#8220;My family. My people. All in doc martens. But me and my tiny toes!&#8221; she added.
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My family. My people. All in doc martens. But me and my tiny toes ! <a href="https://t.co/gsEJUgD5SO">pic.twitter.com/gsEJUgD5SO</a>
&mdash; christina applegate (@1capplegate) <a href="https://twitter.com/1capplegate/status/1592624652144488448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
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During the ceremony, Applegate also sported a manicure featuring the letters &#8220;f-u-M-S&#8221; across her four fingers, meaning &#8220;f*** you, MS.&#8221;
The actress <a href="https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/christina-applegate-dead-to-me-final-season-after-ms-diagnosis-1235426998/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Variety</a> recently that her condition might push her career in a new direction, noting that the disease had introduced new physical limitations that might not allow her to continue acting.
Noting that Netflix producers and the rest of her &#8220;Dead to Me&#8221; cast and crew had worked with her to make the final season happen despite those limitations, Applegate explained, &#8220;It had to be cold, because heat is our kryptonite. Can’t work those 18-hour days, you know? It was impossible.&#8221;
The third and final season of &#8220;Dead to Me&#8221; is scheduled to be released on Netflix November 17.
WATCH:
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November 17 on Netflix Enjoy <a href="https://t.co/gqMuCfuiJi">pic.twitter.com/gqMuCfuiJi</a>
&mdash; christina applegate (@1capplegate) <a href="https://twitter.com/1capplegate/status/1587844972467716096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Christina Applegate Honored With Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame

‘Today I Was Me’: ‘Married With Children’ Star Explains Why She Rocked Bare Feet At Hollywood Ceremony

'Married With Children' Star Christina Applegate Explains Why She Rocked Bare Feet At Hollywood Ceremony

Celebrities

Hollywood

Oregon voters have approved a measure that recognizes health care as a human right.
The passing of Measure 111 makes Oregon the first state in the nation to add the right to affordable health care to its state constitution.
“It is the obligation of the state to ensure that every resident of Oregon has access to cost-effective, clinically appropriate and affordable health care as a fundamental right,&#8221; the amendment reads.
The amendment does not define what is &#8220;affordable&#8221; or who will pay for the expenses involved in providing health care to Oregon residents.
Approximately 94% of Oregonians have health insurance coverage, according to the Oregon Health Authority, the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-oregon-gun-politics-government-and-politics-16a23bfcf9f89dae24178e0d39f8bc55" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Tuesday. Additional residents are eligible for the state&#8217;s Medicaid plan or a subsidy to reduce the cost of medical insurance.
Measure 111 passed in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/08/us/elections/results-oregon-measure-111-enshrine-the-right-to-health-care-in-the-state-constitution.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">narrow victory</a>, with just 50.6% of Oregonians supporting the measure, representing 894,521 voters. A total of 49.4% opposed, representing 871,653 votes, for a narrow victory of 22,868 votes.
The votes in favor of the health care measure were highest in areas where Democrats had the strongest turnout, including Portland, Eugene, and surrounding areas. Multnomah County, where Portland is located, strongly supported Measure 111 with 69% of voters in favor of the amendment.
The measure was a longtime project of Mitch Greenlick, who served as a state Democratic lawmaker until he died in 2020. Greenlick attempted to pass it eight times in 16 years, <a href="https://www.klcc.org/oregon-election-results-2022/2022-11-09/too-close-to-call-measure-111-which-would-create-a-constitutional-right-to-health-care-for-oregonians" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> Oregon Public Broadcasting, with fellow lawmakers referring the measure to the state&#8217;s ballot to honor his efforts.
Opponents have expressed concern that the amendment could pose numerous challenges. Senate Minority Leader Fred Girod (R) voted against it in the state legislature prior to its placement on the ballot.
&#8220;This bill promises something that Democrats know they can’t deliver. The bill doesn’t fund any system to deliver on that promise,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.fox26medford.com/measure-could-make-oregon-the-1st-state-to-ensure-health-care-for-all/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> ahead of the midterms. &#8220;If Democrats are serious about giving Oregonians free health care, they should come up with an actual plan. This kind of lazy policymaking lacks important details Oregon voters need to make an informed decision at the ballot box.&#8221;
Democrats like state Rep. Andrea Salinas expressed strong support for Measure 111.
&#8220;We need to send this to the voters because of the unpredictability of the future of health care at the federal level. The marketplace needs some stability, and the state of Oregon needs a path forward. We don’t need better insurance instruments, we need better access to health care,&#8221; she <a href="https://ktvz.com/news/oregon-northwest/2021/05/19/oregon-house-sends-health-care-as-a-human-right-to-the-2022-ballot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
In addition to Measure 111, Oregon voters also narrowly <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2022/11/when-will-oregon-measure-114s-gun-limits-start-uncertainty-reigns.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed a gun law</a> called Measure 114 that will require residents to obtain a permit to purchase a firearm, bans most large-capacity magazines over 10 rounds, and authorizes a state firearms database. The large-capacity ban does not apply to current owners, law enforcement, or military personnel.

