Today, the Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments in the "Partial Birth Abortion Ban" case (read CRLP's site for more). The swing vote, according to many, will be Justice Kennedy. The case, Gonzales v. Carhart, comes from an appeal from the 8th Circuit's ruling that the ban is unconstitutional. The main issue is that lack of a health exception in the law. Under the undue burden standard, established in 1992, a lack of a health exception is fatal to the law.
We'll see.
And in other news:
- Over 80% of Americans favor comprehensive sex ed.
- There is a possibility of putting human DNA in a cow's egg to do research on stem cells. It'll need approval from the HFEA.
- The CDC has recommended that the HPV Vaccine be given to young women. Of course, this raises "thorny issues" like, um, how to talk to kids about sex, and how to keep them healthy, but really, it's about how to avoid discomfort as a parent while totally abdicating your responsibility to keep your children healthy. At least, that's my take on it.
- You know how there are medical tourists? There are also procreation vacations. Since stress can be harmful in conception, maybe there is something to the idea.
- Remember about the new cool condoms from S. Africa? A Russian doctor makes personalized condoms.
- This Phil Kline fiasco never seems to end. Now, Dr. Tiller is seeking an investigation into Kline & specifically, O'Reilly's knowledge of what should be confidential information.
- Misoprostol, a drug currently used as part of the medication abortion regimen, can be useful in treating post-partum bleeding. And it only costs $1.
And that's all I have for now. More later.