Man voting in polling place – stock photo

Oregon Voters Approve Ballot Measure To Recognize Health Care As A Human Right

2022 Election

2022 Midterms

Elections

Oregon

Politics

A new study revealed the rise in children going to the hospital for suicidal thoughts, which began to go up before the COVID pandemic and lockdowns. 
The Pediatrics journal <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/doi/10.1542/peds.2022-056793/189943/Trends-in-Suicidal-Ideation-Related-Emergency?autologincheck=redirected?nfToken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> the findings on Monday, which used information from Illinois hospitals Northwestern University and the Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. The analysts looked at visits to the emergency department for suicidal ideation from January 2016 to 2021 for young people between the ages of 5 to 19 years old. 
From 2016-2017 to 2019-2021, the visits went up 59%. Visits where suicidal ideation was the primary diagnosis also correspondingly went up from 34.6% to 44.3%.
While the study shows that such visits went up in Illinois in 2019, the pandemic also appears to have played a role. Hospitalizations rose 57% between the fall of 2019 and the fall of 2020.
The children were 84% less likely to be admitted to the hospital if suicidal ideation was their main diagnosis, and had a higher likelihood of being hospitalized if they had other mental health indicators. 
“It just really highlights how mental health concerns were really a problem before the pandemic. I mean, we saw this huge increase in [emergency department] visits for kids of all ages, honestly, in 2019, and it’s very concerning,” study co-author Dr. Audrey Brewer said, per <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/14/health/suicide-er-visits-kids/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>. “We saw more kids than we typically do that we … wouldn’t necessarily have thought would have problems about suicidal ideation. We saw 5-year-olds. To see them presenting to emergency departments for mental health or for suicide-ideation-related visits is very concerning.”
&#8220;This is like smoke,&#8221; senior author Joe Feinglass <a href="https://www.q13fox.com/news/us-children-er-visits-suicidal-thoughts-increasing-study-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> about the data. &#8220;And there’s definitely a fire, but we don’t yet know and are not yet addressing what is causing the fire.&#8221;
Brewer said lots of the children who were put in the hospital for suicidal thoughts also struggled with other mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety and substance use. She said guardians should be aware of certain indicators of suicidal thoughts, such as if a child is struggling at school or starts to become isolated.
“They may act out or have problems sleeping. Irritability and being more withdrawn and isolating themselves are a lot of things that we oftentimes will think about,” Brewer said. “It’s important for parents to feel empowered to really sit back and listen to their kids and talk to them. Really try to relate and understand what is going on with them and help promote positive relationships.”
“We really need to develop more of a strategy to help support all kinds in different ways and really focus on some of those traumas and social influences of health,” Brewer added. “We need to make sure more children will have safe places to grow and thrive.”
Although the study was done in Illinois, specialists reportedly said this isn’t confined to one area in particular. 
“Over the last nine years, where we would see about anywhere from one to two patients a day that were having a behavioral health crisis, now we’re seeing 20-plus a day,” Dr. Nicholas Holmes, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, said. He was not involved in the study.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a free hotline for individuals in crisis or distress or for those looking to help someone else. It is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255.

Monitor on finger of Caucasian girl in hospital

Study: Youth Hospital Visits For Suicidal Thoughts Rose 59% Since 2016

Pediatrics Study: Youth Hospital Visits For Suicidal Thoughts Rose 59% Since 2016-2017 

Mental Health

Conservatives have long avoided heated dinner conversations by demurring, “I’m socially liberal but fiscally conservative.” Translation: I have a diverse array of friends and enjoy low taxes.
While unobjectionable in theory, this attitude has enabled something nefarious. The federal government has turned our desire to “live and let live” into an invitation to incentivize harmful choices.
We incentivize broken families through marriage penalties in welfare programs.
We incentivize unemployment through student loan blowouts.
We incentivize chronic homelessness through failed “<a href="https://ciceroinstitute.org/research/housing-first-is-a-failure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">housing first</a>” policies. And, in so doing, we have destroyed lives and ravaged taxpayer bank accounts. 
Now, the American taxpayer is about to foot the bill for children and young people to dig holes near their rectums and remove their uteruses. In August, the Biden administration <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/08/04/2022-16217/nondiscrimination-in-health-programs-and-activities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published a proposed rule</a> that would require hospitals to provide “gender transition or gender-affirming care” (i.e., chemical castration and surgeries that mutilate the human body for no medical reason). And, under the Biden rule, insurers must pay for this. There’s no age floor, meaning the regulation applies to children.
Surgically or chemically changing one’s body to fit one’s perceived “gender identity” is no longer an individual choice with individual consequence, as are other cosmetic procedures such as face lifts or hair plugs. This policy mandate will increase your premiums, decrease your doctor’s availability and your hospital’s bed space, and further weigh down the economy.
How did we get here? The same mentality that lets us survive dinner parties. The left has relabeled common-sense medical and insurance decisions as “discriminatory” and we’ve gone along with it.
Take the case of Rem Wransky. Wransky, a web developer with the Cleveland Orchestra, had surgery to make himself appear like a woman in August 2020 while employed elsewhere. In the fall of 2021, Wransky began experiencing pain and discomfort due to a complication from the procedure, which required surgical intervention for relief. But the orchestra-provided insurance didn’t cover it. So Wransky <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22136104-wransky-v-cleveland-orchestra-adn-bac?responsive=1&amp;title=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued</a>, claiming sex discrimination.
The Cleveland Orchestra is not a discriminatory organization — it hired a trans-identified web developer after all. Nevertheless, Wransky says the orchestra-provided insurance would fund the procedure if he were born with a vagina, and the difference in treatment was both sex-based and discriminatory. That’s a strange argument, because if Wransky were born with a vagina, he would not have had complications arising from his surgery. Indeed, he would not have had the surgery in the first place, meaning his insurance would not have anything to pay for.
Still, the Cleveland Orchestra quickly <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2022/09/cleveland-orchestra-settles-lawsuit-agrees-to-cover-employees-needed-procedures-after-gender-affirmation-surgery.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">settled</a>, agreeing to pay for the surgery.
Costs don’t magically disappear when an employer or insurer pays for them. Gender reassignment procedures can run well into the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/31/health/transgender-costs-irpt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">six figures</a>. Hospitals send their bill to insurers. Insurers, facing higher costs, increase premiums on employers and families. Employers, facing higher costs, hire fewer workers and raise the price of goods. And America’s families are left with the bill.
While advocates claim that surgeries on healthy trans-identified people are necessary to avert suicides and other mental health issues, the evidence simply isn’t there. Some studies even show that suicidality increases after such surgeries. Because of that, the <a href="https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/view/ncacal-decision-memo.aspx?proposed=N&amp;NCAId=282&amp;bc=ACAAAAAAQAAA&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Obama administration</a> was unable to conclude that Medicare should pay for medical transition.
The Biden administration estimates the public won’t notice “negligible” increased costs from its mutilation mandate. But today, <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/10/transgender-teenagers-young-adults-ucla-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1.4%</a> of 13- to 17-year-olds identify as transgender. The average insurance premium, not including out-of-pocket expenses, is already <a href="https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/cost-of-employer-sponsored-health-insurance#:~:text=KFF%20found%20that%20in%202021,during%20the%20previous%2010%20years." target="_blank" rel="noopener">$22,221 for a family.</a> How much more of your paycheck are you willing to dedicate to pay for the mutilation of 1.4% of all children?
“Socially liberal and fiscally conservative” seems kind and nice. But it has proven destructive.
In the name of non-discrimination, the government will wreak irreversible havoc not only on children’s bodies and souls but on your family’s prosperity. You can’t get a new car or winter coats because your money is being shuttled to causes the government says are bigger than yours.
Maybe we should live in a world in which individual life decisions come with individual life consequences. But we don’t. It’s perfectly right to demand the government stop impoverishing you to incentivize destruction.
May Mailman is a senior fellow with the Independent Women’s Law Center.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Surgical scissors in operating room

Mutilation Mandate: Why Proposed Biden Rule Will Require Hospitals To Offer ‘Gender Affirming Care’

Readers Pass

Transgender

Top <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tennessee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tennessee</a> officials disavowed a state-created HIV task force that was designed to help <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender">transgender</a> individuals but has since expanded in scope to promote transgender surgeries and abortion.
In response to a Daily Wire inquiry, Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bill-lee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bill Lee</a> (R-TN) and the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) said that the state does not support the Tennessee Transgender Task Force (TTF), a group created in 2018 prior to the Lee administration. But the task force has repeatedly <a href="https://www.hivtn.net/ttf">aligned itself</a> with the state health department, even though state officials say it&#8217;s now an independent group with no members employed by the state. 
&#8220;The State of Tennessee does not support the task force, nor its promotion of gender-affirming treatment, abortion and other extreme ideologies. These ideologies are not consistent with the values of Tennesseans, and we will continue efforts to ensure they are not promoted or funded by state government,” Casey Sellers, a spokeswoman for Lee, told The Daily Wire.
Information on the task force added during the Haslam administration was still <a href="https://archive.ph/YEW33" target="_blank" rel="noopener">available</a> on the TDH as recently as this month, and was only removed after The Daily Wire asked about it. 
A health department spokesperson told The Daily Wire that the task force and others have been misrepresenting their involvement by using their name and logo, and that the department doesn&#8217;t oversee or provide funding for the task force. 
&#8220;The task force was formed prior to the Lee administration and remains an independent organization. To be clear, the department does not fund or promote gender-affirming treatments or ideologies,&#8221; TDH spokesperson Dean Flener said. 
Middle Tennessee State University Professor Marisa Richmond, a former member of the task force and the first transgender person to become a Nashville city board member, told The Daily Wire in an email that the task force &#8220;expanded&#8221; from focusing solely on HIV care and into a more general &#8220;access to health care for transgender Tennesseans.&#8221;
According to materials reviewed by The Daily Wire, the task force and individuals linked to the health department continued to associate itself with TDH even after Haslam left office and as recently as 2022.
For example, a November 2019 presentation given by then-TDH STD Prevention Director Leo Parker at an STD conference <a href="https://www.ncsddc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/112019-900a-PlazaBallroom-InnovationsHealthEquity.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed</a> how the task force had moved to other &#8220;trans health challenges.&#8221; During his presentation, Parker discussed the &#8220;lack&#8221; of gender identity and pronouns on state medical forms, the cost of hormone replacement treatment at pharmacies, gender markers on state IDs, &#8220;sex work,&#8221; &#8220;undocumented transgender individuals,&#8221; &#8220;lack of transgender-inclusive sexual education,&#8221; and &#8220;gender-neutral language in reproductive spaces,&#8221; according to PowerPoint slides with the TDH logo on them from the event.
Resource guides put out by the task force have promoted transgender treatments, abortion, and other services not related to HIV care. A 2021 <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b2bedd8f2e6b18c0de8d577/t/609588bb102ab66c40e86e2c/1620412708277/TTF+Resource+Guide+PDF+V+1.0.pdf">iteration</a> of the resource guide included a list of over 30 clinics, doctors, and other entities across Tennessee that the group has apparently deemed to provide “trans-affirming” services, including “general reproductive care,&#8221; “youth services,” “letters for surgery,” “surgical care,” “fitness classes,” abortion, land letters for “gender marker change.&#8221;
The guide also lists doctors or professional organizations that provide &#8220;youth services,&#8221; including Vanderbilt Pediatric and Adolescent Transgender Health Clinic — which paused gender surgeries earlier this month in response to Daily Wire reporting — and the Oasis Center in Nashville — which runs &#8220;Just Us&#8221; programs for youth and celebrates the &#8220;fluidity of identity.&#8221;
In April 2022, Ray Holloman, who has been chair of the task force, gave a presentation on &#8220;Queer Cultural Humility,&#8221; at the Tennessee Department of Health annual statewide HIV conference. The Daily Wire has reached out to Holloman for comment asking for clarity on the relationship between the task force and the state health department.
The association between the task force and the TDH appeared to continue up until October 2022, as a recent <a href="https://us16.campaign-archive.com/?u=d99a916515ccec2fc503221a1&amp;id=025ee337a0">mailer</a> from the United Way of Greater Nashville, an HIV treatment group, with the TDH logo emblazoned on the top also encouraged people to contribute &#8220;trans-affirming&#8221; health care providers to be vetted by the task force and added to the resource guide.
The task force did not respond to a request for comment.

Transgender Flag Waving Against Trees

Tennessee Governor, Officials Disavow State-Created Task Force Over ‘Extreme’ Trans Activism

Tennessee Distances Itself From State Created Transgender Task Force That Promotes Trans Procedures, Abortion

Bill Lee

Tennessee

A mother unknowingly walked in on an alleged serial killer nurse murdering her newborn child in 2015 at a hospital in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/england">England</a>, prosecutors told a Manchester Crown Court this week.
Lucy Letby, who formerly worked at Countess of Chester Hospital, allegedly murdered seven newborn children while on the job and tried to kill ten other babies from June 2015 to June 2016.
&#8220;Trust me, I&#8217;m a nurse,&#8221; the mother was allegedly told by Letby after she noticed her child was bleeding from the mouth.
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The trial of Chester nurse Lucy Letby is beginning at Manchester Crown Court. She is charged with murdering 7 babies, and attempting to murder another 10 at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015-June 2016. She denies all the charges. Coverage on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BBCNews?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BBCNews</a> <a href="https://t.co/zuqRx31uV2">pic.twitter.com/zuqRx31uV2</a>
&mdash; Judith Moritz (@JudithMoritz) <a href="https://twitter.com/JudithMoritz/status/1579413797529231361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Prosecutor Nick Johnson told the court Tuesday that the mother unknowingly walked in on Letby killing her son by injection, and was told by the nurse that staff would take care of the baby and she should leave the unit.
&#8220;We say that she interrupted Lucy Letby who was attacking [Child E], although she did not realise it at the time,&#8221; Johnson said, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/nurse-lucy-letby-was-interrupted-by-victims-mother-during-attack-and-told-her-trust-me-im-a-nurse-court-hears-12717952" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Sky News. (Note: victims&#8217; names have been removed.)
Letby allegedly injected the baby&#8217;s bloodstream with air while working in the neonatal unit on August 3, 2015.
When the mother noticed her &#8220;distressed&#8221; child was bleeding from his mouth, Letby told her to leave.
&#8220;&#8216;Trust me, I&#8217;m a nurse&#8217;. That&#8217;s what she told (the mother),&#8221; Johnson said, adding, &#8220;We suggest she was fobbed off by Lucy Letby.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_449365" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-449365" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-449365 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GettyImages-990724802-864x576.jpg" alt="A police officer enters a house in Chester after healthcare professional, Lucy Letby, working at the Countess of Chester Hospital was arrested on suspicion of murdering eight babies and attempting to kill six others, on July 3, 2018 in Chester, United Kingdom. " width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/GettyImages-990724802-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/GettyImages-990724802-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/GettyImages-990724802-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/GettyImages-990724802.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />A police officer enters a house in Chester after healthcare professional, Lucy Letby, working at the Countess of Chester Hospital was arrested on suspicion of murdering eight babies and attempting to kill six others, on July 3, 2018 in Chester, United Kingdom. Anthony Devlin/Getty Images</div>
BBC correspondent Judith Moritz, who was present at the trial on Tuesday, noted that the baby dubbed Child E has a twin brother. 
The prosecution said the baby &#8220;was bleeding so heavily that one of the doctors said he had never encountered such a large bleed in a small baby, like this,&#8221; Moritz <a href="https://twitter.com/JudithMoritz/status/1579799039415300096" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> online. &#8220;Subsequent expert evidence establishes that this would have represented a combined loss of over 25% of baby E&#8217;s blood volume.&#8221;
Notably, Letby, according to prosecution, took a &#8220;very unusual interest&#8221; in the twins&#8217; parents and searched for them on social media, including on Christmas Day in 2015, Moritz <a href="https://twitter.com/JudithMoritz/status/1579802429406658560" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
&#8220;These were not naturally-occurring, or random events; they were deliberate attempts to kill using slightly different methods by whilst Lucy Letby sought to give the appearance of chance events on the neonatal unit,&#8221; prosecution reportedly charged Tuesday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Prosecution: &quot;These were not naturally-occurring, or random events; they were deliberate attempts to kill using slightly different methods by whilst Lucy Letby sought to give the appearance of chance events on the neonatal unit&quot;
&mdash; Judith Moritz (@JudithMoritz) <a href="https://twitter.com/JudithMoritz/status/1579844670561357825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/serial-killer-known-as-the-i-65-killer-identified-after-30-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Serial Killer Known As The ‘I-65 Killer’ Identified After 30 Years</a>

Baby

‘Trust me, I’m A Nurse’: Mother Walked In On Alleged Serial Killer Nurse Murdering Her Newborn, Court Hears

Mother Walked In On Alleged Serial Killer Nurse Lucy Letby Trying To Kill Newborn, Court Hears

England

hospital

Murder

Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cori-bush">Cori Bush</a> (D-MO) revealed details about an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/abortion">abortion</a> she had as a teen.
Bush said that just as the surgical abortion was about to begin, she told the abortionist that she was not ready, but the doctor and clinic staff ignored her and shut her objections down.
The Democratic congresswoman related the story during an interview on PBS&#8217;s &#8220;Firing Line with Margaret Hoover.&#8221; Hoover noted the incident was included in Bush&#8217;s new political memoir “The Forerunner,” which went on sale this week.
The incident occurred during Bush&#8217;s second abortion.
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&quot;I said, no, you know what, I&#39;m not ready. And the nurse just wouldn&#39;t listen to me.&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/RepCori?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepCori</a> tells the &quot;complicated&quot; story of her second abortion, when her pleas to halt the procedure were ignored.
&quot;I felt like it was, &#39;Oh well, we know better. You don&#39;t know what you need.&#39;&quot; <a href="https://t.co/sdJaQRxVWb">pic.twitter.com/sdJaQRxVWb</a>
&mdash; Firing Line with Margaret Hoover (@FiringLineShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/FiringLineShow/status/1578376341875032065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;You became pregnant two years later when you were 19, and you chose to have an abortion. You went to an abortion clinic, at this time you were enrolled in university,&#8221; Hoover said. &#8220;You got to the clinic and had second thoughts.&#8221;
&#8220;I was thinking back to the first abortion,&#8221; Bush said. &#8220;Okay, you&#8217;ve done this before, you know the rooms, you know what it looks like, you know what it feels like in this place, you know what to expect. You know that you may even experience even some harm or some racism in this space. I thought I was ready.&#8221;
Bush said she went from room to room going through all the preliminary steps, which was like an &#8220;assembly line,&#8221; but after she was helped up onto the operating table she started having second thoughts.
One thing she thought about was that she hadn&#8217;t told the father of her child about the abortion.
&#8220;I just felt like I needed more time,&#8221; Bush said. &#8220;So I said &#8216;no, you know what, I&#8217;m not ready.'&#8221;
&#8220;And the nurse just wouldn&#8217;t listen to me. And I said, &#8216;no, I&#8217;m not ready,'&#8221; she said.
As Bush repeatedly told the clinic staff she was not ready, they continued to prepare instruments for the abortion, she said.
&#8220;They absolutely ignored me even to the point of &#8216;calm down,&#8217; as if I was the problem,&#8221; Bush said.
Bush said that as she lay on the table, she looked around for someone else in the room who would listen to her, but she found no one.
&#8220;During this time, they put the instrument inside me and started the instrument, and I&#8217;m saying &#8216;no,&#8217; but it was too late, because you couldn&#8217;t stop once it started,&#8221; she said.
Besides representing Missouri in the House, Bush is a registered nurse, pastor, and Black Lives Matter activist.

Attorney General Garland Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee

Cori Bush Says She Changed Her Mind On Abortion But Doctor Wouldn’t Stop

Cori Bush Says She Changed Her Mind On Abortion But Doctor Wouldn't Stop

Cori Bush

Pro-Life Movement

An <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oklahoma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oklahoma</a> pediatric hospital will stop offering some <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gender-related</a> medical services after the state threatened to pull millions of dollars in funding.
Oklahoma Children&#8217;s Hospital announced Tuesday it is planning to halt &#8220;certain gender medicine services&#8221; in order to keep funding for its new pediatric mental health facility.
&#8220;The Legislature restricted the use of the funds from benefitting facilities performing certain gender medicine services. The new mental and behavioral health facility was never intended to provide such care. The OU Health Senior Leadership team is proactively planning the ceasing of certain gender medicine services across our facilities and that plan is already under development,&#8221; OU Health <a href="https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-ou-health-gender-health-services/41413025#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement.
Oklahoma Children&#8217;s is part of OU Health, the University of Oklahoma&#8217;s health system.
The hospital was poised to lose $39.4 million in American Rescue Plan funds thanks to a <a href="http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2021-22%20COMMITTEE%20SUBS/HCCS/HB1007XX%20CCS.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill</a>, House Bill 1007, requiring the hospital to stop offering gender surgeries in order to keep the funding.
Oklahoma Republicans <a href="https://www.oudaily.com/news/ou-health-to-cease-some-services-in-light-of-state-bill-blocking-funding-for-gender/article_cb6efa56-3ea1-11ed-be88-9b5ff427913d.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> they wanted to give the money to OU Health for its new pediatric mental health hospital, but the money cannot go toward “gender reassignment medical treatment” for minors, including interventions to suppress the development of secondary sex characteristics or to &#8220;align the patient&#8217;s appearance or physical body with the patient&#8217;s gender identity.&#8221;
Oklahoma Children&#8217;s Hospital currently offers a variety of different gender services, including &#8220;pausing puberty,&#8221; &#8220;managing gender-affirming hormone therapy,&#8221; and &#8220;helping find surgeons who perform gender-affirming surgeries,&#8221; <a href="https://www.ouhealth.com/oklahoma-childrens-hospital/childrens-services/adolescent-medicine/sexuality-gender-identity-issues/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to its website.
State Republican Rep. Randy Randleman emphasized that behavioral health is the priority right now.
&#8220;It&#8217;s not cutting anybody out for services. It’s saying we have such a need for behavior problems and families being dysfunctional that we want this individual money to be focused on that to get us back to where we should be,&#8221; Randleman <a href="https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-ou-health-gender-health-services/41413025#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> KOCO 5 on Tuesday.
Another state Republican lawmaker, Rep. Kevin West, who represents Oklahoma City, vehemently defended the bill.
&#8220;I&#8217;m thankful for language in this bill that protects children from the practice of mutilation through gender reassignment medical treatment,&#8221; West <a href="https://www.city-sentinel.com/health/state-representative-kevin-west-supports-special-session-bill-to-restrict-gender-reassignments-at-ou-childrens/article_ef5100c4-3e95-11ed-8dfd-772290284730.html">said</a>. &#8220;This unbelievably harmful practice cannot be reversed, and has lasting physical and psychological consequences that can damage these children for the rest of their lives.&#8221;
Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oklahoma slammed the state&#8217;s move.
&#8220;Legislatures seem to believe that the health care and mental health of trans and 2SLGBTQ-plus youth is essentially a bargaining chip they can use,&#8221; <a href="https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-ou-health-gender-health-services/41413025#">said</a> Cindy Nguyen, policy director at ACLU of Oklahoma.
Several children&#8217;s hospitals across the country are under fire for providing gender surgery for minors.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) performs “gender-affirming” double mastectomies on minor girls and offers puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tn-house-gop-formally-requests-vanderbilt-medical-halt-gender-surgeries-on-minors">according</a> to an exposé from Daily Wire host Matt Walsh.
The practice came under fire after shocking videos showed a Vanderbilt doctor calling certain transgender surgeries “huge money makers.” In another video, a Vanderbilt health law expert called conscientious objections to transgender surgeries “problematic.”
Boston Children&#8217;s Hospital&#8217;s Center for Gender Surgery <a href="https://www.childrenshospital.org/treatments/chest-reconstruction">offers</a> chest gender surgery with parental consent for girls 15 and up who identify as male.

U.S. Rep Chrissy Houlahan Visits Community Organizations In Reading Pennsylvania To Talk About American Rescue Plan

Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Ends ‘Gender Medicine Services’ After State Threatens Funding

Oklahoma Children's Hospital Ends 'Gender Medicine Services' After State Threatens Funding

Children

Gender

Gender Identity

Oklahoma

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